The Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) of today is very different to the Phil Mitchell of old, with the former EastEnders crime boss trading in guns and blood feuds to care for his old friend, Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) as he deals with dementia.
Nigel remained steadfastly by Phil’s side as he battled depression, which ultimately resulted in psychosis-induced hallucinations. Following an aborted-suicide attempt, Phil sought help in an in-patient facility.
Returning home, amid Nigel’s rapidly worsening symptoms, Phil made the huge decision to step in as Nigel’s full-time carer.
‘Nigel has chosen to stay with Phil because he feels safe and at home with him’, star Paul Bradley said previously.
‘Phil has created this cocoon for Nigel where he looks after him in every way, including keeping him financially secure. It’s a real act of love by Phil, and he doesn’t want attention for it.
‘Phil just made this decision to care for him. This home with Phil has become very important to Nigel.
‘For Nigel, he’s experiencing a slow decline, and things have started to happen that are understandably very confusing for him and he often mistakes things in his past for the present day, and his memories are disjointed. When that happens, it is also incredibly upsetting for those around him.’
Though Phil struggled, he continued to act as Nigel’s sole carer until his wife, Julie (Karen Henthorn), who moved to Walford and got a job teaching at the local high school. Though fractious at times, the two have worked together to manage Nigel’s condition.
Things spiralled dramatically, though, with Phil in Portugal visiting daughter Louise (Tilly Keeper). As Julie and Nigel began to plan their dream trip to India, Nigel decided to sell his car to raise funds. Heartbroken at being parted with his beloved vehicle, Nigel decided to take it for one final spin, with disastrous consequences
Deeply distracted, Nigel drove toward Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) and Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness). Jasmine shoved Gina away, who fell hard and knocked herself out and took the full force of the car, collapsing, injured on the street.
Though Julie tried her hardest to convince Nigel that she was driving and had injured the girls, he remained suspicious.
Although Jasmine, worried that Nigel was close to uncovering her secret, also told him that he hadn’t been driving, he found his blood-splattered shoes and handed himself in to local copper, Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) with a full confession.
With Nigel facing a possible prison sentence, he sought to make things right and took himself to the hospital to see Gina. She kindly forgave his mistake and he finally admitted to Julie that he’s too unwell to go to India.
When Phil comes home, he’s utterly livid at the turn of events and lays into Julie, blaming her entirely for the situation Nigel has found himself in.
Talking to Jack about what’s occurred, Phil is uncharacteristically reflective as he realises he was undeservedly harsh on her, and decides to call in the big guns: his always-trusty lawyer, Ritchie Scott (Sian Webber).
Will Phil prove to be Nigel’s knight in shining armour yet again, or this beyond even his ability to fix? Will Nigel see out the rest of his days behind bars?
