Willmott-Brown then developed a romantic obsession with his employee Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), which sparked the events of the character raping her in 1988.

After an absence of 25 years, Willmott-Brown returned on 22 September 2017 as the show's hidden main antagonist upon being revealed to be the boss of Max Branning (Jake Wood) in their vengeful plot to destroy the square; with Willmott-Brown serving as the true mastermind behind the events in Max's revenge story arc carried out by his company, Weyland & Co.

The character departed once again on 28 December 2017 after his scheme to recoup his relationship with Kathy by controlling the Square had ultimately failed, and he was left bedridden and disowned by both his son and daughter for his actions.

James Willmott-Brown, an ex-army officer, arrives in Albert Square in March 1986 as area manager for 'Luxford and Copley', the brewery that owns The Queen Victoria public house.

Willmott-Brown gives up his job as brewery manager and buys a disused pub on Turpin Road, refurbishing it as a wine bar and names it "The Dagmar".

Local publican Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) is unhappy about the competition and is disgusted to learn that his estranged wife, Angie (Anita Dobson), is manageress.

The Dagmar opens for business and both Willmott-Brown and Den compete for best decorated pub in 'The London In Bloom' competition and in a five-a-side football match, and constantly try to poach each other's staff.

Meanwhile, Willmott-Brown gives Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) a job as a barmaid but this causes problems between her and her husband, Pete (Peter Dean).

He buys her presents and confides in her about the sorry state of his business, the break-up of his marriage and how it affected his children, Sophie (Natasha Knight) and Luke (Henry Power).

When he realises what has happened, he takes Kathy home to her family and her niece, Michelle Fowler (Susan Tully), persuades her to report the rape to the police.

Den also calls his contacts within the Firm, Joanne Francis (Pamela Salem) and Brad Williams (Jonathan Stratt), and demands revenge.

She allows him to think that she is ready to take his hush money, only to reveal that D.I Bob Ashley (Robin Lermitte), is listening next door.

When Willmott-Brown is released, he returns to the square in January 1992 and tries to buy the flats that Grant (Ross Kemp) and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) are selling.

He plans to move back to Walford and set up another business and sends Kathy a tape asking her to meet him at his hotel in Hampstead.

Kathy gets there first and after listening to Willmott-Brown's tale of his hard time in prison and how much he has changed, she asks him to leave the Square for good and never return.

Willmott-Brown protests that they had something truly special, but after a heated conversation, Kathy makes him realise how deluded he is by showing him the destruction he'd caused her and her family.

Twenty-five years after leaving Walford, Willmott-Brown anonymously lays flowers addressed to Kathy at a memorial for her step-grandson Steven Beale (Aaron Sidwell).

When Max contemplates getting the sealed bids from Carmel Kazemi's (Bonnie Langford) work laptop, he phones Willmott-Brown, refusing to go through with it.

When he returns to his office, Willmott-Brown is horrified to find that his safe has had a break-in and that all his documents – which he showed Fi earlier on about the secrecy to exposing Weyland & Co – are missing, just as the police arrive.

It soon transpires that Fi, disgusted with her father's callousness and the discovery that he raped Kathy, stole the documents and reported Weyland & Co's criminal activities to the police.

After forcing Hugo to relinquish Weyland & Co of their power over the Square, destroying the company in the process, Fi visits Willmott-Brown in hospital and tells him she is not going to keep on trying to get his approval as she wanted his love.

"[1] Taylforth said she "loved working" with Boyde, saying he played the part "brilliantly" as well as it being his own idea "to step up Wilmott-Brown's drinking in order for the rape to make some sense.

Duncan Lindsay of the Metro reported that his return storyline would centre around "power, control, money and revenge" as well as confronting Kathy, who Willmott-Brown cites as the person who destroyed his life.

[5] The characters of Fi Browning (Lisa Faulkner) and Josh Hemmings (Eddie Eyre), who joined the show in 2017, were revealed as Willmott-Brown's children.

"[7] Willmott-Brown made an unannounced departure on 28 December 2017, alongside Fi and brother-in-law Hugo Browning (Simon Williams) at the conclusion of their storyline.

[9] In 2020, Sara Wallis and Ian Hyland from The Daily Mirror placed James 69th on their ranked list of the best EastEnders characters of all time, calling him "Toff" and "a rotter in a suit".