Next week on EastEnders, Harvey is caught out by Jean, Cindy makes a shock return, Lauren goes into labour, Joel’s secret past is revealed, and The Queen Vic re-opens.
Here’s everything in store in Walford from Monday 5th to Thursday 8th May.
1) Harry continues to spiral
A dramatic week on Albert Square saw Nicola (Laura Doddington) head to Paradise Park in Dartford in the dead of night, attempting to dig up and move the body of Harry’s (Elijah Holloway) ex-girlfriend Shireen before the builders arrived to begin work the following morning.
Teddy (Roland Manookian), who had finally discovered that his ex-wife was to blame for Shireen’s disappearance, turned up and stopped Nicola from carrying out the task.
Instead, he summoned Benji (Carl Prekopp) to The Arches, where he and Nicola agreed to pay £120,000 for him to carry out the task of moving Shireen’s body.
However, Teddy betrayed Benji, and he was promptly arrested when he headed to the Paradise Park site that night.
Nicola is now living in fear of the repercussions, after Benji sent her a voicemail promising that his friends on the outside would seek revenge.
Then, in Thursday’s episode, Harry learnt the supposed truth – that his mum had ordered Benji to get rid of Shireen, but things got out of hand – before Teddy discovered that Nicola was in fact the one to kill Shireen.
Next Monday, Harry wakes up in the Arches, hungover after a night spent drowning his sorrows. Billy (Perry Fenwick) finds him and takes him to Walford East to sober up, but the tension rises once again when Teddy arrives.
Later, as they head to the café, Billy attempts to reconcile with his nephew.
2) Lauren and Peter’s engagement party gets underway
This week, Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) began planning Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) and Peter’s (Thomas Law) engagement party, instructing Felix (Matthew James Morrison) to start making arrangements for a night at The Albert.
Peter and Lauren finally got engaged in early April, when Peter proposed to Lauren in Beale’s Eels as away of making up for missing her baby scan, as he was preoccupied by Cindy’s (Michelle Collins) disappearance.
Lauren turned him down, eventually admitting that she was still fearful that she’d been the one who attacked Cindy on Christmas Day.
When Kathy overheard the reason for Lauren turning down her grandson’s proposal, she couldn’t keep the truth hidden any longer, and confessed to Lauren that she was the real attacker.
Soon after, Lauren revealed the truth to Peter, and then made a marriage proposal of her own.
Next week, the day of their engagement party arrives, coinciding with Lauren’s final check-up. When the midwife mentions potential complications, Lauren is left worried, and her worry turns to anger when Peter gets distracted and leaves the room to take a call – is history repeating itself?
Meanwhile, Kathy is forced to move the engagement party to Harry’s Barn after a problem over at The Albert.
With the venue now short-staffed for the big event, and Nicola and Harry otherwise preoccupied with their family dramas, Gina (Francesca Henry) enlists the help of Mo (Laila Morse), Jean (Gillian Wright) and Nigel (Paul Bradley), but it quickly becomes clear that they’re not up to the job.
3) A shock return disrupts the party
As the celebrations get underway, Lauren struggles to get into the party spirit, as she’s still concerned by the midwife’s talk of complications.
After an ill-judged remark from Ian (Adam Woodyatt), she hides away in the office, and it’s on Kathy to come to the rescue and talk her into rejoining the party.
However, a bigger surprise is just around the corner…
Cindy, who left Walford for France shortly after she and Kathy became trapped in The Vic during the dramatic events of the 40th anniversary week, makes a dramatic and unannounced return!
4) What is Joel hiding?
This week, Joel (Max Murray) grew closer to Avani (Aaliyah James) by stepping and paying for her weed after she’d failed to score some for free from dodgy supplier Declan (Alfie Cain).
As the week went on, Priya (Sophie Khan Levy), Ravi (Aaron Thiara) and Suki (Balvinder Sopal) were surprised to come home to find Joel and Avani hanging out in the living room of No. 41, as it became increasingly clear that Joel had a crush on Avani.
At the end of the week, it became clear that Joel has a nasty side, when he made a disparaging comment about Avani behind her back, then blamed the subsequent altercation on Barney (Lewis Bridgeman).
He later made a move on Avani, and as the week finished, the pair spent the night together at 5A.
Next week, with the Paradise Park project now on hold after the discovery of Shireen’s body, Vicki (Alice Haig) and Ross (Alex Walkinshaw) begin the search for more job opportunities – but Ross becomes distracted when he notices how obsessed Joel is being over his phone.
Vicki tries to diffuse things, but Ross makes it clear that he doesn’t need help parenting his own son, causing Vicki to storm off and leave him to it.
BBC
The pair later reconcile, but why is Ross so worried about his son’s obsession with his phone?
Viewers still don’t know exactly why Ross was so keen to move the family to Walford from Australia. While we know that Joel had gotten himself into debt, we can’t help but wonder whether a bigger secret about Joel’s checkered past is yet to be revealed.
5) Zack threatens Nicola
As we recently discovered, Zack (James Farrar) is Barney’s biological dad, a result of their affair some fifteen years ago.
By pure coincidence, Teddy moved himself and sons Barney and Harry to Walford last year, and he’s completely oblivious to the fact that Barney’s real dad is living a few doors down.
Zack is determined to reveal the truth, but has been forced to stay silent out of fear of what Nicola would do to him, having already faced one battering at the hands of her heavies.
Next week, as everyone becomes increasingly aware that the Mitchells are battling a big drama, Vicki attempts to convince Zack to stay out of it, but he ignores her advice and issues Nicola with a threat…
6) Lauren gives Peter an ultimatum
After Cindy’s unexpected return, the partygoers at Peter and Lauren’s engagement party are left reeling.
BBC/Jack Barnes
Peter tries to diffuse the situation, and Cindy tries to make it up to Lauren with a gift, but Lauren is fed up with Cindy once again overshadowing everything.
She issues Peter with an ultimatum – it’s her or Cindy.
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
As the Knight and Beale families shun Cindy once again, she retaliates by revealing that Kathy was the one who attacked her on Christmas Day.
BBC/Jack Barnes
With most of the other partygoers having fielded the blame at one point or another, how will they feel to learn that Kathy was really the one responsible?
BBC/Jack Barnes
Soon after, Cindy heads over to No. 29A to face off against Lauren, but when she arrives, she finds that Lauren has gone into labour!
Putting their rivalry to one side, Cindy rushes to help Lauren and calls an ambulance.
When she learns that the ambulance is delayed, she takes matters into her own hands to get Lauren to hospital, while Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) informs Peter that he’s about to be a dad!
BBC/Jack Barnes
7) Gina tries to get the truth out of Harry
This week, as Harry and Kojo’s (Dayo Koleosho) friendship blossomed, Harry tried to teach his new employee how to talk to women.
BBC/Kieron McCarron
Harry’s plan backfired when he demonstrated how to flirt with a randomer at the bar, only for her friend to throw a drink over him, revealing that Harry had previously slept with her then ghosted her.
When Harry confidently told Billy and Kojo that he could get any other woman in the bar, Billy challenged him to try it on with Gina, who Harry had previously tried to blackmail.
After Kojo revealed to Gina that Harry was interested, Gina decided to give Harry a chance, and agreed to go on one date with him.
BBC/Kieron McCarron
Unfortunately, things soon spiralled as the news came in that Shireen’s body had been recovered, and a date with Gina is obviously the last thing on Harry’s mind.
Next week, as Nicola tries to find her son, she accosts Gina in the square. Later, when Gina and Jay (Jamie Borthwick) meet for a drink, they’re distracted when Harry arrives, blind drunk.
BBC/Jack Barnes
Jay calls Nicola and Teddy to come collect their son, and they soon arrive to take him home, but Gina is left feeling like there’s more to the situation.
She later heads to the café where she tries to press Harry on what’s going on, but he remains tight-lipped, which only raises her suspicions further.
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
8) Will The Vic re-open?
On Wednesday, everyone congregates at Harry’s Barn as they anxiously await news on Lauren’s baby.
Warmed by the community spirit around then, Linda (Kellie Bright) and George (Micah Balfour) enthusiastically announce that The Vic will be reopening the following day for V.E. day celebrations.
Yet their big news falls flat, with most of the residents unable to face returning there so soon after Martin’s death.
Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron
Later, Alfie does his best to keep Linda’s spirits up, as she grows concerned for Elaine after the Square’s muted reaction to news that their local is set to reopen.
9) Ross reveals all
Backed into a corner, Ross finally reveals all to Vicky, explaining exactly why they’re in debt, and the real reason they had to leave Australia.
BBC/Jack Barnes
Shocked by what she learns, Vicki leaves. In Thursday’s episode, Ross tries to make amends, but Vicki is in no mood for forgiveness. Can their relationship survive the bombshell?
BBC/Jack Barnes
10) Nigel is stuck in the past
As the 80th anniversary of V.E. Day arrives next Thursday, the residents of Albert Square prepare to commemorate the historic occasion.
No one is more excited than Nigel (Paul Bradley), but it soon becomes clear that he believes it’s 1995 and that they’re celebrating the event’s 50th anniversary.
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
Jean and Phil (Steve McFadden) prepare to talk to Nigel and clear things up, but Jean bottles it at the last minute, and decides that she and Phil should organise an impromptu party instead.
BBC/Jack Barnes
Jean convinces Mo to celebrate with them, but when they try to talk Linda into reopening The Vic, she makes it clear that it’s remaining closed.
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
However, she soon changes her mind when she notices that the market traders are abuzz with V.E. Day spirit.
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
As The Vic finally reopens its doors once again, the residents of Walford come together to celebrate those fallen, including Martin.
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
BBC/Jack Barnes
11) Harvey’s grand plan comes crashing down
Harvey (Ross Boatman) and Kathy first kissed back in October last year, after Harvey and Jean fought over Tommy (Sonny Kendall), while Kathy was fearful that she would face time behind bars for Keanu’s (Danny Walters) death.
BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron
Jean has spent months acting cold towards Harvey, and her attitude has caused Harvey to continue seeking out Kathy’s company.
More recently, the pair kissed again shortly after Martin’s death, and have now committed to one another, with Harvey promising Kathy that he would end his relationship with Jean as soon as possible.
BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron
However, he’s not yet plucked up the courage to tell Jean about his affair. At the end of next week, Kathy arrives at No. 31, turning to Harry for comfort after a stressful week and Cindy’s return.
The pair are soon interrupted by Jean, but while Kathy quickly tries to cover, Jean isn’t in the slightest bit suspicious, as she’s too preoccupied by Nigel’s illness to wonder what Kathy is doing there.
BBC/Jack Barnes
Later, Harvey decides that he and Kathy need some time alone to start their future together. He invites Kathy on a caravan holiday, but it’s not long before Jean discovers the brochure.
The Slaters all assume that the plans are for them, and Harvey finds himself stuck – will he be forced to cancel on Kathy, and endure a trip away with the family he’s trying to leave behind?
BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron
Here are the EastEnders spoilers for next week:
Monday 5th May (Episode 7113)
Things don’t go to plan at Peter and Lauren’s engagement party.
Billy attempts to help his family.
Tension rises between Vicki and Ross.
Tuesday 6th May (Episode 7114)
Lauren issues an ultimatum.
Gina’s suspicions are raised.
Wednesday 7th May (Episode 7115)
Lauren accepts help from an unlikely source.
Linda is shocked by public opinion.
Ross makes an admission.
Thursday 8th May (Episode 7116)
Walford prepares to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Harvey attempts to make a gesture, but things don’t go to plan.
Jean makes it her mission to support a friend.
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