George wants to be there for Phil after Nigel shares his secret in EastEnders

But will Phil begin to open up?

 22-28 MARCH

Back home and grateful for his family and Nigel’s support, Phil isn’t ready for his friends and neighbours to know he’s been in a psychiatric hospital.

In the café, Nigel makes some mistakes and Phil blurts out to a frustrated Bernie that Nigel is ill. Angry, Nigel snaps back.

Later, Nigel is deeply apologetic for sharing his secret, but Phil tries to brave it out and with George wanting to be there for Phil, the pair find it difficult to open up.

When Linda texts to ask how his appointment went, Nigel lies that he went to see the doctor. Turning to Linda, George asks her how best to support Phil, and she advises him not to give up on talking to his friend.

Later, George asks Phil to be his sparring partner at The Boxing Den, and the activity helps Phil get comfortable enough to start opening up a little.

Following the successful session, George goes to see Nigel to suggest a new regular club called ‘Box and Bantz’ for over 40s at the gym.

EastEnders continues Mondays to Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One with first look episodes available from 6am on BBC iPlayer