EastEnders tonight reveals a devastating secret after shock face returned to Walford

Tonight's EastEnders will see growing concern for Phil Mitchell as he continues to act out of character, leading to his family staging an intervention. But it soon turns out there is another secret being hidden right under their noses.

The episode, which airs on BBC One tonight, Wednesday, January 8, and is available on BBC iPlayer now, will see Nigel Bates, who recently made a shock return to Albert Square, turn down Phil's surprisingly generous offer to hand his half of The Boxing Den over to him.

While Billy is miffed that this 'newcomer' has managed to get his hands on some of Phil's empire just a week into his time on the Square, Sharon is stunned that Phil made such a huge business decision without talking to her first.

Sharon confronts Phil in the pub, asking if he is doing this to spite her now that she is with Teddy. But Phil is adamant that this has nothing to do with her love life and reveals he is done with the business and is just tired.

Teddy and Sharon worry about Phil's outburst and put two and two together and think he must be gravely ill and that's why he's giving away his assets.

Gathering Billy and Jay for a family meeting, Sharon and Teddy decide they have to go round to Phil's and confront the situation, convinced this is the only way they are going to get him to open up. However, once they are in his house, they're shocked at how messy things are and their worries that something is seriously wrong only grow.

Of course, Phil is adamant that he's fine, and tells them he doesn't have cancer. However, Sharon is more worried it is something like dementia that he is suffering from... not realising she is barking up the wrong tree entirely.

As the family talks, Nigel makes a swift escape from Phil's house and stumbles into the Square before finding refuge in the laundrette. But Yolande sees him and follows to check he is okay - only to see an alarm going off on his phone reminding him to eat his dinner.

Nigel explains that sometimes if he is busy he forgets to eat and soon the penny drops that Nigel is ill. After swearing Yolande to secrecy, Nigel admits he has dementia and came to Walford to see some familiar faces.

Will Yolande be able to help Nigel get the support he needs?

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30 pm on BBC One. Episodes are released early on BBC iPlayer at 6 am Monday to Thursday.