Most viewers know the face before the name: Roland Manookian is Teddy Mitchell in EastEnders, Zebedee in The Football Factory, and Craig Rolfe in Rise of the Footsoldier. The BBC confirmed his exit in December 2025, with final scenes airing on 11 December 2025, but the confirmed dates and the reported reasons are separate things.
EastEnders role: Teddy Mitchell · Exit confirmed: 8 December 2025 (Radio Times) · Final scenes: 11 December 2025 (Digital Spy) · On-screen ending: life sentence, 20-year minimum (Radio Times) · Cult-film alias: Zebedee in The Football Factory · Status: BBC confirmed departure; reason not detailed
Quick snapshot
- The BBC confirmed Manookian’s exit, and his final EastEnders scenes aired on 11 December 2025 (Digital Spy’s soap reporting).
- Teddy Mitchell was written out through a murder case involving Okie Okyere, ending with a life sentence and a 20-year minimum term (Radio Times’ EastEnders coverage).
- Manookian is the actor credited as Teddy Mitchell (Radio Times’ EastEnders coverage).
- The BBC did not publicly give a detailed reason for the exit (Digital Spy’s soap reporting).
- The word “sacked” comes from reporting, not from an official BBC statement (The Sun’s TV coverage).
- Exact birth date, net worth, marital status and ethnicity remain unconfirmed in the available record.
- Exit announced: 8 December 2025 (Radio Times).
- Final scenes: 11 December 2025 (Digital Spy).
- Tenure: roughly 18 months (Radio Times).
- Teddy is sent to Durham prison after sentencing (Radio Times).
- No BBC return has been announced in the sources reviewed.
- The only way to settle the “axed” question is an official BBC statement or an on-screen development.
Six details anchor the record: the confirmed dates, the off-screen explanation gap, and the roles viewers keep cross-referencing.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| EastEnders role | Teddy Mitchell (Radio Times) |
| Exit announced | 8 December 2025 (Radio Times) |
| Final scenes | 11 December 2025 (Digital Spy) |
| On-screen outcome | Life sentence; 20-year minimum term (Radio Times) |
| The Football Factory role | Zebedee |
| Rise of the Footsoldier role | Craig Rolfe |
| Publicly confirmed exit reason | None given by the BBC (Digital Spy) |
Who is Roland Manookian?
Roland Manookian is an English actor and writer who became familiar to soap viewers as Teddy Mitchell in EastEnders (Radio Times’ EastEnders coverage). Public profile listings put his birth year at 1979 and his birthplace in Bermondsey, London, but no exact date of birth is confirmed in the sources gathered here. His screen CV runs wider than the Square: he is also the actor viewers remember as Zebedee, Craig Rolfe and Brandy.
How old is Roland Manookian?
- Birth year: 1979, per public profile listings.
- Birthplace: Bermondsey, London, England.
- Exact date of birth: not confirmed in the available sources.
No official biography in the research notes gives a full date, so the cleanest answer is to use the year and stop there.
What are Roland Manookian’s early career credits?
- The Football Factory — Zebedee
- Rise of the Footsoldier — Craig Rolfe
- RocknRolla — Brandy
- His House — cast
- Oliver Twist — cast
These are the roles that create the “where do I know him from?” moment.
The pattern: viewers tend to remember his characters before his name. That is why so much of the search traffic around him is really a cross-reference puzzle.
Has Teddy Mitchell left EastEnders?
Yes. The BBC confirmed that Roland Manookian would leave the soap, and Radio Times reported on 8 December 2025 that his tenure had lasted roughly 18 months (Radio Times’ EastEnders coverage).
Who played the character Teddy Mitchell in EastEnders?
Roland Manookian played Teddy Mitchell. There is no separate actor behind the character, and no official BBC source has suggested otherwise.
On screen, Teddy took responsibility for Okie’s death to protect his son Harry (Radio Times’ EastEnders coverage), and reporting later identified Harry as the person who actually committed the killing (Daily Mirror’s TV coverage).
The implication: “Has he left?” is no longer open. The BBC has confirmed it, and the exit has aired.
Why was Teddy sacked in EastEnders?
The word “sacked” is doing a lot of work. The BBC spokesperson confirmed Manookian’s departure but did not publicly give a detailed reason (Digital Spy’s soap reporting). The Sun reported that executives believed the character had run its course (The Sun’s TV coverage), while the Daily Mirror attributed the reported reason to an unnamed insider rather than a named BBC executive (Daily Mirror’s TV coverage).
Did EastEnders confirm his exit?
- BBC confirmed departure: yes.
- Detailed official reason: not given.
- “Sacked” language: used in reporting, not in the BBC statement.
- On-screen exit: a murder conviction, not a public dismissal (Radio Times’ EastEnders coverage).
The catch: “sacked” sounds like a casting decision made in a hurry, but the only official statement is a confirmation of departure. The reported reason remains behind an unnamed insider.
Was Teddy from EastEnders in Football Factory?
No. Teddy Mitchell is an EastEnders character; the actor who plays him has a separate role in The Football Factory. The question mixes the character with the actor.
Who plays Zebedee in The Football Factory?
Roland Manookian plays Zebedee in The Football Factory. Teddy Mitchell does not appear in the film.
If someone asks “Was Teddy from EastEnders in Football Factory?”, the real question is “Was Roland Manookian in it?” The answer is yes, but as a different character.
How old is Zebedee in The Football Factory?
- Zebedee’s age: not stated in the film or in the available sources.
- Actor’s age: Manookian was born in 1979.
Why this matters: the crossover exists only in the actor’s face. The characters never share a universe.
Who played Craig Rolfe in Rise of the Footsoldier?
Again, the answer is Roland Manookian. Public casting listings connect him to Rise of the Footsoldier, where he is credited as Craig Rolfe.
What movies and TV shows has Roland Manookian appeared in?
- EastEnders — Teddy Mitchell
- The Football Factory — Zebedee
- Rise of the Footsoldier — Craig Rolfe
- RocknRolla — Brandy
- His House — cast
- Oliver Twist — cast
The Bill appears in related searches, but no specific episode or role is confirmed in the available sources.
The pattern: people know the characters, not the credit list. Naming the actor solves the confusion.
Timeline: from confirmation to final scenes
Here is the sequence that matters for the exit story.
- 8 December 2025: exit confirmed and reported by Radio Times (Radio Times’ EastEnders coverage).
- 11 December 2025: final scenes air, with Teddy sentenced to life in prison (Digital Spy’s soap reporting).
- Roughly 18 months: length of Manookian’s tenure, per Radio Times (Radio Times’ EastEnders coverage).
- Storyline context: Teddy takes responsibility for Okie’s death; Harry is identified in reporting as the actual killer (Radio Times’ EastEnders coverage, Daily Mirror’s TV coverage).
What this means: the BBC’s confirmation and the on-screen verdict landed within days, so the cast change is not a cliffhanger waiting to be resolved.
What’s confirmed and what’s still unclear
Confirmed
- Manookian played Teddy Mitchell in EastEnders (Radio Times).
- The BBC confirmed his exit (Radio Times).
- Final scenes aired on 11 December 2025 (Digital Spy).
- Teddy received a life sentence with a 20-year minimum term (Radio Times).
- Teddy took responsibility for Okie’s death to protect Harry (Radio Times).
Unclear / reported
- Official BBC reason for the exit: not publicly detailed (Digital Spy).
- “Sacked” framing: reported, not an official BBC phrase (The Sun).
- Executives believed the character had run its course: reported by The Sun (The Sun).
- The reported reason came from an unnamed insider (Daily Mirror).
- Net worth, spouse, exact birth date, and ethnicity: not confirmed in the available record.
The balance is simple: the exit is fact; the reason is still a mix of official silence and unnamed sourcing.
What people have said about the exit
Laura Doddington, who played Nicola Mitchell, paid tribute to Roland Manookian after his departure.
— Laura Doddington, via Digital Spy’s soap reporting
Executives believed Teddy’s character had run its course.
— Insider cited by The Sun’s TV coverage
The BBC confirmed the departure and wished Manookian well for the future.
— BBC spokesperson, via Digital Spy’s soap reporting
The pattern: the closer the source is to the production, the less dramatic the language. “Confirmed departure” and “wished well” are a long way from “axed”.
Where things stand
The exit is no longer unconfirmed. Radio Times and Digital Spy both documented the BBC’s announcement, and the final scenes gave Teddy a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years. What remains unresolved is the reported “sacked” framing, which rests on insider language rather than an official BBC explanation. For EastEnders viewers, the distinction matters: treat the confirmed broadcast dates and the on-screen verdict as facts, and treat the “axed” story as a claim the BBC has not substantiated. Manookian has left the role, and Walford’s writers — not the word “sacked” — will decide what comes next.
Frequently asked questions
What ethnicity is Roland Manookian?
Not confirmed in the available record. His birthplace is listed as Bermondsey, London, but no official source in the research notes gives an ethnicity.
What is Roland Manookian’s net worth?
There is no confirmed net worth figure in the available sources. Avoid round estimates circulated online.
Who is Roland Manookian’s wife?
No marriage or partner details are confirmed in the available sources.
Has Roland Manookian appeared in The Bill?
The Bill appears in related searches, but no specific episode or role is confirmed in the sources gathered here.
Is Roland Manookian also a writer?
Public profile listings describe him as an actor and writer, though the writing credits are not itemised in the available record.
Arthur Oliver Howard Fletcher is a staff writer for NationalReport.uk, covering UK national news, politics, the economy and public services. He works under Editor-in-Chief Andreas Christodoulou and UK Managing Editor Rebecca Morgan, following the newsroom standards for sourcing, verification and fact-checking set out in our editorial policies.