EastEnders 'confirms' return for legendary character amid heartbreaking Nigel storyline

It was another emotional night in EastEnderstonight as Nigel Bates' condition continued to deteriorate. Now, fans have spotted a hint that a legendary character will be returning to help him as his dementia worsens.

Last night, we saw Phil suffer a nasty burn after Nigel, who has dementia, forgot he had started cooking. During tonight's episode, Nigel was left alone with Phil's granddaughter Lexi as she began to question him about the pictures of his ex wives Debbie and Julie on the fridge. Emotional about his past, Nigel left the house to sob on a park bench, as Lexi went to see if he was okay.

However, once again Nigel was left confused, believing Lexi was his adoptive daughter,Clare Bates. A teary Nigel told Lexi her mother was dead. Although her real mother Lola is, Nigel was speaking about his ex-wife Debbie, who he believed was Lexi's mum.

READ MORE: Iconic Blue Peter star died penniless driving taxis after decades on TV

READ MORE: Benidorm return 'in crisis' after creator Derren Litten's divorce from star Jake Canuso

Phil and Kat then found the two mid-conversation, as Phil explained to Nigel how he'd gotten her mixed up with Debbie.

Standing there observing, Kat later expressed her worry for Phil. "It's killing you and you need help," she said to him about looking after his friend.

"I made Nigel a promise, I'm not going to fob him off on some stranger," Phil replied. But Kat had other ideas, as she told him "it didn't have to be a stranger."

Despite Phil being adamant Nigel didn't want his wife Julie drawn into things, Kat exclaimed: "Well, then we don't ask him! You're beyond that now, just call her Phil! I'm scared. I'm scared for you because you're too pig-headed to ask for help. Six months down the line you could be back in that mental health unit. Or worse."

As Kat handed the photo of Julie to Phil he was seen looking off into the distance. Could this mean Julie will be back to help Nigel? Fans think so. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one penned: "Methinks Julie is on her way…#EastEnders," as another said: "I think they'll have to bring back Julie. They've set the scene for it now and it's getting to the point where it's getting weird now that no one's called her.

"If they had no intention of bringing her back, they could have just said they were divorced."

Julie Bates, played by Karen Henthorn was first seen in Albert Square in 1997 as the teacher of Clare Bates. The pair eventually got together, and in 1998, 27 years ago - Nigel, Clare and Julie all left to start a new life in Scotland.

In January, Julie made a "shock cameo" in the soap as her voice was heard for the first time in almost three decades. It came after it was revealed Nigel was lying to Phil - and he hadn't split up with Julie after all.

He then played a voice message, in which Julie could be heard saying: "Nigel, it's Julie again. I don't know if you got my last message or...

"Listen, Nigel, I promise I'm not cross, whatever reason you walked out and disappeared, I just really need to know if you're alright mate." While Julie be making her shock return?

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

* Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Threads.