EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders’ Ned Hawkins takes full control at Harry’s Barn next week, leaving blackmailed Nicola Mitchell in the shade!
But as the manipulative newcomer pushes his sister-in-law’s buttons to aggravate her, will she regret going into business with him?
BBC
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“It’s clear Ned knows how to trigger Nicola,” points out our Walford insider. “He’s a man who knows how to get what he wants, and he won’t let Nicola stand in his way. But she won’t go down without a fight.”
After Ned successfully blackmailed Nicola for a share in the bar, she’s on edge around him. And when they arrive at work, Ned makes the hierarchy a very clear, proving himself to be very hands on in running the bar – and pushing Nicola out!
At home, Nicola and Gemma reminisce about old times but the bonding quickly shatters when Jodie unpacks their dad’s old medal. Nicola explodes and later tells Gemma she wishes they’d never moved into the Square.
Following their run-in, Nicola eventually apologises to her sister after George’s calming influence and the family gather at Harry’s Barn.
Ned proudly unveils the medal, now framed, and watches for Nicola’s reaction. But she resists giving Ned what he wants and stays perfectly calm!
BBC
BBC
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Later in the week, Nicola bonds with her nephew Ryder, but notices a tension between him and Ned. Ryder later asks to confide in her, but will she use this division between father and son to get one up on Ned?
In this week’s episodes, viewers saw Nicola discover she was in financial ruin, with Harry’s Barn set to close unless she found a large sum of money quickly.
Nicola and her family’s chaotic attempt to hold a fundraiser didn’t quite work, but thankfully Ned saved the day and told her that he had the cash – after threatening his former business partner to give him back the money he previously stole.
BBC
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As Nicola thanked Ned, it became clear that the pair are keeping a big secret about something that happened 20 years ago, a time when Ned helped Nicola out.
We know that Nicola will be blackmailed into giving Ned a share of the bar ahead of next week’s episodes, so could this mysterious secret be what Nicola’s brother-in-law has over her?
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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