EastEnders has ‘upset’ some viewers following the tense opening scene of Wednesday’s episode (October 22).

During the latest trip to Walford, the aftermath of Nigel Bates’ (Paul Bradley) hit and run weighed heavily as he replayed events over in his mind. However, due to his dementia diagnosis, Nigel is unable to recount the exact details of the incident, leaving him distressed.

As fans will know, Nigel secretly took his beloved car for a spin around the Square one last time, but he ended up causing a crash that seriously injured both Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) and Gina Knight (Francesca Henry).

In an effort to protect her husband, Julie Bates (Karen Henthorn) has taken responsibility for the accident and informed Nigel that she was driving the car. However, Wednesday’s episode opened with Nigel having terrifying and distorted visions of the accident.

Specific points of the accident flashed up on screen, including Jasmine pushing Gina out of the way of the oncoming vehicle.

Gina is seen unconscious on the floor, while Jasmine screams in pain while lying in the road and muttering words.

Nigel remembered Jasmine saying “she needs to pay for what she did”, as the camera closed in on her face.

Waking up on the sofa, Nigel was panting and shaking in fear, and he made a note of Jasmine’s words as he tried to piece together the evening’s events.

He quickly asked Julie details about the car crash, but she denied his involvement. “We need to keep this to ourselves”, she demanded.

EastEnders fans were caught off-guard by the special effect sequence opening the episode, and they were not impressed.

Taking to X, one person wrote: “The way I thought I’d switched on Doctor Who by mistake #EastEnders.”

A second joked: “NO WHO DOWNLOADED THE VFX EXTENSION TO THE COMPUTER AGAIN.”

A third chimed in: “Not us copying Emmerdale and Corrie with the OTT VFX.”

“Not the nostril close-ups!” one exclaimed, while another added: “Those effects—are we watching Coronation Street?”#EastEnders.”

“What in the ITV vfx department is going on here? Don’t do it Ben! STOP! #EastEnders”, urged another.