DEEP SADNESS! EastEnders’ Grant faces impossible decision in heartbreaking iPlayer release
EastEnders’ Grant Mitchell is left with an impossible decision and is forced to choose between his brother Phil and his best friend Nigel Bates. When he gets word of heartbreaking about Nigel, will he get back in time to say goodbye, with or without Phil?
This week, Grant returned to Walford after Mark asked his dad to help struggling Phil, who hadn’t visited Nigel since he moved into a care home. He raged at Phil for not keeping his promise to Nigel, but as a blazing row between the Mitchell siblings unfolded, Sam and Mark believed that Grant was the only one who could get through to his brother.
While Sam tried and failed to reach out to Phil in today’s episode, at the hospital the doctor told Julie that Nigel’s antibiotics for his pneumonia weren’t working and recommended that they stop his treatment.
Plans were put in place to discharge Nigel back to the care home, who would provide expert end-of-life care, and Julie struggled to come to terms with the fact that she would lose her husband soon.
She updated Grant, and he headed to the care home to support her. Grant offered to sit with Nigel while she took a break, but while he was alone with his friend, Nigel suddenly woke up in a distressed state and asked Grant to get his stone on the bath.
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Meanwhile, Billy called round to check on Phil and told him that Nigel’s treatment was stopping. He urged him to see Nigel before it was too late, but Phil ignored his emotional plea.
Grant headed back to No.55 to find the stone, but Phil told him that this was a keepsake from his old house. He looked for a random stone in the Square, responding to Nigel’s request, but Phil insisted that they needed to find the right skimming stone – then drove off in his car.
Returning to the care home, Grant presented Nigel with the stone he’d picked up, but it didn’t work. Grant then got a call from Billy, who explained that Phil was nowhere to be found and that he was worried about his welfare after his attempt on his life last year.
Grant knew where his brother might be, so he headed to the beach where he found Phil skimming stones, trying to pick the perfect one for Nigel.
As he watched his brother, Grant received a call from Julie, telling him that Nigel was reaching the end of his life, and he needed to come back to the care home as soon as possible.
Will Grant go back to say goodbye to Nigel, or will he check on grieving Phil?
Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) has made a spectacular return to EastEnders at a tragic time for brother Phil (Steve McFadden).
The OG Walford hard man was summoned back to his old haunt by estranged son Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple), who believed that he needed to know about best mate Nigel Bates’s (Paul Bradley) declining health.
Mark had betrayed his aunty Sam’s (Kim Medcalf) wishes, as she’d asked him not to contact Grant as he probably wouldn’t be interested. She’d tried several times to tell him about her breast cancer diagnosis, and he hadn’t returned any of her calls.
A car sped into the Square, immediately catching both Sam and Mark’s attention. They were stunned to see Grant, who was under the illusion that Mark wanted him there because of Phil’s mental wellbeing.
As viewers will recall, the last time Grant visited London, Phil was struggling immensely and attempted to take his own life.
Before facing his brother, Grant headed for some brekkie at the caff but faced a frosty reception from Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig). With over 30 years passing since they last crossed paths, it was clear that he didn’t recognise her.
She slammed his plate down on the table and tore strips off him for his treatment of her mum Michelle, their altercation only broke up by the arrival of Sam and Mark. He began to ask questions about Phil, though it soon became apparent that it was Nigel who was the concern.
Grant still believed that he was living with the Mitchells, and was gobsmacked to learn that he had been in a care home for several months. He charged out of the and bumped into Julie Bates (Karen Henthorn), who explained that Nigel had been hospitalised after falling out of bed.
It was an emotional reunion as Grant headed to the ward, and saw just how bad Nigel really was.
Back at home, Mark cornered Phil in the pub and urged him to also go to the hospital. He lied, saying that he would only get in the way, but it was clear that he was resenting the fact that he was unable to care for Nigel until the end.
When Grant returned, he demanded an audience with his family and the group finally laid their cards on the table after a decade of being apart. He was shocked to hear that Sam had been diagnosed with cancer, and a huge argument ensued.
Phil, wanting to shut the world out, ordered Grant, Sam and Mark out of his house before smashing up the kitchen. The trio stood outside, and Sam expressed her belief that it was only Grant who could help Phil.