There’s nothing the residents of Walford love more than a latte and bacon butty down at Kathy Beale’s (Gillian Taylforth) Bridge Street Café.
But that’s all about to change in EastEnders next week as Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) takes firm hold of the legendary eatery, and fans are not pleased.
Viewers will remember back to November when Rocky Cotton (Brian Conley) rigged the electrics in the café to trigger a raging inferno, hoping the insurance money would help him pay back his debts to Nish.
Learning that Rocky was behind it, and therefore responsible for the injuries sustained by Bobby (Clay Milner Russell) and Peter Beale (Thomas Law) in the blaze, Nish blackmailed him into convincing Kathy to sell the land at a reduced price so he could build a new residential development.
In classic Nish fashion, he didn’t keep his side of the deal to stay quiet about the fire and quickly got to work telling Kathy about Rocky’s responsibility for the crime.
Following Denise’s attack on Nish and Linda’s murder of Keanu on Christmas Day, pressure mounted on Kathy to shop her partner to the police following fears that he remembered seeing the ladies moving Keanu’s body to the café, where he remains concealed under the floor.
Is there no stopping him? (Picture: BBC)
After spending much of January in hospital, Nish marched back into Albert Square and set to work redeveloping the derelict café, ensuring he took full ownership from wife Suki (Balvinder Sopal) who has so far taken desperate measures to avoid the body being found.
In new pictures show, Nish has well and truly put his stamp on the place, giving it a fresh lick of paint and new signage, and replacing the iconic Kathy’s neon light in the window with a like-for-like dupe reading Nish’s – anything to rub salt into Suki’s wound.
Fans will remember that the name of the café has changed many times over the years, with previous monikers including Cindy’s, Mandy’s and Ali’s Café.
Despite that, dastardly Nish’s changes seem to have triggered fans more than ever, with one taking to social media to say: ‘I ACTUALLY FEEL SICK’.
‘nish’s cafe….rip kathy’s cafe,’ added one user. ‘I HATE THIS GIVE IT BACK TO HER.’
‘I…I… I hate it…’ cried another.
Some fans have also been quick to add their own theories about the café’s future, and whether Keanu’s body will be hidden for much longer. One fan theorised: ‘It’s not gonna be open for very long, cause the minute they find Keanu’s body, it’s gonna be shut down again.’
One fan was more diplomatic with the changes, taking to the X/Twitter conversation to say: ‘I don’t think it looks that bad, minus Nish’s name in the window, it is a very good update while still feeling like the old cafe.’
Meanwhile, one fan was more concerned about where Kathy, Denise, Sharon, Stacey, Suki and Linda were going to get their brekkie fix: ‘I can’t see #thesix ever being able to eat or drink after the events of Christmas!’
The new look café opens up in Monday 5th February’s episode, with Nish installing Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) as manageress and an overnight leak sparks fear with The Six when the floor looks like it may need replacing. I’m just hoping that the fabulously mute Marie continues to hold her position behind the counter after 23 years.
