EastEnders' new grooming story is an extremely uncomfortable watch, largely due to the stand-out performance of Ellie Dadd, whose character Amy Mitchell is unknowingly entering a very dangerous relationship with sleazy police officer Craig Ingram (Matthew James Bailey).
The detective's motives for befriending the teen seemed benevolent enough at the time. He was leading the investigation into the attack on Joel Marshall (Max Murray), who has no shortage of enemies on Albert Square due to his vile assault on stepmother Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig), not to mention his disgusting treatment of Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James).
Craig's questionable conduct with Amy
Despite grilling a great deal of Walford's teens while making enquiries, who were in the park prior to the incident, he has displayed a particular interest in the wayward daughter of Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), a fellow copper. Perhaps for good reason, seeing as Craig's investigation of Amy yielded positive results when she privately confessed to him that she was the one who assaulted Joel. She hit the incel bully over the head with a hammer when he wouldn't stop taunting her.
However, in the process of befriending Amy, Craig arranged private meetings with her, gave her his private number, and even joked about 'running away' together. That's questionable conduct that would raise eyebrows with his superiors in the force. And it turns out, it has. It was recently revealed in a meeting with DS Reynolds that a complaint had been made against Craig, confirming that the boundary-crossing copper was being investigated for gross misconduct over 'engaging in inappropriate relationships with a female officer'.
Worse still, Craig is still up to his old tricks. He promised Amy that he wouldn't tell anyone that she attacked Joel, exerting a worrying power over the teenage girl whilst committing the crime of withholding evidence. This only led poor Amy to the conclusion that Craig was the only one she could trust, enabling a toxic power dynamic leading to the creepy cop kissing her this week.
Ellie Dadd's real age and background
Ellie, who joined EastEnders in 2022 after having previously starred in Silent Witness and a West End production of Matilda, plays 17-year-old Amy Mitchell. She is 21 in real life, born on March 15, 2005. Unfortunately, Ellie has been the victim of a real-life obsession; in 2023, a disturbed fan was sentenced for repeatedly harassing the actress online.
The age of Craig has not been revealed, but Matthew James Bailey, who plays the character, is 31. Prior to his stint on the Square, Matthew played bad boy Ethan Williams on Hollyoaks.
Manipulation masked as a normal relationship
The most disturbing part of Amy and Craig's interactions is how they seem like part of a perfectly ordinary burgeoning relationship thanks to the police officer's manipulations, masking the signs of grooming. When he first asked Amy out, Craig was careful to disguise his motive. 'Amy, if you want someone to talk to, we could go for a drink?' he said, quickly back-tracking when she frowned. 'Unless… No, sorry, bad idea.'
Craig then threw in some flattery to make her feel grown up, along with a compliment about her physical appearance: 'Don't get me wrong, you're an old soul deep down. I know that, obviously, but I'm just not sure you look… mature enough to get served.' Amy took the bait, insisting 'I can get served. Trust me.' 'Ok, all right, then,' Craig replied, adding: 'Well, tomorrow?'
Ellie praised the soap for raising the issue
It makes sense that Craig would target someone as vulnerable as Amy Mitchell, who was previously involved in EastEnders' ground-breaking self-harm story. Ellie praised the soap for raising the issue, hoping that it would help those watching the soap who are going through a similar situation with a loved one.
'It does happen a lot nowadays and it's less spoken about, and a lot of people in the older generation don't know about this stuff. So if they found out they had a family member doing it they wouldn't know how to deal with it. So it's a good way to spread the information that people can get help. I think it's really important.'
