EastEnders fans floored by Phil Mitchell’s bizarre reaction to seeing Ian Beale again

EASTENDERS' fans were left in hysterics at Phil Mitchell's reaction to seeing Ian Beale for the first time in two and a half years.

Cindy Beale was reunited with her ex George Knight and daughters Gina and Anna Knight - but it wasn't the only awkward reunion that happened that night.

Cindy explained to George the reason she walked out on him and their family.

She detailed that she was under a witness protection program and wanted to keep her family safe after her eldest daughter Lucy Beale was murdered.

Cindy found out her daughters were in the Queen Vic and she pushed past George to see them.

This came after Anna was celebrating her 21st birthday and Peter Beale stormed in followed by his dad Ian Beale.

Ian entered the pub and faced confused and dirty looks from Kat Slater, Sharon Watts and Sonia Fowler.

But it was Phil Mitchell's unimpressed facial expressions that amused viewers. 

Taking to X, formally known as Twitter, one viewer said: "Omg tonight's cliffhanger!

"Sharon and Phil are in utter bewilderment, Ian there and nobody noticed, where's tomorrow's episode??"

Another wrote: "I love how they showed Sharon, Phil, and Sonia's reactions to seeing Ian."

A third penned: "Sharon, Phil and Kat’s reactions to Ian being back, they were like 'am I hallucinating?'"

Ian left Walford in January 2021 after Sharon tried to poison him to death for locking Denny Watts' in a room on the boat that crashed and killed him.

Cindy was also accused of killing Ian back in 1996 after she hired a hitman to shoot him amid their custody battle.

However, Ian is convinced they put their past behind them and now love and support one another.

He recalled them helping and being there for each other after the death of their children Stephen Beale and Lucy Beale.

But should Ian be worried about George Knight reconnecting with his former flame?

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.