elizabeth willmott-brown, played by helena breck, is the wife of rapist james willmott-brown (william boyde). one of james's victims, kathy beale (gillian taylforth), begins to have a recurring nightmare about her rape in 1994. her boyfriend, phil mitchell (steve mcfadden), decides to go in search of james to scare him away. he traces him to elizabeth's home, but she tells him that james is not in and she is unsure when he will be back. phil refuses to give up and when elizabeth leaves her house many hours later, he demands that she tell him where james is because he has raped his girlfriend. elizabeth gets angry and tells phil she is well aware that james is a rapist, but she is trying to protect her two children from it. she also reveals that james has been imprisoned for the rape of another woman.