a bit of a wallie. Nigel is very well-meaning. He was best mates at school with Phil and Grant. Where they would use their fists, he would use jokes to get out of trouble." Author Kate Lock has described him as "a lovely, lovely man with two flaws: his inability to say 'no' to a fry-up and his faith in Grant Mitchell." Lock suggested that Nigel and Grant were diametrically opposed personalities. Lock added, "Nigel was overweight, shy, had the world's worst taste in shirts and ties and sported a mop of shaggy curls reminiscent of 70s footballers, so it wasn't often he found success with the opposite sex, although women were drawn to his gentleness and humour more than he realised." Author Rupert Smith classified Nigel as a "soft touch" character, the type of characters who were " confused, sexually bungling men [...] These poor souls exist to be trampled, disappointed and taken for a ride by any crook or schemer that crosses their path."<ref name="20years">{{cite book |last= Smith|first= Rupert|title= EastEnders: 20 years in Albert Square |year=2005|publisher=BBC books|isbn=978-0-563-52165-5|title-link= EastEnders spin-offs#Non-fiction books}}</ref> In 1993, two characters central to Nigel's narrative are introduced: A love-interest Debbie Tyler (Nicola Duffett) and her daughter Clare (Gemma Bissix). Their introduction stems around a storyline focusing on spousal abuse, when it is revealed that Debbie is being abused by her estranged husband Liam Tyler (Francis Magee). Nigel and Debbie's eventual marriage is the focus of EastEnders' celebratory episode on 12 July 1994, which marked the show's 1000th episode. EastEnders' writer Colin Brake has selected it as 1994's episode of the year. Off-screen the show's Series Producer Barbara Emile decided to mark the 1000th episode with a celebration and the wedding of Nigel and Debbie was chosen as the event. It was scripted to be a happy occasion in the soap, with Debbie and Nigel's ceremony going ahead despite threats of intrusion from Liam. The Bateses happiness was short-lived on-screen, as in 1995, Debbie's actress Nicola Duffet requested to be written out of the soap; Debbie was killed off in the serial leaving Nigel a grieving widower, fighting for custody of his step daughter, Clare. In December 1996, it was announced that Bradley decided to quit EastEnders for fear of being typecast as a nerd and "lovable loser". He was the third senior cast member to quit in as space of two months, following the announced