EastEnders airs sick new manipulation from Nish Panesar in early BBC iPlayer release | Radio Times

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The BBC One soap saw the villain escape custody earlier this month after he learned that his abused ex-wife Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) would be marrying her soulmate Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) on New Year's Day (1st January 2025).

Despite being terminally ill and having taken the fall for The Six by confessing to the murder of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters), Nish remained adamant that Suki should never marry again - for he believes he is her one true spouse.

Now, Nish is hiding out in Walford in a dilapidated basement flat, but only his manipulated grandson Davinder "Nugget" Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) is aware and is secretly keeping him fed and cared for.

In Monday's episode, Nish was seen to continue to manipulate Nugget, telling him he doesn’t want to die alone and suggesting that Nugget divert attention from his current location as the police warn the Panesar-Gulatyi family that they believe Nish is in Walford.

Nugget feared that he would be arrested for aiding and abetting Nish, but later disposes of some of Nish’s belongings in a park and dumps some of his clothes in the river before contacting the police.

Juhaim Rasul Choudhury as Davinder 'Nugget' Gulati stands over a seated Navin Chowdhry as a sickly Nish Panesar in a drab apartment in EastEnders. — Nugget remains manipulated by his evil grandfather Nish. BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron

Back at home, Nugget was relieved when the police arrived and revealed that an anonymous informant said that they saw Nish walking into a river before the police found his belongings and that they now believed Nish had taken his own life. As the family react in shock (and jubilation, in Priya's case) to Nish’s apparent death, Suki does not believe it was true without a body and is convinced this is part of Nish's revenge plan, calling off the wedding.

Out in the Square, a frustrated Suki ended up having a conversation with a passing Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) and was convinced to not be controlled and defined by Nish, wherever he was or whatever state he was in. Yolande encouraged Suki to get married and grab happiness

Later, Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) checked in on his son Nugget, while Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota) worried about his mum and Eve stated that she was happy to wait until when Suki was ready to marry.

It was then that Suki returned home and said she wanted to go ahead with the wedding, with Ravi and Vinny’s blessing, and they all agreed they just wanted Suki to be happy. The whole family embraced and celebrated, apart from Nugget who sat on the stairs worrying before fleeing the house.

Afterwards, as Ravi vaped outside he was approached by his lover Denise Fox (Diane Parish) who supported him amid Nish’s apparent death and Ravi's apparent relief. Ravi revealed he was relieved that the family and Denise were now safe.

Finally, at Nish’s hideout, Nugget fretted to his grandfather about the secrets and lies, but Nish held his grandson’s hand to his chest and noted that his time is nearly up as his heart is failing, but it’s clear Nish still plans to finish things "on his own terms".

Fans will be aware that Nish will be an unexpected arrival on the day of Suki and Eve's wedding, but just what does he have planned?

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

Visit our dedicated EastEnders 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.

Lewis Knight

Lewis KnightTrends Editor

Lewis Knight is the Trends Editor for Radio Times, covering trending titles from TV, Film and more. He previously worked at The Mirror in TV, Film, and Showbiz coverage alongside work on SEO. Alongside his past work in advertising, he possesses a BSc in Psychology and an MA in Film Studies.