EastEnders reveals why Clare Bates is estranged from Nigel as she returns after 18 years in BBC iPlayer release

Gemma Bissix has finally returned to EastEnders after 18 years away - and her character Clare Bates has a lot of explaining to do.

Back in 2008, when she lodged with Dot Branning (June Brown), Clare explained that she hadn't seen stepdad Nigel (Paul Bradley) in years because he had frowned upon her promiscuous behaviour growing up.

As it turns out, this was a lie, and the real reason was revealed in tonight's episode.

Clare had arrived in Albert Square after listening to stepmum Julie's (Karen Henthorn) voicemail message, and was shocked to learn that Nige was now living with dementia. She couldn't believe that nobody had contacted her earlier, and that it had got to a point where he was needing to move into a care home.

Julie lashed back, saying that when Nigel initially left their family home following his diagnosis, Clare ignored her calls for help in locating him.

With a lot of bad blood between the women, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) urged them to keep the peace for Nigel's sake.

At the hospital, Phil and Julie thought it would be wise to see how he was before reintroducing Claire into his life. She wasn't prepared to wait and burst in, and to her devastation, he couldn't recognise her.

Youngster Lexi Pearce (Isabella Brown) stepped in, and it became clear that he thought she was his stepdaughter.

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A hurt and disappointed Clare waltzed out of the hospital with Julie, while Nigel told Phil that he wanted to go to The Queen Vic to have a pint with long-deceased Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson). Phil managed to get him back into bed, gently telling him that Barry had to work that day.

Meanwhile, Julie faced Clare's wrath and revealed that she hadn't contacted her earlier because she was still angry about something she'd done to Nigel. Some years ago, she sold her late mother Debbie's (Nicola Duffett) wedding ring to a pawn shop.

Nige had wanted to give the jewellery to Clare's daughter Bella, and had to pay a lot of money to get it back. Julie spelled out that if she wanted to make amends this might've been her only opportunity.

Lexi overheard their argument and approached an emotional Clare, and it became clear that the two had a lot in common. They both lost their mothers at the same age, and Lexi played one of the videos that Lola (Danielle Harold) had recorded for her prior to her death.

When Julie and Phil returned to the ward, they were shocked to see that Nigel was missing. Both Clare and Lexi were ignoring their calls, meaning that they'd clearly taken him somewhere.

Where have they gone, and how will Julie react to Clare's irresponsible behaviour?

Read more:

• 4 EastEnders spoilers next week: Ravi Gulati reveals mental health battle and Lauren Beale is in danger
• EastEnders' Max Branning makes reckless move to show commitment to Linda Carter in early BBC iPlayer release
• EastEnders finally confirms emotional return after 18 years for Nigel’s dementia storyline
• EastEnders' Callum Highway fears for his future after incriminating Ben Mitchell scam in BBC iPlayer release

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