EastEnders airs desperate Sam Mitchell scenes as she takes advantage of Nigel Bates in BBC iPlayer release

Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) looks set to exploit vulnerable Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) in EastEnders.

The Walford legend returned at the end of last week's episodes, watching Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) from afar, before making her proper comeback on Monday.

She strolled into estranged brother Phil's (Steve McFadden) house, opened his safe and went to leave with a wad of cash - before being stopped in her tracks by Nige.

Luckily for Sam, due to his young-onset dementia, he mistook her for his adoptive daughter Clare (Gemma Bissix), and allowed her to leave.

It didn't take long for Phil to discover what had happened, and after receiving a vague description of the culprit, he went to point the finger at Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington).

After being told that he was very much wrong, he marched out of Nic's house and saw Sam making a run for it down Bridge Street.

She was meeting up with son Ricky (Frankie Day), to tell him that despite her bad parenting over the years, she wanted to set him up with a trust fund that would give him a comfortable future.

Then, in true Sam Mitchell style, she planned to flee. However, Ricky's dad Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) soon caught up with her at the tube station, and she revealed she was 'dying'.

In today's episode, it transpired that she had found a lump in her breast and was fearing that she had cancer like her mum Peggy (Barbara Windsor). Jack questioned why she hadn't been to the doctors yet, when Phil interrupted to get his money back.

Later, Jack's partner Denise Fox (Diane Parish) caught up with Sam. The two have never seen eye-to-eye, but made a surprising deal - she would give her £20k in exchange for getting checked.

There was also the condition that she'd stick around, and attend a family dinner with the Slaters. Sam firstly offended Jean (Gillian Wright) by mentioning her daughter Stacey (Lacey Turner) and Zoe's return, before realising that Jack and Denise were bluffing about their cash offer.

Wanting the money more than ever before, she tried to win over her brother again. He refused to offer her a place to stay and said that he wasn't looking to reunite with her.

As she was about to leave, another option presented itself - Nigel. He said that Phil wasn't the only one with a bit of money squirrelled away for a rainy day, and that he would be happy to help her out. After all, in his words, she is his daughter.

Sam decided not to correct him and sat beside Nige with a sinister look on her face.

Will she really take his money?

Read more:

• EastEnders Christmas and New Year spoilers: Your day-by-day guide as Slater and Branning secrets implode
• EastEnders 2025 Christmas schedule confirmed by BBC - including festive episode timings
• EastEnders reveals Anthony Trueman's disturbing secret as Zoe Slater falls into his trap in BBC iPlayer release
• EastEnders director reveals "eye-opening" experience crafting special Nigel Bates episode – and his incredible resilience to land the job
• EastEnders airs shock passion for Zoe Slater following intriguing tormenter twist in BBC iPlayer release

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