EastEnders actor Karen Henthorn is returning to the soap for the first time since 1998, as Nigel Bates’ wife Julie comes to Walford to find him.

Julie doesn’t know about Nigel’s dementia, only that he walked out on her over a year ago.

Next week’s scenes see Julie at first insist that she is taking Nigel back to Scotland with her, while Phil Mitchell is annoyed by her presence.

Phil wants Julie to go back to where she came from and let him look after Nigel. But it seems Julie isn’t going anywhere.

“Even with the Phil situation, Julie knows that as long as she’s with Nigel – and he knows how much she loves him – that’s what matters,” Henthorn said. “They are facing a hard road ahead, but they’ve got each other now.

“Julie loves Nigel more than anyone else, and she’ll go above and beyond to help him. Phil can be as difficult as he wants to Julie, she’s not going anywhere.”

Elaborating more on Julie locking horns with Phil, the actor said: “She’s really angry because Phil knew where Nigel was all this time, and he could have told Julie.

“She doesn’t understand why he didn’t get in touch with her, and that leads to clashes between them. Also, Julie believes Nigel should have as much support as possible, so she doesn’t get why Phil is trying to cut her out.”

“Phil is a very stubborn man, so he’ll be a hard nut for Julie to crack,” she continued. “He’s not the sort of man who’ll sit down with her for a heart-to-heart and be open and honest.

“For now, Julie is stuck in the middle of Nigel and Phil, and Nigel is stuck in the middle of Phil and Julie!”