Honey Mitchell
Honey Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Emma Barton. She made her first appearance in the show on 22 November 2005. Barton was axed from the show in April 2008, and the character left the show on 2 September 2008. Barton briefly reprised the role of Honey in 2014, appearing from 27 May to 6 June 2014; however, it was later confirmed in September 2015 that the character would be making a permanent return, and Honey returned full-time from 12 November 2015. She took a break in 2020, departing on 17 January. She returned in the episode broadcast on 24 September 2020.
Initial storylines included a relationship and marriage with Billy Mitchell, coping with her daughter Janet Mitchell having Down syndrome, being knocked down by a car before giving birth to Will Mitchell and her marriage breakdown and subsequent departure. Since her return, storylines have included a reconciliation with her ex-husband Billy, their daughter, Janet, being the victim of a hit and run, the breakdown of her relationship with Billy for a second time after he cheated on her with Tina Carter, a toxic relationship with her dentist Adam Bateman which ended after he had a secret affair with Habiba Ahmed and several other women behind her back, which leaves her with low self esteem and suffering with bulimia. Honey enters into a relationship with Jay Brown, has a friendship with Suki Panesar in which Suki realises she is a lesbian after she develops an unrequited crush on Honey, reunites with Billy after breaking up with Jay, and supports Billy’s granddaughter Lola Pearce through her terminal brain tumour.
Character creation and development
Actress Emma Barton was chosen to play Honey Edwards in September 2005, after a successful screen test with Perry Fenwick. Barton commented, "I can’t wait to join EastEnders and play Honey. She’s a really sweet girl, who always wants to do the best for everyone but she’s not exactly the brightest star in the sky." Barton was axed from the show in April 2008. The character is widely known as Honey, though the character's "real" name is Susan, which is sometimes used in the series.Down's syndrome
A relationship between Honey and Billy quickly developed in late 2005 and, within two months, an upcoming baby had been written into the characters' narratives, with Honey announcing she was pregnant in January 2006. The pregnancy was the start of an ongoing storyline about Down syndrome as, in September 2006, Honey and Billy's baby Janet was diagnosed with the disorder shortly after her birth. EastEnders' producers began to work on the DS plot in February 2006. Real parents with Down's syndrome children were approached to act as consultants in the making of the storyline, meeting with writers and the actors who play Billy and Honey. On-screen, Honey was shown to be devastated, rejecting her baby and wanting to have her adopted, while Billy wanted to keep his daughter, placing strain on the couple, who married in the serial the day of Janet's birth.The Down's Syndrome Association worked with EastEnders on the storyline. Their medical advisers were consulted about possible health problems that Billy and Honey's baby might encounter. According to the DSA in 2006, DS people are under-represented on mainstream television and EastEnders helped to redress that imbalance. The DSA used their influence to change certain elements of the scripts that they were unhappy with, such as persuading them to change the way Billy and Honey were told of their baby's diagnosis; however, they had no influence over the characters' reactions or the plot in general. For the first two weeks after Janet's diagnosis, the DSA provided a helpline for worried parents or anyone wanting advice about DS. EastEnders also provided a link to the DSA website from theirs, to ensure that people looking for information could find the association.
The storyline was developed with characterisation in mind. Some characters, such as Peggy Mitchell, were shown to respond negatively towards the DS baby, views that were included so that the positive aspects could be voiced by the "more enlightened characters". The programme makers' main priority was to show the reality of having a child with the condition, "with all of its positives and negatives" and to "create awareness among thousands of people who know very little about Down's syndrome, who might have out-dated or prejudiced views." EastEnders took advice from DS organisations and families of DS people throughout. Care was taken to ensure that viewers empathised with Billy and Honey, to portray their journey in a "realistic way".
The DSA have expressed their desire to see a Down's syndrome character becoming a permanent member of the EastEnders cast, as in their opinion "it would be a fantastic opportunity to bring Down's syndrome into mainstream awareness, and to present a 21st century picture of family life for those who have children with the condition." In 2006, EastEnders pledged that they intended for Billy and Honey's baby to grow up as any other baby would in the soap; however, it has been noted that the plot is dependent on the actors involved, and other practical problems that could arise. EastEnders pledged to make every effort to portray "a positive image of a family who have a baby with the condition."
Reception of Down's syndrome storyline
The episodes received criticism for inaccuracy. Sue Jacob, a teacher at the Royal College of Midwives, said EastEnders presented a "poor picture of midwifery practice". During Janet's birth, Honey was refused an epidural while in pain, and later she was told that her baby had Down's syndrome alone, without her partner or family there to support her. Jacob commented, "Women are vulnerable after giving birth and they need support systems in place The person caring for her is repeatedly referred to as a nurse in the episode but there is no way that a nurse would be in charge after birth. The midwife would also have been open and honest and said 'We need to get the baby checked out and we will get your partner' What the soaps do is set scenes which prompt people to talk about things which are affecting their lives. We are concerned people will wrongly think this Down's syndrome story shows what really happens, and that if you have a problem there is no one there to support you. Showing something like this is not helpful." Furthermore, Jacob noted that Honey was left alone for a long time to worry about the baby, which appeared rigid, and not floppy, as Down's syndrome babies do. In Jacob's opinion, a midwife would have been repeatedly in and out of the room to check on the mother. Additionally, one episode showed a health visitor reprimanding Honey for refusing Down's syndrome screening and Karen Reay, director of the Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association called the episode "insensitive and patronising". She added that the episode contained "glaring anomalies", giving new mothers a "fictitious and misleading" view of health visitors, which could "damage relationships with health professionals".The BBC responded by saying, "EastEnders has undertaken a great deal of research to script the storyline of Billy and Honey giving birth to their baby daughter. EastEnders takes enormous care with its research and takes advice from experts in the given field. In addition, for this particular storyline EastEnders talked to numerous families with children who have Down's syndrome. Some of their experiences were depicted in these early episodes. Also closely involved was a senior midwife from a large UK general hospital who saw all scripts. In relation to some particular points raised, Honey was not denied an epidural – she made the choice to put herself out of reach of communicating effectively with the midwife by locking herself in the bathroom. When the news was broken to Honey and Billy that their baby had Down's syndrome, EastEnders has in fact drawn directly from one particular true-life story – and while this may indeed not be best practice it is worth saying that good drama does not necessarily come from best practice." Despite the BBC's "extensive search" to cast a real baby with Down's syndrome for the birth episodes, they were unable to do so, resulting in the shots of the newborn baby being less authentic and limited. The BBC added, "In the coming weeks Honey and Billy's child will be played by a baby with Down Syndrome. It is worth noting that EastEnders has received incredibly positive feedback from the Down's Syndrome Association following the first few episodes, whom we are continuing to work with very closely." Carol Boys, chief executive of the Down's Syndrome Association, has confirmed that 40% of parents whose babies were diagnosed after birth were given no written or practical information about the condition, and 11% were told, as Honey was, by a midwife rather than a paediatrician: "The way in which Billy and Honey have learnt of their baby's disability, and their subsequent support from their health professionals, is not a best-practice model. However, neither is it an unrealistic situation. BBC researchers and scriptwriters have based the scenes on conversations with families who have children with Down's syndrome, and the scenes have struck a chord with thousands of our parent members across the country. Some health professionals hold outdated or prejudiced views about people with Down's Syndrome that prevent them from giving parents a balanced picture of what the future will hold for them."
Reintroduction
On 27 May 2014, Honey returned to EastEnders with her children to visit Billy. The character appeared in the episode without any prior publicity to offer viewers an element of surprise, though Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins warned fans via his Twitter account that the episode would feature surprises. Frances Taylor of Digital Spy revealed that Barton had reprised the role on a temporary basis. Kilkelly later revealed that Honey's return involves her informing Billy of her plans to move overseas. But Billy is unwilling to let her take his children away. A spokesperson told him that Billy will stop at nothing to keep his family nearby, but will his next move make everything worse?"On 6 September 2015, it was announced that Honey would be returning to EastEnders as a permanent character later in the year, following Barton's decision to reprise the role full-time following her brief return the year before. Honey made her on-screen return on 12 November 2015.