EastEnders exposes huge Nicola Mitchell bombshell in early iPlayer release

EastEnders spoilers follow for Thursday’s episode (1 October), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC iPlayer and hasn’t yet aired on TV.

EastEnders has exposed another huge bombshell about Nicola Mitchell’s past, as the secret she shares with brother-in-law Ned Hawkins is revealed. This week, Nicola faced the prospect of losing Harry’s Barn, but Ned used a sinister tactic to drum up the cash required.

Nicola was spooked, however, when Ned brought up a time when he helped her out 20 years ago, something that no one else knows.

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In today’s episode, Nicola was anxious about other people finding out about Ned’s money. Meanwhile, Rose woke up the rest of her hungover family, who still believed they hadn’t saved Harry’s Barn.

Nicola stopped Ned before he could tell everyone about his heroics and made sure to ask him about why he brought up this mysterious event the previous night.

While Nicola promised Ned that she would pay him back with interest, Ned had his sights set on co-ownership of the club. She was completely stunned and didn’t want to accept his money as a result.

Instead, Nicola attempted to sweet talk the bailiff into giving her more time to raise the cash. It looked like her efforts were successful – but Ned stepped in and sneakily deterred the bailiff from giving her another chance.

Nicola was devastated to discover that her plan hadn’t worked, but despite Ned trying again, she still refused to accept his money. And the strings attached to his investment.

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Scrambling for another option before her final deadline, Nicola went to a pawnbroker and even considered selling her cash to generate the funds. Gemma offered to help brainstorm, but her ideas fell flat.

Rose then arrived with good news as Ned had revealed to her that he has the money to save the club. While Nicola was still reluctant, her mum told her to swallow her pride and made a brutal dig about the past.

When Gemma comforted her sister, she discovered that Ned was after a share of the business. However, Gemma saw this as a good thing and encouraged her to do whatever it takes to support her kids.

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That evening, Nicola finally told Ned she would accept his offer. He was only too happy to sign the papers that made him the co-owner of Harry’s Barn. But talk turned to Ned’s honesty, and Nicola remarked that he hadn’t told his wife that he was involved with covering up how her dad died. It turns out Nicola ran his car into a ditch.

This is a different version of events to how Nicola described the day of her dad’s death to George earlier this year, and she swore to Ned that what happened was an accident.

But now they share a business, will Nicola risk her deadly secret about her father being exposed if she doesn’t follow his orders?

EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.

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