EastEnders airs surprise Christmas Eve return for classic character in early BBC iPlayer release

The BBC One soap has been gearing up for its explosive festive season for some time now but there was one unexpected return that many would not have foreseen for this Christmas.

In Tuesday’s episode, Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) experienced a beautiful rediscovery of faith after visiting a survivors group created by those impacted by serial sexual abuser Pastor Gideon Clayton, who recently ended his own life.

After a poignant moment of rediscovery of faith, Yolande was later seen returning to the Walford Community Centre soup kitchen and dished food and drink for the homeless or needy.

However, a further surprise lay in store in the soup kitchen.

*Spoiler warning for the special return in EastEnders on Christmas Eve*

One of those she served was the classic character Nigel Bates, played by Paul Bradley, now looking somewhat dishevelled and saddened.

As Yolande asked what brought Nigel to Walford, he answered wistfully: “Memories.”

The pair shared a sherry toast, as they wished each other ‘Merry Christmas’, but what brings Nigel back to Walford?

It had previously been reported that Nigel would make a surprise return for the 40th anniversary celebrations but no one foresaw him making a comeback at Christmas.

We’ll have to wait and see how this pans out…

Who is Nigel Bates in EastEnders?

Nigel Bates, played by Paul Bradley, was an EastEnders character from 1992 to 1998.

Introduced as a comic relief sidekick to the Mitchell Brothers from their school days, Nigel visited Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant (Ross Kemp) in Walford before moving there following the death of his mother.

A key relationship featured during Nigel's time in Walford was the one he shared with Dot Cotton (June Brown) who he lodged with, becoming the first of many waifs and strays that she befriended on the show. In fact, Nigel became like a surrogate son to Dot and this earned him the hatred of her villainous biological son Nick Cotton (John Altman).

Nigel's key story during his time on the show was his romance with employee Debbie Tyler (Nicola Duffett) and his journey as a step-father to her daughter Clare (Gemma Bissix) despite her abusive biological father Liam (Francis Magee) trying to come between them.

Sadly, Nigel's short-lived marriage to Debbie came to an end when she was killed in a hit-and-run, prompting Nigel to battle the abusive Liam for custody, which ultimately Nigel won.

Later, Nigel found himself falling for Lorraine Wicks (Jacqueline Leonard) which caused issues due to her own romance with the married Grant, Nigel's best friend.

Ultimately, Nigel found love once more with school teacher Julie Haye (Karen Henthorn) but his continued grief about Debbie almost stopped this. Thankfully, as Julie planned to move to Scotland with her son Josh Saunders (Jon Lee), Nigel saw the error of his ways and professed his love for her, leading to Nigel and Clare joining them for a new life in Scotland.

Following this, Nigel was mentioned multiple times and Dot even visited him. Clare returned to Walford for a stint in 2008 as a very troubled and spiteful individual who had become estranged from her stepfather before eventually leaving Albert Square once more.

Nigel was absent from Dot's funeral in December 2022 and his absence went unexplained.

So, what brings Nigel back to Walford now?

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

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