EastEnders viewers were left stunned as they realised where they had seen the actress who plays Nigel Bates’ wife Julie before.
EastEnders fans work out where they’ve seen star who plays Nigel’s wife before (Image: BBC)
EastEnders fans were left stunned when they realised why the actress playing Nigel Bates’ wife Julie seemed so familiar.
Nigel, portrayed by Paul Bradley, made a dramatic return to the BBC One soap last year, over thirty years since his first appearance. In a heart-wrenching plot twist, it was revealed that Nigel was grappling with dementia and had abruptly left his wife Julie Haye, played by Karen Henthorn.
Nigel confessed that he didn’t want to become a burden to Julie due to his dementia, leading him to disappear.
After finding his way to Walford, old friend Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) took Nigel under his wing, providing care and support. Nigel returned the favour when Phil was battling his own mental health issues.
Karen plays Julie on EastEnders
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However, this week saw the return of Nigel’s wife Julie to Albert Square, in search of her husband who she believed had been missing since the previous year, reports OK!.
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Arriving in Walford in Tuesday’s episode (July 15), Julie was taken aback to discover that Nigel didn’t recognise her and was suffering from dementia.
Despite this, Julie pledged to stand by Nigel and informed Phil that she would be taking him back to Scotland. Phil attempted to prevent this, but ultimately, Nigel and Julie departed Walford, leaving Phil heartbroken.
The character made her return to the soap(Image: BBC)
Meanwhile, viewers at home have only just connected the dots as to where they’ve seen the actress who portrays Julie before.
In addition to EastEnders, actress Karen Henthorn has graced screens in BBC’s Doctors, Sky One comedy Trollied, and prison drama Time.
She also portrayed Teresa Bryant on ITV’s Coronation Street from 2007 to 2010. As the nasty Teresa, she brought chaos to the cobbles, even going as far as to poison her former partner Jerry Morton (played by Michael Starke).
Fans are only just realising she appeared on Corrie
Fans reminisced about Karen’s previous soap opera stint, with one viewer commenting on Facebook: “Loved her in Corrie as Theresa and her scraps with Liz McDonald over Lloyd and Kelly Crabbtree when she got the mop on her in underworld.”
Another fan recalled the actress’s role, stating: “Ahhh that’s where I seen her before as I couldn’t think which soap.”
Agreeing with the sentiment, a third piped up: “Oh yeah I totally forgot.” Reinforcing these reflections, yet another added enthusiastically: “She was great!”
