The Mitchell clan’s Christmas has been ruined in EastEnders following a dramatic showdown.
Yes, dear reader, it is still June. I haven’t mistakenly published something six months early – or six months late.
This week we saw Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) proudly announce to her estranged family that she was reigniting an old tradition.
Half-Christmas does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a celebration of all things festive on the 25th June.
She whipped the tree out of the loft, dressed it with baubles and slung some Michael Bublé on the record player. But eldest son Harry (Elijah Holloway) wasn’t convinced.
He believed she was papering over the cracks following a traumatic few months for the family.
If you need a quick refresher: Nicola admitted to killing Harry’s ex-girlfriend Shireen, who was pregnant with his child. He then learnt that younger brother Barney (Lewis Bridgeman) had actually been fathered by local PT Zack Hudson (James Farrar), and kidnapped him.
A frantic and distraught Teddy (Roland Manookian) chased after them both, still in disbelief about his son’s paternity and fearing the worst for Harry’s wellbeing.
To cut a long story short, a car carrying Teddy and Zack plummeted into some icy waters, Zack was presumed dead but eventually returned hours later only to be rejected by Barney.
The Mitchells then returned home and burst into laughter playing a board game. The end – or so Nicola hoped.
In tonight’s episode, Harry couldn’t help but feel that his mum was trying to erase everything that had happened. After all, they only reunited as a unit to support Barney.
Barney remained enthusiastic about Half-Christmas, but Harry reminded him that the only reason it began was because Nicola ruined one Yuletide and she felt the need to make up for it.
Bumping into Zack at McKlunkys, Harry decided to twist the knife by inviting him a long for the lunch.
He said that Barney wanted him to be there, as they were now family.
Zack wasn’t convinced, but nevertheless thought it would be a good way to bond with his son.
Back at No. 1, Teddy helped Nicola prepare the tree, and it seemed that the two were finally making amends. However, when she tried it on with him, she soon realised that she couldn’t have been more wrong.
Teddy spelled out where he stood on their relationship – branding her a ‘nasty, toxic mess of a person’, saying he wished he’d never had the ‘misfortune’ of meeting her.
Little did they realise, Barney had witnessed the altercation and watched on in horror as she brought the Christmas tree to the ground.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
