EastEnders’ Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) thought she’d seen the last of her hectic family following their unexpected visit to Walford earlier this month – but boy, she’s about to find out just how wrong she was.
Her sisters Gemma Roper (Patricia Potter) and Jodie Hawkins (Anna Constable) arrive back on Albert Square next week, and they are not alone.
This time, they are set to be joined by Gemma’s husband Ned Roper (Jamie Bamber) and their son Ryder Roper (Felix Uff), while Nicola’s worst nightmare becomes a reality when her mother Rose Hawkins (Marian McLoughlin) moves onto the Square.
Earlier this month, BBC soap bosses surprised fans with a previously unannounced appearance from Gemma, Jodie and Rose, when they rocked up on Nicola’s doorstep for help dealing with Gemma’s daughter’s abusive boyfriend.
It was an uncomfortable reunion for Nicola, who has kept her family at arm’s length for the past 20 years due to her complicated relationship with Rose, who blames Nicola for the death of her father.
During this short stint, fans saw Nicola open up to her partner George Knight (Colin Salmon) about her role in her dad’s demise, after he’d spent years abusing her and Rose.
After they departed Walford, Nicola believed she wouldn’t be seeing her family again for a long time, but her world is turned upside down next week when Gemma and Jodie return with Ryder in tow, begging for a place to stay after their home is destroyed by a fire.
They manage to convince a reluctant Nicola to let them stay at No. 1 on the condition Rose stays away. But her ultimatum is short-lived when Ned later arrives accompanied by Rose.
‘This family are essentially refugees from Essex. They rock up with cardboard boxes and suitcases with nowhere to go,’ Jamie Bamber, who plays Ned, tells Metro.
‘We knock on the door and knock into her house like a tornado, like a hot mess of people whose lives are ruined.’
After Nicola walks back on the agreement, she’s later horrified to learn that Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) has offered to let Gemma and Ned stay at The Vic after it transpires that the landlord is an old friend of Ned’s
Meanwhile, Rose is banished to Peacock Palace, where she causes headaches for owners Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe), who are desperate to see the back of her.
After Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) tells Gemma and Ned their stay at the Vic can only be for one night, the family become desperate to secure a more permanent arrangement at Nicola’s, so they hatch a risky plan to resolve things between Nicola and Rose. But instead of healing old wounds, it seems their relationship is more broken than ever.
Explaining their fractured relationship, Laura Doddington, who plays Nicola, tells Metro: ‘I think they’re cut from a similar cloth, Nicola and her mum,’ Laura said. ‘It’s one of the reasons they probably don’t get on is because they are quite manipulative women.
‘I think we’ve seen that from Nicola over the last two years. She’s a queen manipulator, and she’s learned that somewhere. I would imagine we can see more of that without giving too much away.’
Eventually, Nicola relents and agrees to let the Hawkins clan stay at No.1 with her and George. However, there’s another bombshell in store when the truth about their arrival is revealed…
Teasing what’s in store, EastEnders’ executive producer Ben Wadey says: ‘As you see them in their first weeks, there will be a lot of change ahead, and things aren’t as they seem…’
EastEnders airs these scenes from Monday 31st August at 7.30pm on BBC One or stream first from 6am on iPlayer.
