Phil was the father of school bully Lauren who terrorised Bethany Platt for several months with her gang. In September 2016, Lauren was expelled from Weatherfield High after several other students spoke out. A few days later, Phil stalked David in his car and followed him to The Dog & Gun where David was planning to take revenge on Macca, the half-brother of Clayton Hibbs, who murdered his wife Kylie. Before David could enter the pub however, Phil grabbed him and violently beat him up as revenge for threatening Lauren.