EE: Crystal Ball - What Would Phil's Future Have Been If Peggy Had Perished??

I've felt the Mitchell's as a family ran out of steam some time ago, pretty much when Grant, Sharon and Kathy departed tbh. Mainly because I felt Sharon and Kathy as female characters were good at "rounding" out the characters of Phil and Grant:). But once they all left, Phil to me had become unbelievable in many aspects. The first being a "hard" man such as himself living with his mum at 50 years of age, I never understood that at all. His battle with the booze and now crack, miraculously overcome by sheer force of will, no medications, doctor visits, counselling, nothing at all, only Phil could manage that. I could go on about this, but what I think was a huge opportunity to revitalise the character of Phil has been missed imo. If Peggy had died in the fire, Phil's reaction to it could have been a "tour de force" if written correctly:).

I could imagine Phil being crippled with guilt over her death and battling with his demons. He would sink even lower and struggle more and which of his friends or family would stick around to help him, one wonders?? I can't see the Mitchell girls being too fussed, they're too wrapped up in their own dramas. Billy is too spineless and afraid of Phil, Minty is gone, so we are left with Shirley I guess. But would she really be with Phil if he was drunk and or high all the time, puking and peeing all over the place, because, let's be honest, that's what happens in reality:(. I doubt it, she'd get fed up and go, but, the writers are determined they should be a couple, so, hence, like Lazarus from the dead, Phil arises from his addictions, slightly weakened, but intact pretty much. It would have been even more interesting if he was a shadow of his former self when Ben returned, who in turn has become what Phil once was, a young, tough thug, there could have been an interesting dynamic there I think.:)

So, instead of raw, human drama, we are left with same old, same old:yawn:. Phil magically back at work about a week after his mother leaves and he is cured of his crack addition. Plus, Roxy buys the garage back for him for some odd guilty reason, mumsy has left him the Vic, and now Alfie is paying him £500 (?) per week for the pleasure of running it for him!!

Wow, you couldn't make this stuff up, oops, I guess the feeble minded scriptwriters just did, more's the pity.:(

Apologies for long post, I just had to have a little rant about this.:)

Any thoughts??