Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) is encouraged to reach out to stepdaughter Clare (Gemma Bissix) in EastEnders next week.
Long term viewers will remember that Clare was the daughter of his first wife Debbie (Nicola Duffett). After her untimely passing in a hit and run, Nige adopted the youngster and raised her as his own.
Upon his return in December – when he revealed his dementia diagnosis – it was explained that he had been estranged from his stepdaughter for quite some time.
Despite that, she remains constant in his memory. As it has gradually worsened, he has mistook a number of Albert Square youngsters for Clare, and become convinced that she is only 10 years old.
Nigel first referred to her when he encountered Lexi Pearce (Isabella Brown).
Lexi was unaware of his young-onset dementia and wanted to know where her grandad Phil (Steve McFadden) was, but a confused Nigel referred to her as Clare and she quickly became spooked.
More recently, he branded Harvey Monroe a ‘paedophile’ when he spotted him partaking in the Easter egg hunt with Hope Fowler (Isabelle Smith).
He tried to grab the child, thinking that Harvey had taken Clare.
In scenes that aired last week, on VE Day, he was adamant that the late Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) and Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) were marking the occasion as they did in 1995.
The residents quickly banded together to host a party so that he wasn’t disappointed.
At the war memorial, he believed that Clare and Debbie were stood beside him.
When he arrived at the celebrations, he kissed Jean Slater (Gillian Wright), believing her to be Debbie.
In upcoming episodes, it’s Clare’s 40th birthday and Nigel is heartbroken that they’re no longer in contact.
Confidante Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) is his shoulder to cry on and encourages him to build bridges, but later gets on the wrong side of him.
Will Clare put in a surprise appearance?
It seems unlikely, as Gemma Bissix has reprised her role in another soap – Hollyoaks, where she played a character of the same name, Clare Devine.
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Some of her EastEnders storylines during her initial 90s stint included bullying friend Sonia Jackson (Natalie Cassidy), and a relationship with Josh Saunders (S Club’s Jon Lee).
Clare was devastated to learn that Josh’s mum Julie (Karen Henthorn) was her teacher, and had been dating Nigel. In 1998, Julie secured a new job in Scotland, with the family all moving to join her.
It would be another 10 years until we saw Clare again, now a gold-digger, who tried to get her claws into a number of Walford men.
