EastEnders’ Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) is one of Walford’s most dangerous women – particularly should you mess with one of her beloved children.
After all, Nicola first rocked up in Walford when her boy, Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway), then in a relationship with Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine), was arrested for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Shireen Bashar, and she was determined to see him set free, knowing he was innocent.
She knew because she was the one who’d killed Shireen, and ruthlessly paid a heavy to bury her body in the foundations of a building site.
As I said, Nicola is not one to get on the bad side of. Just ask Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).
Penny’s fully aware of this, too, and despite her misgivings about who the father of her baby truly is, she’s determined to not rock the boat and convince the deeply suspicious Mitchell matriarch that the baby is Vinny Panesar’s (Shiv Jalota) and not Harry’s.
Everyone fell in love with Penny and Vinny as the two awkwardly circled each other after their New Years Eve bunk up, including Penny actress, Kitty.
‘He’s everything Penny has never had in a relationship. She has always gone for a bad boy, and the beauty of Penny and Vinny is that they are honest with each other,’ she said.
‘He brings out a soft, warm side of Penny, something we’ve never seen from her before. They can learn a lot from each other; they both have qualities the other could benefit from.
‘Penny is feisty, dominant, and always says what she thinks, and Vinny needs to stand up for himself against his mum and family. Penny could learn from Vinny’s kind‑natured heart and his good values, qualities she believes she doesn’t naturally possess.’
Encouraged by bestie, Gina Knight (Francesca Henry), to pursue things with Vinny and after a few awkward stumbling blocks, they decided to see how things would pan out, though their fledgling relationship was hit with a seismic shock when Penny discovered that she was pregnant.
Vinny’s warm, supportive nature convinced Penny to go ahead with the pregnancy, with a promise that he’d be by her side throughout it all, even standing up to his terrifying mother, Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), when she wasn’t shy about displaying her disapproval over the turn of events.
What should have been momentous occasion with Penny and Vinny attending their first scan soon descended into a nightmare for the mother to be, though.
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With Vinny running late while trying to secure financing for the new shop he’s leased for Penny, she headed to the scan alone, and her face crumbled when the nurse told her that the baby is further along than originally thought.
While Penny decided not to share the news with Vinny when he eventually arrived, she desperately turned to her cousins Lauren and Oscar Branning (Jacqueline Jossa and Pierre Counihan-Moullier), and revealed that if the baby was conceived before New Year’s, it can only mean one thing.
Vinny isn’t the father. Harry is.
While she determined to keep shtum, it wasn’t long until her secret came under major threat from one of the worst people who could discover it: Nicola.
When Suki launched another verbal attack on Penny, fearsome Nicola stepped in to help.
‘From Nicola’s perspective, she’s simply trying to speak with Penny when Suki interrupts, which infuriates her!’ said Laura.
‘Her opinion of Suki is already low given the recent issues involving Ravi and Harry. With Penny in the early stages of pregnancy, Nicola understands the anxieties that come with that experience. She also has a soft spot for Penny, who has supported Harry throughout his recent rehabilitation.’
It’s Harry who lead Nicola to her, rather correct, assumption, when he later tells his her that girlfriend Gina does not want children, and let slip that he slept with Penny before Christmas. Nicola, mind whirring, easily put two and two together.
Nicola wasted no time in confronting Penny, demanding a DNA test: ‘Nicola wants clarity as soon as possible on whether the baby is Harry’s,’ Laura said.
‘She’s incredibly protective over him and carries guilt about what he has been through.
‘She also feels she has fallen short as a mother, so if the baby is his, she wants to support him from the outset.’
Nicola’s premature labour bought Penny some time, but tonight saw her turn to Oscar to forge a set of fake DNA results.
Armed with papers confirming Vinny to be the father, Benny presented them to Nicola, who seemed satisfied, but delivered a final threat, declaring that should Penny do anything to rock Harry and Gina’s relationship, she’d make her wish she’d never been born.
It seems that, for now, Penny’s got Nicola off her back but come on, this is Soapland! It’s not a case of if, but when the secret will be blown and whether Penny will find herself in the same position as Shireen – dead by Nicola’s hand.
