Walford’s finest have gathered to support Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) in EastEnders.
As viewers of the BBC One soap know, Nige is living with a young-onset dementia diagnosis.
Earlier this week, he made the decision to decision to leave Walford, after best pal and housemate Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) had learned of his plan to take his own life, should his memory worsen.
This came as a result of an explosive outburst he made at Easter, branding Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) a paedophile and accusing him of taking his adoptive daughter Clare.
The child he was referring to was in fact Hope Fowler.
After an explosive row with Phil, Nigel packed his bags. A short time later, Phil discovered that, Nigel was missing.
In shocking scenes, a group of youths targeted ailing Nige, knocking him to the ground and leaving him to die.
After Phil and Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) formed a search effort, they tracked him down to the hospital.
The men continued to bicker, with Phil convinced that having Nigel sectioned under the mental health act would be the best way to combat his suicidal thoughts.
However, once home, a huge sacrifice was made.
Phil agreed to be Nigel’s full time carer – until the end. Nigel was blown away by such a big gesture, and told his friend that it was too much to ask, but Phil wouldn’t take no for an answer.
In tonight’s episode, Nige was overwhelmed to see that the Walford hard man had spent the morning undertaking extensive research into living someone with dementia.
He’d even cut Nigel’s toast into tiny pieces – something which didn’t go down very well.
