EastEnders’ Nicola Mitchell’s plans to bring her family together are left in tatters next week, when Zack Hudson shows up unexpectedly.

After Barney fails a chemistry exam due to stress, desperate Nicola has the idea to bring back the Mitchell family ‘Half Christmas’ tradition to cheer up her son – but it goes horribly wrong.

“After everything the Mitchell family has been through recently, they’re fragmented, and matriarch Nicola is determined to pull them all together,” says our EastEnders insider.

“Their old ‘Half Christmas’ tradition, which they celebrate in June, comes at the perfect time to put a smile on Barney’s face – however, moody Harry’s sceptical and shoots the idea down.”

Later that day, hopeful Zack is bemused when Harry turns up and invites him along to the party, telling him that his son Barney really wants him to be there.

Back at No.1, Nicola is putting her all into fittingly festive decorations – but when Teddy tells her some harsh truths, she explodes in a rage.

“Everything that Nicola had schemed to build has crumbled around her – all of her lies are exposed,” our source explains. “She’d only just got Teddy back and now she’s lost him again, so she can’t take his brutal honesty. She trashes the living room, just as Barney and Harry walk in.”

Once she’s cleaned up, Nicola plasters on a smile to welcome Billy and Honey to the family gathering. Everyone tries their best to get into the Christmas spirit, but when Zack crashes the party, the mood sours.

“Harry’s plan to cause drama has gone exactly his way, and he couldn’t be happier about it,” continues our insider. “Harry resents his mum for what she did to his late-girlfriend Shireen, so he’s in his element when Nicola kicks off and chucks Zack out.

“Poor Barney storms off, leaving Teddy to follow after him. Teddy’s the father figure that Barney’s known all his life, and unlike hot-headed Nicola, he’s doing the right things to keep his sons close.”

Barney and Teddy share an emotional heart-to-heart, where Teddy selflessly promises Barney that if he wants to pursue a relationship with Zack, he’ll support him all the way. But how will Nicola react to her ex-husband’s decision?

Later, Nicola treats Barney to a meal at Walford East, but there’s more tense words when the pair bump into Zack, leading Nicola to drown her sorrows at Harry’s Bar with George.

When they bond over their breakups, could this be the start of an unexpected rebound romance between them?