EastEnders has revealed a devastating twist about Nigel Bates in the show’s latest episode.

Nigel has been back in Walford for several weeks and is staying with his childhood friend Phil, but he’s been hiding something regarding his return.

While Nigel claimed to have split up with his wife Julie, she’s concerned about his disappearance from home.

This week, Phil made a surprising decision and told Nigel that he was going to sign his half of the Boxing Den over to him.

In today’s episode, Nigel made it clear over breakfast that Phil was making a mistake, as he didn’t know the first thing about either boxing or business. However, Phil remained adamant that he was doing the right thing.

In the café, Nigel became confused when giving Junior his change. When Billy began telling Yolande about the Boxing Den, Nigel got overwhelmed and ran off.

Nigel told Sharon about Phil’s big decision, so she confronted him in The Vic. Sharon reminded Phil that they originally reopened the gym in Denny’s memory, but he said that he was simply tired.

Sharon gathered Teddy, Jay and Billy and expressed her concerns about Phil. Nigel mentioned that he had heard Phil wandering about in the night, which was the final straw for Sharon.

At Phil’s house, the group asked Phil if he was struggling privately with an undisclosed health diagnosis – which led Nigel to run off again.

Yolande spotted Nigel tripping over a pile of rubbish in the Square, so when he went into the laundrette, she decided to follow him.

He told her that he had come back to Walford to see some familiar faces, but he didn’t want to cause more trouble.

Yolande then spotted an alert on Nigel’s phone reminding him to eat dinner, and she realised that he might be unwell.

“I’ve got dementia,” he told Yolande, as he broke down in tears.

Will Nigel be able to share his health diagnosis with his old friend Phil?