EastEnders airs deadly cliffhanger for fan-favourite character in upsetting early BBC iPlayer release

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Nigel Bates and his wife, Julie, renewed their wedding vows on EastEnders, but the celebration ended sadly.

The unexpected event happened after Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) realized Nige, who is living with early-onset dementia, was still excited about it, even though it had been rescheduled.

She discovered Julie had several bruises on her arms, caused by her husband reacting aggressively during recent months, likely due to his confusion.

As fans of the show are aware, Nigel is currently staying at the Bed & Breakfast with Julie, ever since she stormed out of Phil Mitchell’s house. She discovered, thanks to Mark Fowler, that Phil intended to take Nigel to Portugal, but Julie would much prefer Nigel receive care in a local care home for his remaining time.

A bed opened up at the care facility yesterday, but Phil, upset about something, didn’t tell anyone.

He spent the day thinking about whether to tell her, as she only had 24 hours to decide. He knew it would be the best thing for Nige, and while Phil realized he wouldn’t be able to help his friend forever, he decided to stay silent.

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Nigel, feeling disoriented, mistakenly thought Phil was his best man. He half-heartedly offered to help with wedding preparations, but planned to leave Phil once he’d dropped him off, with no intention of attending the wedding itself.

As the day progressed, Julie noticed Phil clearly felt bad about what he’d done, and she realized that forgiving him was the most helpful course of action for everyone involved.

She thought it would really help Nigel if he moved back in with the Mitchells, so she asked Phil to take him home.

Phil was exhausted after a long day and started running a bath for his friend, Mark. Mark was busy bringing suitcases inside, and while the two men talked, they didn’t realize something dangerous was happening upstairs.

Nigel was falling asleep, and began to slip under the water.

Will he be found before it’s too late?

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Authors

Michael AdamsSoaps Editor

As a huge soap fan, I follow Michael Adams’ work at TopMob religiously! He’s their Soaps Editor, and honestly, he knows everything – all the latest drama and spoilers from all the big shows like Coronation Street, Emmerdale, EastEnders (Walford!), and Hollyoaks. Before TopMob, he was a Soaps Reporter at Metro for a couple of years, and get this – he actually worked on the sets of Corrie and Emmerdale! So he’s got firsthand experience and inside knowledge, which is amazing.

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2026-02-04 10:04