EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders fans have praised the latest episode of the BBC soap as “heartbreaking” and with “outstanding” performances after Phil Mitchell broke down over close friend Nigel Bates. After months of caring for Nigel amid his dementia battle, Phil and Nigel’s wife Julie Bates decided to put him in a care home that can cater to his needs.
After enjoying one last party at the Queen Vic to celebrate Nigel with all of his friends and family, harrowing scenes saw his family coming to terms with what they had experienced and reckoning with what the future looked like, including one particularly touching scene with Phil.
BBC
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Tonight’s (5 March) episode began with Phil and Julie coming together to work out how to find Nigel after he went missing from his hospital bed.
While Julie appeared frantic, Phil remained in stunned silence before the duo was told that Clare Bates and Lexi Pearce had taken Nigel from the hospital before he was set to be taken to his care home.
Julie called Clare “selfish” and “stupid” for discharging Nigel and “putting him at risk”, before Lexi informed Phil that Nigel was safe and told them they had planned a party at the Queen Vic to celebrate.
The festivities included several impactful scenes, including a brief moment in which Nigel remembered Clare at the pub, and Julie baring her soul to Yolande Trueman.
At the very end of the episode, Phil became overwhelmed by Nigel’s outburst when settling him into the care home, crying that “Nigel has disappeared” and that his experience had been “torture”.
BBC
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“This is wrong,” he began, asking how the home was making his life any better. “How could it have been any worse than him dying of pneumonia in the hospital? They could have just let him slip away with some sort of dignity.”
Fans have taken to social media to praise EastEnders’ handling of such a sensitive storyline, as well as the performances of the actors at the centre of it.
One user commented on Instagram: “Watched this morning and my god.. as someone who had to put their mum in a care home, Eastenders has got it spot on with this whole storyline.. amazing stuff from Paul and Steve.. well done 👏.”
Another wrote: “The scenes between Paul and Steve on tonight’s episode are brilliant. Two actors at the top of their game.”
BBC
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A third echoed the same sentiment, writing: “Fantastic episode 👏 the Nigel storyline has been the highlight of the show in recent times.”
Others branded the episode “emotional”, “adorable”, and “the best episode in months”, as well as “incredible”.
One person said: “Outstanding performances all round. Special mention to Steve McFadden, Paul Bradley, and Isabella Brown as Lexi. Absolutely heartbreaking💔.”
Meanwhile, another posted: “I finished watching this episode this morning and I was in tears. Poor Nigel, Phil, Julie and Claire. Lexi was amazing throughout. All of the cast have done an amazing job showcasing dementia and how devastating it truly is.
“I’ve been working as a carer since 18 and looked after all different walks of life with dementia and it’s heartbreaking to see people change and how it affects everyone around them 💔.”
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
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