EastEnders fans are hoping Debbie Bates will return to Walford 30 years after her shock death.

During the 1990s, Debbie, played by Nicola Duffett on the BBC soap, was the sweet wife of Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), and together they raised their daughter, Clare (Gemma Bissix), as a tight-knit family unit.

But after only two years in Walford, Debbie died in 1995 after stepping out into the road and being hit by a passing car, leaving Nigel devastated.

However, widower Nigel found love again with Clare’s teacher, Julie Haye (played by Karen Henthorn), and the pair married before leaving for a new life in Scotland in 1998.

During Christmas 2024, Nigel made a spectacular return to Walford and soon confessed he had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia.

Next month, EastEnders will air a special episode as Nigel’s symptoms intensify and he revisits the past.

In emotional scenes, Nigel’s memory and altered reality will transport him back to 1990, where he will meet Pat Butcher (Pam St. Clement) and Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson), and fans hope to catch a glimpse of his late wife, Debbie.

Taking to social media, one EastEnders fan wrote: “Nigel’s first wife Debbie needs to return for Christmas special”, as a second demanded: “Debbie and Clare should be back, resurrected for Nigel’s storyline #EastEnders @bbceastenders”.

“Did Pat and Nigel interact much or is it that Pam is still alive to return, why not Debbie and Claire #Eastenders @bbceastenders”, suggested another.

Where is Nicola Duffett now?

Nicola Duffett found fame in 1992 when she played a supporting role in the Oscar-winning film Howards End, before being cast as Debbie Bates in EastEnders from 1993 to 1995.

Following a two-year stint on the soap, Nicola, now 62, went on to star as Cat Matthews in Family Affairs from 1998 to 2005 and was living a life of luxury thanks to a hefty pay packet.

Taking three holidays a year, eating at fancy restaurants, and shopping at Harrods were normal occurrences until work dried up, along with her bank balance.

Family Affairs was axed by Channel 5 in 2005 after the show’s bosses believed the soap wasn’t drawing a large enough audience, with the final episode airing in December of the same year.

“I wish I had learned to save, but we actors and actresses just are not very business-minded”, she told The Croydon Advertiser in 2009. “I just went into a bad place when they axed Family Affairs.”

Nicola explained how she transitioned from being a TV star to signing on at the Job Centre. She said, “I have gone from not caring about how much stuff costs to checking the prices of absolutely everything.

“But I love it – picking up a bargain – it is so much more satisfying than going out every night to posh restaurants and just paying the bill.” She was made bankrupt in 2007.

Thankfully, Nicola’s acting career picked up again and she starred as Reet Ellison in Endeavour (2020), Amy Penketh in The Coroner (2016), Daisy Skelton in Waterloo Road (2013), and Eileen in Made In Dagenham, among other roles.

She also landed the role of Lucie Fernsby on Coronation Street in 2020 and appeared in four episodes. Most recently, she portrayed Bernice in Murder, They Hope and Geraldine in the 2022 Amazon Prime series Agatha Raisin.

Will Nicola reprise her role as Walford’s Debbie Bates for one last time?