EastEnders fans have been left horrified as they've been reminded of Billy Mitchell 's disturbing past.
While the market stall holder, played by Perry Fenwick, might now be known as an out of luck father of two he wasn't always so gentle.
When he first joined the BBC soap in 1998, Billy was a violent child abuser who took his nephew Jamie in only to brutally beat the boy.
Billy at the time worked as a drug deal and would take out his anger and frustration on the schoolboy living with him.
It wasn't until Phil Mitchell discovered the abuse and decided to put a stop to it himself that Billy was held accountable for his heinous actions.
Jamie left Billy's home to live with Phil and Billy was too afraid of repercussions from Phil to ever abuse the boy again.
Towards Christmas 2002, Jamie is hospitalised after being hit by a car. Seeing him on his deathbed finally pushes Billy to apologise for the abuse he put the boy through.
Jamie died, making his last appearance on Christmas Day, and Billy never faced justice for his actions.
While now Billy takes on the role of a doting dad, longtime fans are refusing to let his past abuse go forgotten.
One viewer wrote: "Remember when Billy beat Jamie up and regularly abused him, secretly fetishised Lucy Beale with secret stalking, stole all the post and judged Little Mo after she was raped? This lad is now trying to claim the moral high ground cos two consenting adults kissed. # EastEnders "
A second fan chimed in, saying: "He was a real nasty piece of work when he first came into the show with Jamie and then became this sort of hapless weasel everyone in the Mitchells trampled over."
Another viewer made it clear that they hadn't been convinced by Billy's apology to Jamie on his deathbed, they wrote: "My earliest memories of Billy Mitchell was when he used to beat Jamie up to the point where Jamie literally trembled in his presence. Then when he cried at his deathbed 10yr old me was like [side eye gif]."
Some current fans of the show had managed to forget about the history of abuse, with them confessing as such on Twitter.
One wrote: "I actually almost forgot about this. It's probably why he's paying for it now via the life he's living now, how he's never been able to hold a stable relationship."
Although most viewers have been left disgusted by Billy's past, some fans believe him worthy of redemption.
They wrote: "Billy was also an abuse victim. He confronted one his abusers later in life and realised what an awful person he’d been.
"He asked Jamie to forgive him and he did. They made further peace before Jamie died. He’s had a life of unhappiness, he didn’t need comeuppance."
