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Janet Mitchell (briefly known as Petal) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by child actress Grace, [1] who has Down's syndrome. Storylines. Janet is born in September 2006, the day of Billy and Honey's wedding. Billy and Honey had already agreed to name the baby Janet after their mothers.
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Janet Mitchell (initially known as Petal), is the daughter of Billy and Honey Mitchell. She made her first appearance on 5 September 2006 and is portrayed by Grace.
2006-2012: Birth, departure and various returns
Janet is born on 4th September 2006, the day of her parents' wedding. Billy and Honey Mitchell had already agreed to name the baby Janet, after Honey's mother, Janet Bishop. Janet is diagnosed with Down's syndrome shortly after her birth. Honey has trouble coming to terms with Janet's condition, and when it is revealed that Janet needs a heart operation, Honey says it will be better for everyone if the baby dies. Honey then refuses to let the baby be named Janet, as she does not visualise "Janet"'s future that way. Billy has already started calling her "Petal" as a term of affection, so suggests that they name her that. Petal is brought home from the hospital, and Honey finds it hard to cope, wanting to have her adopted. She considers smothering the baby with a pillow, but cannot do it. Honey runs away to her father, Jack's canal boat in Kent. Billy tracks her down and takes "Petal" with him. He puts her by the canal, saying that people used to leave babies with Down's syndrome outdoors overnight, and if the baby survived, they'd keep it. Honey is shocked by Billy's actions and he picks her up and they go home. Despite her father's courage and love for her, her mother's fear of bringing up a child with Down's Syndrome wins out, and the pair put her up for adoption, giving her up to a foster family, Kim and Tony Smith, just prior to Christmas. However, when "Petal" is taken into hospital for major surgery, Billy goes to see her, and when Honey reads Billy's letter to an adult "Petal", she follows, walking in on her Christening, and announcing her name, Janet. Doctors say she will be fine after surgery. Janet moves away with Honey and William, after Billy's relationship with Honey didn't work out. However, they still go to visit Billy every Saturday. In May 2010, Billy is forced to look after Janet and William Mitchell, after Honey Mitchell and Jack are involved in a car crash. He struggles to tell them that Jack has died, and that Honey is in a critical condition. Later that night, Billy finds Janet playing with the drugs that Billy had been attempting to sell before he found out about the crash, and with that, he sends her to Phil's. In July 2011, Janet and William meet their niece Lola Pearce. William and Janet later appear when Billy is carrying the Olympic torch for the London Olympics 2012 in a special live segment of the soap.
2014 to present: Return to Walford and beauty pageant
Janet returns on 24 February 2014, with her brother, William. She returns again on 27 May 2014, when Honey visits Walford to tell Billy that she is moving to Canada with the children. Billy is devastated and burns Janet's passport to try and stop them from leaving. Honey remains determined, but decides to leave Janet with Billy, when she realises how well she is doing in the UK. Janet says goodbye to Honey and William, before officially with Billy, Lola and Lola's young daughter, Lexi Pearce. Janet's school is doing a charity swim and a parent needs to swim but Billy can't swim, Honey's gone so Mick Carter has to face his fears. On 25 December 2016, Janet shows Louise her doll’s house when she arrived at Phil's house for Christmas dinner. On 6 November 2017, A guilty Tina Carter offers Billy somewhere to stay when he is kicked out after his hurtful comments about Honey and Janet. On 29 March 2019, Billy declares Adam Bateman "all right" when he takes out Janet and Will until he is called into work and offers to pay for their meal. Later in December, Janet claims she wants to do a pageant contest. Honey is shocked and refuses to allow her to take part in one. Honey is irritated when Janet turns up at the café with her hair styled by Karen Taylor. Two days later, Ash Panesar tells Honey to make sure that she does what she thinks is best for Janet over the beauty pageant contest. Honey later tells Billy that Janet is not taking part in the beauty pageant contest. On 9 January 2020, Karen takes her temper out on Honey when she overhears her demeaning Janet’s enthusiasm for doing a pageant. The next day, the girls are getting ready for the pageant competition, but Honey worries that Janet isn’t going to be properly prepared. However, Janet’s performance is delayed when she’s overlooking her mother making herself vomit in the community centre toilets. Billy’s alarmed by the discovery, and after Janet wins the competition, expresses his concerns. A week later, Janet refuses to eat her lunch, concerning Honey. Honey is speechless when Janet tells her she is not eating because she wants to be like her. Billy is shocked when Honey tells him Janet is copying her and she cannot continue the way she is because of her. The next day, Janet and Will are saddened to hear Honey is going away. On 11 March 2021, Jay and Billy argue over who will take Janet to her audition. Billy and Honey discover that Amy Mitchell has been posting nasty things about Janet on social media. A few months later, Billy meets Janet's agent Estelle, who takes an shine to him and invites him for a drink. As Janet's photo shoot comes to an end, Honey is surprised by a passing comment from another mother about how much the children get paid. In May 2023, Janet wishes to see Lola, who is dying from a terminal brain tumour but Lola refuses to let the kids see her in such a state. Eventually, Lola lets Janet see her when she starts to feel a little bit better. Her distant relative, Phil lets her revise for her GCSE's in Peggy's. In August 2023, Billy announces that Janet has passes her GCSE’s. In September 2023, Janet and her family go to The Queen Victoria pub to celebrate her birthday.
•On 30 August 2022, Billy Mitchell mentions that Janet's favourite song is "Dancing Queen" by ABBA.
•Janet Mitchell - List of appearances
•Janet Mitchell - Gallery
Dec 20, 2023 · Grace has played Janet Mitchell in EastEnders since she was a baby and has now been in the soap for 17 years. Janet is the daughter of Billy and Honey Mitche...
- 15 min
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- DownsSyndromeAssoUK
Apr 15, 2021 · EastEnders SPOILER: Honey and Billy's daughter Janet Mitchell becomes the victim of horrific online bullying after being trolled by troubled teen Amy. By Aisha Nozari For Mailonline
- 38 sec
Jan 18, 2024 · We don't know who Steven Mitchell married, but we know he also had two sons (there's a pattern here!). There was Charlie Mitchell and our very own Billy Mitchell. Viewers got a glimpse of Charlie in the EastEnders flashback episode exploring the family in the 1970s. Jamie
- Kerry Barrett
Janet Mitchell (briefly known as Petal), played by Grace, is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Janet is born on Billy and Honey's wedding day in September 2006.
Janet Mitchell has appeared in 254 episodes of EastEnders from 2006 to 2011 and from 2014 onwards. She also starred in the BBC Red Button special Billy's Olympic Nightmare in 2012. Here is a list of her appearances.
