{"id":492018,"date":"2026-02-22T12:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T12:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/492018\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T12:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T12:32:15","slug":"eastenders-finally-confirms-emotional-return-for-nigels-dementia-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/492018\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders finally confirms emotional return for Nigel\u2019s dementia story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gemma Bissix is finally set to reprise her role of Clare Bates in EastEnders<\/a> for a short stint this spring, almost 18 years since she last set foot in Albert Square.<\/p>\n

News will reach the character of her estranged stepdad Nigel Bates’s (Paul Bradley) young-onset dementia diagnosis<\/a>, and she’s shocked to confront the reality of his worsening cognitive ability.<\/p>\n

Emotions will run high as old wounds are reopened with her step-mum Julie Bates (Karen Henthorn), and the BBC soap has promised that her comeback won’t be without a quintessential dose of soapy drama.<\/p>\n

Her return also comes at a time when Nige’s loved ones must make a conclusive decision about the next stage of his dementia care.<\/p>\n

Recent episodes have shown Julie and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) finally accept that Nigel would need to move into a care home, after he almost drowned in a bath.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Gemma<\/p>\n

Gemma Bissix is reprising her role as Clare Bates.\u00a0BBC<\/p>\n

EastEnders continues to work with Dementia UK and experts in the field to ensure the plot is portrayed both sensitively and accurately.<\/p>\n

On reprising the role, Bissix said: \u201cIt was a real pleasure to be asked to reprise the role of Clare for Nigel\u2019s storyline. I was hoping to get the call<\/a> as I think the fans wanted EastEnders to revisit their relationship.<\/p>\n

“Nigel and Clare were a formidable pairing in the 90\u2019s with a very unique stepfather\/stepdaughter relationship! It has been so great to reconnect with Paul and Karen after all these years, and it\u2019s crazy how time felt like it had stopped when we did!<\/p>\n

\"Karen<\/p>\n

Clare will reunite with stepdad Nigel (Paul Bradley) and stepmum Julie (Karen Henthorn).\u00a0BBC<\/p>\n

“I grew up on the set of EastEnders and essentially learnt my craft there, so it\u2019s been a real full circle moment! Whilst it will be an emotional reunion, I hope the viewers will be pleased to see Clare and Nigel on screen together once again!\u201d<\/p>\n

Executive producer Ben Wadey added: “We always knew we wanted to bring Clare Bates back to Walford as we continue Nigel\u2019s storyline, and I\u2019m delighted that Gemma said yes.<\/p>\n

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“The stepfather and daughter duo share a complicated history and have been estranged for many years, but it was essential for us to revisit this relationship as Nigel\u2019s dementia progresses and the family start to consider his additional care needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clare Bates’s EastEnders backstory\"Debbie,<\/p>\n

Bissix originally appeared between 1993 and 1998.\u00a0BBC<\/p>\n

Bissix first appeared as Clare in 1993, striking up a friendship with Janine Butcher (then Alexia Demetriou) and Sonia Jackson (Natalie Cassidy). She later began mixing with a bad crowd, who viciously bullied poor Sonia.<\/p>\n

She departed with Nigel and Julie for a new life in Scotland in 1998, several years after he fought for her custody in the wake of his first wife Debbie’s (Nicola Duffett) death in a hit and run.<\/p>\n

10 years later, she moved in with Dot Branning (June Brown), and ruffled feathers with the residents by trying to sink her claws into Jack and Max Branning (Scott Maslen and Jake Wood), and blackmailing Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt).<\/p>\n

\"Gemma<\/p>\n

Her last appearance was during a 7-month stint in 2008.\u00a0BBC<\/p>\n

Following her failed attempts to woo one generation of the Branning clan, she then targeted vulnerable Bradley Bradley (Charlie Clements), who was in a bad way following his separation from his wife, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner). She even convinced him to steal some expensive jewellery from an ex-lover.<\/p>\n

Working at Tanya Branning’s (Jo Joyner) salon, she stole \u00a3100 from the till and blamed it on her workmate, Chelsea Fox (then Tiana Benjamin). After stealing another wad of cash from Bradley and trashing Dot’s house during a party, she fled in the back of a cab.<\/p>\n

Since Nigel’s return in 2024, he has frequently requested to see Clare and, on a number of occasions, has mistaken children on Albert Square for her. He even hallucinated a younger version of her<\/a> in an emotional VE Day instalment.<\/p>\n

How will he react to seeing her again after all of this time?<\/p>\n

Of course, Bissix has since had multiple stints in Hollyoaks as the villainous Clare Devine.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

Visit our dedicated EastEnders<\/a> page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.<\/p>\n

Add EastEnders to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app<\/a> \u2013 download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.<\/p>\n

Check out more of our Soaps<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide <\/a>to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gemma Bissix is finally set to reprise her role of Clare Bates in EastEnders for a short stint…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[49,48,75,348],"class_list":["post-492018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}