EastEnders’ Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) is injured next week as he starts to feel out of his depth caring for his old friend Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley).
Earlier this year, Phil stepped up to become a carer for Nigel, who has early-onset dementia and has been experiencing worsening symptoms in recent weeks.
In scenes to air on the BBC soap next week, concerns grow for Phil and how he is coping with his responsibilities after an accident involving Nigel at No. 55.
‘This week, there’s an incident where Phil is making a meal and needs go out halfway through, so Nigel decides to finish the cooking,’ actor Paul Bradley, who plays Nigel, explains.
‘Unfortunately, he puts a pan on and forgets about it so when Phil returns, there’s a situation that sees them both reaching for the pan.’
As they grapple over the pan, Phil gets splashed with boiling water, and while he later tries to hide his injuries, his ex-wife Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) is worried when she notices them.
Realising something is wrong, Kat presses Phil to be honest about Nigel’s condition, and during their heart-to-heart, she realises Phil is in over his head.
‘Phil is struggling but he doesn’t show it to Nigel – he’s just determined to look after his mate,’ Paul says. ‘What Phil is doing is very loving, but it’s quite a challenge. However, Phil is one of those people who will take on something difficult and take that responsibility on his shoulders.’
As such, Phil later refuses Kat’s suggestion that he needs extra support to care for Nigel – but things are brought into sharp focus following an incident involving Lexi Pearce (Isabella Brown).
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Phil is troubled when he finds them together and realises he has confused Lexi with his stepdaughter Claire Bates (Gemma Bissix).
‘Lexi begins asking him about his life when they look at old photos and Nigel gets upset because he starts thinking about Debbie and then mixes up Lexi with Clare, which becomes upsetting for her,’ Paul explains.
As Phil then tries to manage the fallout of Nigel and Lexi’s conversation, Kat insists that he must get help – something which is later echoed by Denise Fox (Diane Parish). But will Phil listen?
EastEnders airs these scenes from Monday June 23 at 7.30pm on BBC One or stream first from 6am on iPlayer.
