EastEnders‘ Phil Mitchell will be rushed to hospital next week, after a dangerous situation unfolds at The Arches.

With Phil having struggled with his mental health over the past few months, his recently returned friend Nigel Bates has held back from opening up to Phil about his own health.

Instead, Nigel recently confided in Yolande Trueman that he was diagnosed with early onset dementia a year ago and that he left his wife Julie as a result, as he didn’t want her to see him go through the illness.

This week’s scenes see Nigel strike up a bond with a woman called Norma who he meets at the soup kitchen, although he bolts when she asks him out as he worries about getting close to anyone new.

In scenes that will air next week, thanks to Yolande’s support and encouragement, Nigel has arranged a date with Norma after all. When she arrives at The Vic to meet Nigel, she has her friend Livi in tow.

Nigel decides to ask a reluctant Phil to join the trio, but it quickly becomes apparent that Phil is in a low mood and the gathering turns sour when Livi points out that Phil seems unhappy.

Phil rushes out of the pub in response and Nigel plans to follow him to check that his friend is okay, but he makes the decision to go for dinner with Norma instead as the pair are getting on so well.

What Nigel doesn’t realise is that Phil has gone over to The Arches and, while alone there, he ends up in a dangerous situation.

The next morning, Harry Mitchell shows up for work at the garage and discovers Phil in a terrible predicament.

Elsewhere, Yolande and Patrick Trueman are pleased to be filled in on Nigel’s date with Norma, delighted that their evening went well.

But Nigel’s good mood disappears when he goes out to check on Phil, as he’s horrified to find him being wheeled into an ambulance out on the Square.

EastEnders has already confirmed that Phil’s sad storyline will involve him attempting to take his own life, as he starts to believe that his life isn’t worth living.

He will also soon experience hallucinations, as he imagines a scenario from 1985 featuring himself and other famous characters.

It has been confirmed that Phil’s hallucination scenes will see the returns of Jaime Winstone, George Russo, Teddy Jay and Daniel Delaney as younger versions of Peggy, Eric, Grant and Phil respectively.

Sam Miles will also appear as a younger version of Nigel, with EastEnders executive producer Chris Clenshaw saying that the flashback scenes will “give the audience a unique opportunity to better understand Phil’s mindset and the traumatic events that have led him to his mental health crisis”.

Clenshaw has previously praised Phil actor Steve McFadden for his performance during Phil’s mental health storyline, calling it “nothing short of extraordinary”.

“[He] has thoughtfully portrayed the complex realities of depression, and the experience of psychotic symptoms, with compassion and understanding,” he added.