{"id":436654,"date":"2026-05-20T12:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T12:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/436654\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T12:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T12:27:13","slug":"eastenders-airs-poignant-final-twist-at-nigels-funeral-in-early-iplayer-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/436654\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders airs poignant final twist at Nigel’s funeral in early iPlayer release"},"content":{"rendered":"

EastEnders<\/a> spoilers follow for Wednesday\u2019s episode (20 May), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC iPlayer and hasn\u2019t yet aired on TV.<\/p>\n

EastEnders has aired poignant scenes as Walford says goodbye to Nigel Bates at his funeral. Nigel sadly passed away last month<\/a> in a care home, with his wife Julie and his best friend Phil Mitchell by his side \u2013 bringing to an end his important dementia storyline.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s episode<\/a>, we followed Phil, Julie, Grant and Sam as they prepared for the funeral \u2013 then saw Mark chained up in a warehouse. The previous night Mark was thrown in a van and kidnapped by Delaney<\/a> and his men, who wanted the money that he owed.<\/p>\n

\"sam<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: Best streaming services<\/a><\/p>\n

Phil was struggling but stepped up and urged his warring siblings to stop arguing on this sad day. He was then moved when Julie gifted him Nigel\u2019s old watch, suggesting that he wears it at the funeral.<\/p>\n

Nigel\u2019s stepdaughter Clare and Julie\u2019s son Josh then arrived<\/a> ahead of the funeral, and the community gathered to pay their respects. But as the coffin was put into the hearse, worried Grant finally got a call from Mark and was stunned to hear Delaney on the other end of the phone.<\/p>\n

Delaney demanded his money in full otherwise Mark would get hurt, and when he heard Sam\u2019s voice, he also wanted what she owes him \u2013 and she revealed she once stole an expensive chain from him.<\/p>\n

Grant insisted that Nigel would want them to save Mark, so Billy drove the hearse and the Mitchells to the address<\/a>, leaving Julie and the rest of Walford very confused.<\/p>\n

At the warehouse, the Mitchell siblings found Mark, telling Delaney that Grant has the money. But when talk turned to Sam\u2019s debt, things got violent, so she made a huge decision and gave Delaney Nigel\u2019s watch to get Mark released, leaving Phil devastated.<\/p>\n

\"grant<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: EastEnders confirms when harrowing new Denise Fox storyline will begin<\/a><\/p>\n

With Mark in tow, the Mitchells headed to the church<\/a> in the hearse, with Vicki relieved that her brother was alive. During the service, Julie used her eulogy to read a touching poem that Nigel once wrote with Clare.<\/p>\n

Phil and Grant then stood up and shared some funny memories about Nigel, with the brothers finally coming together to say an emotional goodbye to their dear friend.<\/p>\n

Back in Walford, Sam dragged Phil and Grant to The Arches, where she told her brothers that she never gave Nigel\u2019s watch away, having handed Delaney Billy\u2019s watch instead.<\/p>\n

As Julia\u2019s Theme played once more, the Mitchell trio had a rare moment of unity<\/a> and raised a toast to Nigel. “To Nige,” Phil said. “Our mate, and unforgettable.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit our Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n

The new edition of Living Legends, a collector’s edition exploring the royal family, is here! Buy The Royals in newsagents or online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EastEnders spoilers follow for Wednesday\u2019s episode (20 May), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[147144,2115,223435,2117,156,207184,2116,111,139,69,223434,147307,437],"class_list":["post-436654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-ea9648cf-da61-4a77-b0da-73f95f6eabff","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-shorttitle-eastenders-airs-poignant-final-twist-at-nigels-funeral","tag-subsection-eastenders","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}