Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian) made an unexpected return to EastEnders on Tuesday, appearing in prison as he tried to reach Nicola (Laura Doddington) on the anniversary of her father's death.
Nicola struggles each year on the anniversary, as she had a difficult relationship with her abusive father. This year proved more overwhelming due to the arrival of sisters Gemma (Patricia Potter) and Jodie (Anna Constable), who asked her to help teach a thug a lesson, and the introduction of mum Rose (Marian McLoughlin), which challenged Nicola the most.
Teddy's prison call
Teddy, who knows Nicola better than most, worried about her on this emotional day and decided to reach out. He was last seen in December, jailed for life for the murder of Okie (Aayan Ibikunle Shoderu), who Harry (Elijah Holloway) accidentally stabbed. Teddy took the blame to spare Harry further torment.
In the present, Nicola ignored Teddy's calls, so George Knight (Colin Salmon) answered instead. Teddy urged George to talk to his partner, revealing there is more to Nicola's hatred of this day than meets the eye.
Nicola's confession
George confronted Nicola, who broke down in tears as she recalled the day her dad died. She revealed that before the crash, she found him attacking her mum Rose.
'I knew my dad was a lot of things,' she said through tears, 'but that?'. Nicola said her dad 'went white as a sheet' when caught, while Rose called the situation 'none of her business'.
Nicola told her father to leave or she'd call Teddy. The drunk man got into his car and drove off. Rose said she'd never forgive Nicola if anything happened to her husband. The abuser died, and Nicola confirmed Rose kept her word, even trying to turn her sisters against her.
Can Rose and Nicola reconcile?
The episode leaves viewers wondering whether Rose and Nicola can mend their broken relationship. EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One, with episodes streaming from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
