EastEnders reveals dark truth behind Shireen Bashar disappearance in early BBC iPlayer release

The BBC One soap has aired a long-running mystery surrounding the backstory of Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway) as the hot-headed mechanic has been previously accused of being responsible for his girlfriend Shireen Bashar’s disappearance years prior.

Last year, Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) doubted Harry’s innocence, and he was also arrested in connection with Shireen’s vanishing act but was later saved from prison with an alibi from his scheming mother, Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington).

Last week, Nicola attempted to hide the truth behind the paternity of her younger son Barney Mitchell (Lewis Bridgeman) - that Zack Hudson (James Farrar) is his biological father and not Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian) - by warning Zack and his sister Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) that Teddy had Shireen killed.

As a result, Zack and Sharon decided to stay quiet to avoid the wrath of Teddy, whose darker side they saw last week when he furiously learned that Sharon had cheated on him with her ex-husband, Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp).

In Monday’s episode, while Nicola attempted to play happy families with ex-husband Teddy and her sons, it became clear that Harry was haunted by the fourth anniversary of Shireen’s disappearance.

Struggling to work at the Arches, Harry was shocked to receive a visit from Shireen’s brother and his former best friend Asad (Aslan Amjad).

The pair caught up jovially, and Asad revealed that he no longer suspected Harry of killing Shireen but revealed the toll that her disappearance had taken on his family - with his father having lost his business and his mother too depressed to leave bed.

Asad spent more time with Harry, catching up and asking after Teddy.

Paying a visit to Harry’s Barn, Asad was also reunited with Harry’s mum, Nicola, who caught up with him and asked him why he had returned - and it was clear he wanted answers.

When Teddy arrived, Asad then accused the new Mitchell patriarch of having killed Shireen - noting that her car had been followed on CCTV by heavies who had worked for Teddy on a building project.

Teddy denied any involvement in Shireen's disappearance and noted that he was out of the country when it happened.

While Asad lunged for Teddy, Harry defended his father, but Asad remained determined to get justice for his sister and departed.

Back at home, Harry then made it clear that he now had his doubts about his father, noting he knew what Teddy was capable of when someone got in his way.

Nicola leapt to Teddy’s defence and also noted how she had protected Harry when questions were directed at him, too.

Once Harry left, Teddy remained firm on his innocence but vowed to get to the bottom of what happened to Shireen.

Finally, at the conclusion of the episode, Nicola was seen meeting a mysterious man named Benji (Carl Prekopp) in a car, where she revealed her fears about the truth coming out.

While Benji remained evasive about what she was talking about, Nicola revealed that she needed to know where Shireen is and handed him a wad of cash.

Benji then revealed, "Paradise Park. Industrial estate, right outside of Dartford. It’s been derelict for years. Don’t worry, ain’t nobody gonna dig up your little secret there."

As the episode concluded, Nicola responded gravely: "I hope so, for your sake as well as mine. I am just getting my family back on track; they can never know I killed that girl, or I’ll lose them forever."

So, Nicola is responsible for the murder of Shireen and only lied about Teddy being the killer to scare Sharon and Zack!

We’ll have to wait and see if Nicola can protect her secret for much longer…

Read more:

• EastEnders confirms beautiful Martin Fowler tribute in early iPlayer release
• EastEnders airs Kathy Cotton and Harvey Monroe romance twist in early BBC iPlayer release
• 4 EastEnders spoilers: Special episode explores Phil Mitchell's recovery and Nicola Mitchell is caught out
• EastEnders live episode viewership ratings revealed for 40th anniversary week
• EastEnders confirms special episode for Phil Mitchell story with Trainspotting star
• EastEnders at 40: Best ever scandals from Pat and Frank to Sharongate
• EastEnders at 40: Best ever villains from Nick Cotton to Nish Panesar
• EastEnders at 40: Best ever whodunnits – From who shot Phil to who killed Archie?

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

Visit our dedicated Soaps page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.