Delighted EastEnders viewers branded last night’s episode (Tuesday, April 19) as ‘iconic’ after Sam Mitchell’s (Kim Medcalf) long-awaited return resulted in an ultimate showdown with Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).
It seems Sam’s highly anticipated comeback has reopened old wounds for EastEnders women Kat and Sharon as they were less than happy to see Sam rock up to the Square.
Sam wasted no time in throwing insults at Kat and Sharon, before saying, “Come on, Kat, chop-chop. Show me to my room,” and strutting off with her luggage in tow.
Back at the house, Kat was adamant that Sam wouldn’t be staying.
“Don’t make yourself too comfortable. There’s no room here for you,” she fumed and soon enough, it became a war of words between the women, with Kat bringing up the fact that Sam tried to frame her daughter for Sharon’s dad, Den Watts’ (Leslie Grantham) murder back in 2005.
Sharon questioned if Sam had spoken to Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), to which she said: “Yeah, yeah, called me in. Said he needed me to sort a couple of things out. Ben being the first.”
Kat pressed her for more information but Sam refused to tell her, saying that it was “confidential.”
More slander was thrown between the women, before Sam was kicked out of the house and rocked up to The Queen Vic for a drink.
There, she bumped into her ex partner Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), along with his new wife Denise Fox (Diane Parish) and her own son, Ricky who she didn’t even recognise.
After giving Jack some parenting criticisms, she left to find her next target — her nephew, Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden).
Ben was stunned to see her show up at the Albert, but his surprise soon turned into anger as she tried to give him money, plane tickets and the keys to a flat in Spain for six months to get away from his ‘troubles.’
“Take your plan and shove it. And you can tell my dad I don’t and I won't ever need his help,” Ben seethed.
Despite Sam ordering him to do “exactly what I tell you to do,” Ben refused, telling her: “Who in their right mind would do what you told them to do? You ain’t just a car crash, you’re a total pile-up. Dad must have been desperate to call you.”
Later on, Sam was drinking alone until Sharon showed up asking to join her. Sam wasn’t all too happy with her company and their chat soon turned into a heated confrontation after Sam accused Sharon of having an affair with Phil.
The pair took a brutal trip down memory lane, with Sam bringing up Sharon’s scandalous affair with Phil’s brother Grant (Ross Kemp) while she was married to Phil.
It wasn’t long before Sharon threw a glass of wine in Sam’s face after she made an inappropriate comment about Sharon’s ex-husband Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman).
“We’ve had Brexit and Covid. We don’t need you here. Go home, Sam,” Sharon warned.
Sam soon admitted that the real reason she was back in Walford was to meet one of Phil’s sinister business associates, Jonah, which sent shockwaves through Sharon.
“I’m going nowhere love, so you better start playing nice,” Sam advised.
“There’s something you should know about me, sweetheart. I don’t play so nice these days. Cross me and I will put you down,” Sharon threatened.
Fans thoroughly enjoyed the ‘iconic’ fighting scenes between the women on social media…
Sam's scenes with Kat and Sharon were both iconic and a good use of history. #EastEndersApril 20, 2022
Catch up on last nights @bbceastenders . Absolutely loving the dialogue between sharon,sam and Kat. What a breath of fresh air sam has brought to the square. Yes she’s bad but she’s definitely Guna be good. #EastEndersApril 20, 2022
I’ve ascended seeing Sam Mitchell, Kat Slater and Sharon all together #EastEndersApril 19, 2022
Sam’s return to Albert Square has injected some much needed energy into #EastEnders - loved her scenes with Sharon, Kat, Ben and Jack. Didn’t quite buy that she didn’t recognise her son though.April 19, 2022
This scene with Kat and Sharon and Sam has been well worth the wait. #EastEndersApril 19, 2022
Great episode loving Kim back as Sam and her quips with Sharon and kat and that new bar manager Lewis is defiantly fitting in @bbceastenders #EastEndersApril 19, 2022
#Eastenders Sam, Kat and Sharon going at it HARD already 😍April 19, 2022
kat, sharon and sam all in one room 😂😂😂 #EastendersApril 19, 2022
EastEnders continues tonight at 7:30pm on BBC One.
