BIG SURPRISE AHEAD!!! EastEnders airs surprise exit for much-loved character in early iPlayer release
EastEnders has aired emotional final scenes for Julie Bates, as she says goodbye to Walford after her husband Nigel’s funeral. While fans had hoped that she would stick around, this week Julie told Phil Mitchell that she was keen to return to Scotland, where her happiest memories with Nigel took place.
Julie wasted no time in preparing to leave, and with her son Josh and Nigel’s stepdaughter Clare having left after the funeral, Nigel’s chickens were collected from Phil’s house and taken to a city farm.
Over a cup of tea in the Square in today’s episode, Julie told Phil that there was something she had to do that she needed his help with. She said that despite claiming to have opened the letter Nigel wrote to her before he died, she actually never found the courage to read it.
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With moral support from Phil, Julie finally opened the letter and was deeply moved by her late husband’s words – but she was also shocked to find that Nigel had left a small pension.
“It’s not to be used for bills,” Nigel wrote. “I want you to go to India and live for me. Thank you for being my wife. You are my world. Be happy. I love you always. Thank you for loving me for the rest of my life.”
After breaking down in tears, Julie made a call and discovered that there was a sum of money. She offered Phil some money for looking after Nigel for so long, but he refused and insisted that she honours his husband’s wishes and goes on the trip that she and Nigel once planned to go on together.
Julie and Phil went to The Vic for lunch, where she shared her plans to head back to Scotland then visit India and scatter Nigel’s ashes. The community was keen to plan a proper send off for her, but Phil realised that Julie was hiding something.
Julie said she was going to the toilet but used the opportunity to quietly slip out of the pub, choosing to leave the Square without saying goodbye.
Later, Phil returned home, confused about why Julie had left the pub early, and he found that she’d left him a brief farewell note, thanking him for everything.
Phil rushed to the tube station to find Julie, and he thankfully managed to catch her before she left. The pair shared a poignant final goodbye and agreed to look to the future for Nigel – before Julie left Walford to start the next chapter of her life.