EastEnders viewers are convinced they have figured out the reason behind Nicola Mitchell's intense hatred for Chelsea Fox, following a blackmail plot and a new arrival in Walford. The flashforward episode at the start of 2026 showed Nicola (Laura Doddington) glaring at her employee Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) with undisguised animosity, but the cause remained a mystery until recent episodes.
Blackmail scheme unfolds
In the latest episode, Nicola decided to blackmail Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) after Eve punched her in the face. Nicola demanded £50,000, threatening to report Eve's violent behaviour to authorities. This was especially damaging as the couple were about to welcome a foster child, Ria (Aaria Sharma), and any violence could jeopardise their fostering hopes.
After a tense conversation with her son Harry (Elijah Holloway), Nicola backed down but kept video footage of the punch, telling Eve and Suki she would save it "for a rainy day."
Fans theorise Chelsea's involvement
Fans believe Chelsea, already struggling with her mother Denise Fox's (Diane Parish) cancer diagnosis and her son Jordan's (Jahsaiah Williams) recent car accident, will interfere with Nicola's plans. One fan wrote on social media: "My theory is that somehow Chelsea destroys the footage. Reason why: I feel she wouldn’t want Suki and Eve to not be able to raise Ria, likewise with her own situation plus Denise’s cancer. She wouldn’t want Ria to lose Suki and Eve like she could lose Denise. Maybe Chelsea and Nicola get into a fight because of the footage."
Another viewer agreed: "I think something very similar regarding the Chelsea/Nicola flash forward fallout. I have a feeling Chelsea will make a passing comment to Suki or Eve about the cost of Jordan's physio and how she doesn't trust Sheila, so they'll offer her 10k to find and delete the footage. Nicola isn't the kindest boss and with the pressures of everything her family are facing, I wouldn't find it too unreasonable that Chelsea would risk her job for a lump sum dangled in front of her."
Additional tensions on the Square
The blackmail plot is not the only source of conflict. Chelsea's stepsister Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) is pregnant and initially claimed Suki's son Vinny (Shiv Jalota) is the father. However, after learning her pregnancy is further along, Penny discovered that Nicola's son Harry could be the father. Nicola tried to blackmail Penny into a foetal paternity test, knowing Harry wants children. Penny faked the results to protect her friendship with Harry's girlfriend Gina Knight (Francesca Henry), but secrets rarely stay hidden in Albert Square.
With multiple storylines converging, fans are eagerly awaiting the New Year's Day episode to see if their theories prove correct.
