Mick Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Danny Dyer, making his first appearance in the show in the episode originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 25 December 2013.

Mick immediately becomes the new landlord of The Queen Victoria public house, bringing Linda, their son Johnny Carter (Sam Strike) and pet bulldog Lady Di (Hot Lips) with him.

Since then, he has supported his wife through her alcoholism, leaving the Queen Vic and finding out he has a daughter after he was sexually abused as a child by Katy Lewis (Simone Lahbib).

[4] Mick is the buyer of The Queen Victoria public house, and moves in with Linda, their son Johnny Carter (Sam Strike) and bulldog Lady Di (Hot Lips) the next day.

Mick reluctantly agrees and is further angered when Stan makes derogatory comments about both Tina and Johnny's homosexualities and about the dangers faced by Lee in the army.

When they return from their honeymoon, they discover that Lee's girlfriend, Whitney Dean's (Shona McGarty), brother Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott) has stolen £5,000 from the safe.

When Whitney is injured in a bus crash, Mick accompanies her to the hospital and after he assures her that she is a good wife to Lee, she kisses him, which is seen by Denise Fox (Diane Parish).

In Mick's absence, Linda hires a new bar manager, Woody Woodward (Lee Ryan) and agrees with Shirley to sell The Queen Vic's freehold in order to solve their financial problems.

He later learns that Shirley and Linda sold the freehold of The Queen Vic behind his back and forged his signature, and turns to alcohol to deal with the stress.

[24] Dyer was asked to be in EastEnders, and said that production staff "told me how brilliant I was" and "I felt really honoured",[25] but he said he "thought long and hard" about accepting the role, doing so because it was "at the right time in my career.

"[31] Dominic Treadwell-Collins was appointed executive producer of EastEnders in August 2013,[32] but in December 2013, he said that Mick and Linda "were in my head about a year and a half ago", adding that they are influenced by his own parents.

[38] Shane Richie, who plays previous landlord Alfie Moon, said Mick and the rest of the Carters would "change the dynamics of the Queen Vic", confirming that their arrival was "the big Christmas storyline".

[51] After Dyer had been filming for a month, he stated that he was "bringing something to soap land that's never been seen before" and said that taking over The Queen Victoria was "a big responsibility" that he was ready for, adding "I don't want to let them down".

[53] With the publication of the first photo of the entire Carter family together, Heat's Olivia Cooke said she loves "the excellent way that Danny's character has been styled", adding that he looks "hot".

[51] Treadwell-Collins released a statement saying: "My team have worked incredibly hard over the past few months to create the Carters—a contemporary British family with cracks, knocked edges and a touch of darkness that is going to make them very special to watch.

Starting with Shirley, the Carters are slowly going to creep into Albert Square as Christmas approaches and by New Year, there will be a new vibrant EastEnders clan, firmly ensconced in the Queen Vic.

[77] Inside Soap reported that Lady Di is "the apple of [...] Mick's eye", would help show a softer side to his character, and adds credence to his patriotism.

"[92] Mick appears in animated form, voiced by Dyer, in a Children in Need sketch called Tom and Jerry: A Fundraising Adventure, broadcast during the 2014 telethon on 14 November 2014, along with Linda in The Queen Victoria.

In the sketch, cartoon cat and mouse duo Tom and Jerry visit several animated versions of BBC stars, tasked by Terry Wogan to raise cash.

Kilkelly felt positive about the casting, saying: "Dyer has a strong screen presence which is going to be crucial when it comes to taking over such an important role in EastEnders.

"[97] Simon Swift from the Metro thought Dyer was an "interesting" signing, saying he should be "a welcome addition" because of the number of "strong female characters", but added "so long as they veer more towards Dirty Den's landlord rather than, say, Alfie Moon's.

[100] Katy Brent from the Daily Mirror said: "I'm kind of intrigued to see what Danny Dyer is going to bring to the table, or bar in his case, but I think it's going to take me a little while to be convinced by him.

"[106] Ben Dowell from the Radio Times thought the description of Mick sounded like comedian Al Murray's Pub Landlord character.

"[109] William Hill also started taking bets on who would be the first character that Mick would eject from the pub, with Carl White (Daniel Coonan) the favourite with odds of 5–1, David Wicks (Michael French) and Max Branning (Jake Wood) on 6–1, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) on 12–1, and Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) the outsider at 40–1.

[116] Dyer's casting was criticised by domestic violence charities because, in 2010, he was quoted in Zoo, for which he was an agony uncle, as advising someone to "cut your ex's face, and then no-one will want her.

"[117] One volunteer said, "This man's arrival will horrify many female fans", while family campaigner Dr Adrian Rogers said, "This sends out completely the wrong message to viewers.

"[118] Victoria Garo-Falides from the Daily Mirror described Dyer's scenes as Mick in his first episode as "180 seconds of smarm-filled, smooth talking", and expected him to have more screen time considering the anticipation of his arrival, adding that he failed to "leave much of an impression in his squint-and-you'll-miss-him appearance".

[125] David Brown from Radio Times called the scenes "tender and poignant" and praised the character, saying, "News that he wants to do a stretch as long as Adam Woodyatt's is very welcome.

[122] In 2021, Laura-Jayne Tyler from Inside Soap wrote that it was "sad" that Mick had never met former character Frank Butcher (Mike Reid), predicting that they would have had a "right old bubble together.

[134] Dyer said he could not understand being nominated for sexiest male, as he is "too fat and old", and opined, "Maybe it's the character people find sexy, because the kids I'm up against are like flipping athletes.