EastEnders fans have been left horrified by the news that romance may be set to blossom between Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) and Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) following the revelation of Phil Mitchell’s infidelity in upcoming scenes.
When Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) tells the Queen Vic that Phil slept with Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit), Kat will be left gobsmacked.
Following the bombshell, Nish will offer Kat a flat to stay in rent free, and after a showdown with Phil in the Vic, asks her out on a date.
At first she tells him it’s too soon, and when Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) let’s slip what he did to Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), Kat heads over to confront him.
However, she soon softens to him and agrees to the date – a decision which has left fans up in arms.
Taking to Twitter/X, user @EE_Kalfie revealed that they ‘weren’t ready’ to witness these scenes, while Joanna thought the idea of Kat choosing Nish over Stacey was ‘rubbish’.
Other fans expressed their concerns that that Kat’s character was being ‘ruined’, suggesting that she would never choose to date someone like Nish, especially after warnings from Stacey to steer clear.
While @emflem01 called the story ‘an offence’, Tas pointed out how ‘random’ this pairing seemed, and user @KitKatSlater explained that Kat would never ‘buy Nish’s narrative’.
However, other fans pointed out Kat’s previous self-destructive behaviour in difficult times, suggesting that perhaps the decision to date Nish was in character after all – especially given her history with the likes of Andy Hunter, Michael Moon, Derek Branning and Phil Mitchell himself.
The idea of Kat being lured in by abusive Nish has left other fans concerned for her safety, worrying about the direction this story may end up taking.
Nish put wife Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) through hell during their marriage with his psychological and physical abuse, and his controlling behaviour left her completely trapped with him.
With Suki having been able to finally escape, could he be set to do the same to Kat?
With Nish being such a calculating character, others wondered if his decision to date Kat may have an ulterior motive, with Twitter/X user Ryan suggesting a possible ‘business move’.
Alternatively, Ian suggested that it may be an attempt to find out more information about what The Six really got up to on Christmas Day, with Nish already starting to grow suspicious.
As of right now, it is unclear what the future holds for Kat and Nish, and whether or not their date will be successful remains to be seen.
Will these two end up becoming a couple, or will it fizzle out as quickly as it began?
