Most soap fans will know Steve McFadden as his iconic EastEnders character of Phil Mitchell.
62-year-old actor Steve has played his famous Phil role on Albert Square since 1990, so EastEnders fans might be forgiven for associating him with the role after seeing him on their screens for so long.
Phil has had some incredible storylines on the BBC soap over the years, from his battle with alcoholism and the ‘whodunit’ mystery of who shot him to the point where Phil and Steve are almost the same person in the public eye.
However, some fans might be in for a surprise when they see how different Steve looked in the classic 80s TV show called Minder – and the star looked worlds away from Phil Mitchell in his earlier years.
(Image: Twitter)
Social media went wild after a resurfaced picture was shared last month of Steve playing the role of Mickey in Minder in the 1989 episode “It’s a Sorry Lorrie Mollie”.
Posting the archive snap on Twitter, sports journalist Barry Glendenning said: “Watching Minder. A very young Phil Mitchell near the lock-up.”
The classic 1980’s series followed the adventures of a wheeler dealer named Terry McCann (played by Denis Waterman) and his shady dealings in London’s criminal world.
Fans were gob smacked at how different he looked back then, with many proceeding to comment on the star’s appearance.
(Image: Twitter)
One wrote: “I love old episodes of Minder. That’s near the end of Waterman though surely.”
Unfortunately, another took aim at Steve, and made some less then flattering remarks about his appearance.
“His body still hadn’t quite grown into his head by then….”, they penned.
One person went even further, saying: “That’s the love child of Paul Scholes and Jimmy Somerville”.
The observations continued to flow thick and fast.
(Image: BBC/Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes)
One fan questioned: “Geez, did that guy ever have hair?!”
Another agreed with the observation, noting: “He doesn’t look any different!”
It wasn’t all unflattering though (depending on your definition of unflattering) as one user said he looked like a famous footballer!
They said: “Looks like a young Wayne Rooney… but neither are a patch on Johnny Pilkington at his best!”
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EastEnders continues Tuesday on BBC One at 9.05pm
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
