GOOD NEWS!!! Fans thrilled to spot missing Mitchell in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in early iPlayer episode

EastEnders viewers tuning in early were treated to an unexpected familiar face, as Amy Mitchell made a brief but much-talked-about appearance during a tense episode dominated by Ravi’s worrying behaviour.

While the drama unfolds, Lauren is busy trying to claw back her cash after being sold a rusty motor through one of Alfie’s contacts. Keen to prove herself and win her bet with Max, she heads out determined to fix the mess.

Back at the car lot, Max is left holding the fort alone after Priya calls in sick, and he’s far from impressed by what he sees as a lack of commitment.

But there’s more going on than he realises. Over at home, Priya is dealing with a far more unsettling situation.

Ravi’s mental health takes another worrying turn

Inside the flat, Ravi shocks his family by locking them in and taking away their phones.

Oblivious to the seriousness of the situation, Nugget and Avani initially treat it like a surprise day off, happily settling in for games and films.

For a moment, Priya even dares to hope this unusual day might be doing Ravi some good.

Amy Mitchell makes an appearance in EastEnders

However, things take a turn when Suki starts to worry that no one has seen the family after hearing from Max that Priya isn’t at work.

While Max is complaining that Priya is a no-show, Suki panics – especially when Amy walks past and confirms that Avani and Nugget were also off school.

But while Suki heads straight to Ravi and Priya’s flat to see what is going on, fans got distracted. They were less concerned about struggling Ravi and more focused on the fact that they had seen Amy on screen for the first time in weeks.

EastEnders fans thrilled to see Amy Mitchell

The last time we saw Amy was when Penny showed everyone her baby scan in The Vic last month.

However, fans have been complaining that we haven’t seen enough of the character on screen recently. They are also calling for her to take centre stage in more storylines…

“Crikey, Amy Mitchell had a line in today’s episode… where has she been?” said one fan on X. Another agreed: “Sometimes I forget Amy is part of the Mitchell family!”

Someone else added: “I love Amy, she is an underrated gem, and Ellie Dadd plays her amazingly. We need to see more of her on screen.”

While another fan wants to see more scenes with Amy and her friends. “Can we have more scenes from Amy, Avani and Barney? It is great to see them on screen together!”

Fans who have spent weeks wondering what happened to Sam Mitchell finally had their questions answered intoday’s EastEnders when the missing character made a brief appearance.

But while everyone was pleased to see Sam back on screen, her cancer storyline still appears to be playing second fiddle to the rest of the drama in Albert Square.

Where has Sam Mitchell been in EastEnders?

Ever since Kim Medcalf returned to Walford as Sam Mitchell, fans have been thrilled. And when Sam was sadly diagnosed with cancer, it seemed the character was facing her biggest storyline yet.

However, viewers have been left disappointed that Sam’s health storyline has always been happening off-screen. She has even attended most of her appointments behind the scenes.

While we have been treated to mentions of Sam’s radiotherapy appointments on screen via her family, Sam herself has been a rare occurrence in each episode.

Despite Sam deciding to stay in Walford more than a fortnight ago, we still haven’t seen much of her. Even when old family friend Nigel went into a home, Sam was nowhere to be seen, and fans are starting to get annoyed.

Sam makes a comeback… briefly!

Today’s EastEnders sees Sam finally make a screen appearance. However, it is another fleeting blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment. The scene comes as Phil is avoiding going to see Nigel in his care home after his emotional move there last week.

As Sam talks about the fact that she is a week into her radiotherapy treatment but still gets nervous about going, Julie asks Phil what time he is going to see Nigel. Phil pretends he is very busy, using accompanying Sam to her radiotherapy session as a reason he can’t see his friend.

While Sam is grateful that her big brother is coming to the appointment with her, Phil is soon distracted when Lexi arrives, asking to see Nigel herself.

Even Lexi’s request to see Nigel doesn’t get Phil to agree to go to the care home. And instead, Callum is the one to take her to see Nigel alone.

EastEnders fans demand more Sam Mitchell screen time

This brief moment with Sam thrilled fans, and they are demanding more screen time for the character…

“SAM WE HAVE MISSED YOU!” said one fan on X. Another agreed: “It‘s been over 2 weeks since Sam confirmed she’s staying in Walford, yet she’s not had any screentime since. Sort it out, EastEnders! Kim Medcalf deserves so much better than this!”

“Honest to god, Kim deserves so much better than this. Why is she hardly getting any screentime? We should be seeing her cancer storyline play out on screen to raise awareness,” agreed another viewer.

Someone else suggested maybe Kim will get some screen time when Grant returns. “Are they going to keep Sam in the cupboard until Grant returns? Tell me why her cancer storyline is STILL OFF SCREEN!”

“Why has Sam decided to stay in Walford, and we don’t ever get to see her? Everything about her cancer appointments is always off-screen,” said someone else.

Wherever Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) goes, drama follows – and today’s episode of EastEnders was no exception.

For weeks he’s been secretly plotting to move to Portugal with old pal Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), despite the fact he’s living with young-onset dementia and his cognitive ability is declining.

As well as this, Nige’s wife Julie (Karen Henthorn) has been left in the dark about the plans, and has been actively seeking care arrangements for him in the meantime.

In today’s episode, Phil was bidding farewell to son Raymond, who had stayed overnight. Raymond’s mum Denise Fox (Diane Parish) remarked that it could be nice for the child to have more sleepovers in the future, and quickly noticed the atmosphere change.

Phil claimed he had far too much on his plate to plan anything, and when she asked if anything was wrong, he blamed his low mood on thoughts surrounding sister Sam’s (Kim Medcalf) lumpectomy operation.

She couldn’t shake that there was something more going on, and cornered George Knight (Colin Salmon) in the Minute Mart. She hoped that he’d be able to get to the root of the problem, and he promised to do some digging.

At the hospital, Sam had woke following her operation and was surprised to see Phil there. It was a rare moment of peace between the siblings, who haven’t exactly seen eye-to-eye over the years.

She mentioned that she thought he’d have already left for Portugal with Nigel, something which immediately raised George’s eyebrow.

Outside in the corridor, Phil blamed Sam’s ‘random’ comments on her medication and warned George to keep his nose out of his business. But this is Walford, and things don’t stay secret for long.

Denise was called, and she sat waiting at the Mitchell house for Phil’s return to get some answers. She began to tear strips off him, saying that his decision to whisk Nigel away is deeply irresponsible and that he hadn’t even thought about his own commitments.

However, that night, Phil sat down for a conversation with Nigel and asked whether he still wanted to leave.

The men’s conversation was interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door, with a surprise old face appearing on the doorstep – Mark Fowler Jr (Stephen Aaron-Sipple).

Badly beaten, he charged into the hallway and wanted his uncle to ensure he locked-up behind him.

Who is he running from, why is he back in Walford, and who is responsible for the attack?