Exec-PHP / wp-table plugins

I’m using WP 2.1 and the only plugins I am using are these:

wp-table

and

Exec-PHP

I can create tables perfectly, great plugin. I can also execute PHP in my post perfectly. However, I want to put PHP code in one of my table cells created by the wp-tables plugin and execute it with the Exec-PHP plugin when the post is displayed, anyone have any experience with this? When I run this code:

<exec><?php $title="Pillowcase"; echo "$title"; ?></exec>

in my post, outside of the table, it works fine. When I place it in one of my table cells in the Admin Panel > Manage > Tables page, and run the post, nothing is displayed. Any ideas on how to overcome this?