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EastEnders Brings Back Gemma Bissix as Clare Bates After 18 Years

The brief comeback advances Nigel Bates’s dementia arc by revisiting a fractured family bond.

Overview

  • The BBC released first-look images teasing Bissix’s short stint, with episodes due to air soon.
  • Executive producer Ben Wadey says revisiting Clare and Nigel was essential as Nigel’s condition progresses and the family considers his care needs.
  • Bissix calls the return emotional and like “coming home,” citing her bond with the late Dame Barbara Windsor and personal experience of dementia in a friend’s family.
  • The appearance is limited to a few episodes, with filming completed in December and January.
  • The storyline reunites Bissix with Paul Bradley and Karen Henthorn and follows Clare’s 2008 exit without disclosing key plot turns.