All posts tagged: Nigels

5 EastEnders spoilers next week: Mark held hostage and Nigel’s funeral

5 EastEnders spoilers next week: Mark held hostage and Nigel’s funeral

Published by Daniella Wilson

An emotional time is made 10x worse in EastEnders next week. It’s Nigel Bates’s (Paul Bradley) funeral, and as the Mitchells gather to support Julie Bates (Karen Henthorn), they soon realise that Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) has been kidnapped. Amid his dealings with a drugs gang, he desperately tries to make up the £30,000 debt that he owes by roping Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa) into his dodgy car scam. Fortunately, in Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant Mitchell’s (Ross Kemp) absence while they try to track Mark down, Julie has son Josh Saunders (Jon Lee) and step-daughter Clare Bates’ (Gemma Bissix) shoulders to cry on. Elsewhere in Albert Square, Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) finds himself trapped in his love triangle again, Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) has concerns about grandfather Eddie’s (Christopher Fairbank) presence, and Denise Fox (Diane Parish) has more worrying symptoms ahead of her blood cancer diagnosis. Here’s everything happening in the episodes of EastEnders airing between Monday, 18 and Thursday, 21 May. 5 EastEnders spoilers for next week 1. The Mitchells unite as Mark …

EastEnders star teases potential future comebacks for Clare Bates in Nigel’s story

EastEnders star teases potential future comebacks for Clare Bates in Nigel’s story

Published by Daniella Wilson

When Nigel Bates returned to EastEnders in 2024 after 26 years, fans with fond memories of the 90s hoped stepdaughter Clare would follow. It may have taken Nigel’s worsening dementia to bring the character back to Walford, but at last the time has come. It’s not just the audience who’ve been waiting for this emotional reunion; Gemma Bissix herself admits that since Paul Bradley rejoined the cast as her fictional father, she’s been poised to reprise the role of Clare, who she first played back in 1993 when she was just nine years old. “I was definitely hoping, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t,” she begins, speaking exclusively to Radio Times. “This time last year, when I went back to Hollyoaks (where she plays devious Clare Devine, more of her later) my agent contacted EastEnders about my potential availability, and they said they’d been thinking about bringing Clare back but much further down the line. I never told anyone in case it didn’t happen.” Bissix originally appeared between 1993 and 1998. BBC Thankfully, it …

EastEnders finally confirms emotional return for Nigel’s dementia story

EastEnders finally confirms emotional return for Nigel’s dementia story

Published by Daniella Wilson

Gemma Bissix is finally set to reprise her role of Clare Bates in EastEnders for a short stint this spring, almost 18 years since she last set foot in Albert Square. News will reach the character of her estranged stepdad Nigel Bates’s (Paul Bradley) young-onset dementia diagnosis, and she’s shocked to confront the reality of his worsening cognitive ability. Emotions will run high as old wounds are reopened with her step-mum Julie Bates (Karen Henthorn), and the BBC soap has promised that her comeback won’t be without a quintessential dose of soapy drama. Her return also comes at a time when Nige’s loved ones must make a conclusive decision about the next stage of his dementia care. Recent episodes have shown Julie and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) finally accept that Nigel would need to move into a care home, after he almost drowned in a bath. Gemma Bissix is reprising her role as Clare Bates. BBC EastEnders continues to work with Dementia UK and experts in the field to ensure the plot is portrayed both sensitively …