**Warning: Contains spoilers for today’s EastEnders episode (6th May 2025), airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.**

Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) faced her worst nightmare in EastEnders when she went into labour with only her nemesis and mother-in-law to be, Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), by her side!

Cindy made an unwelcome return to Walford at son Peter (Thomas Law) and Lauren’s engagement party, where Lauren was already struggling to cope with the prospect of complications with their baby’s birth due to her addiction to painkillers.

With Lauren now on a recovery programme requiring her to take methadone, she was terrified for the future, but unimpressed when Peter seemed more interested in his phone.

Then Cindy walked in, and everyone from Peter to Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and the Knights ordered her to leave.

Lauren threw Cindy’s engagement gift to the ground and stormed out, telling Peter she wouldn’t watch him and their children be hurt time and again by manipulative Cindy.

With Peter having secretly resumed contact with Cindy in the last few weeks, he was given an ultimatum – a choice between Lauren and their family, or Cindy.

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Peter headed back to the bar, where a rejected Cindy exposed Kathy Cotton’s (Gillian Taylforth) Christmas attack on her.

The Knights were furious that they had all been under suspicion while Kathy kept quiet, but Cindy’s triumph didn’t last long when Kathy and Ian revealed that Cindy’s rage had caused The Queen Vic explosion that killed Martin Fowler (James Bye).

This was news to Peter, who had been torn about cutting off his mum but was now reeling over yet another of Cindy’s shocking misdeeds.

After Cindy was thrown out, she rushed over to confront Lauren, knowing the latter wanted to turn Peter against her.

But as Cindy launched an angry tirade her way, Lauren screamed at her to shut up. She was in labour, and as her waters broke, Lauren stared at Cindy in horror.

Will Lauren and her baby be OK, and will Peter return in time to support his fiancée?

Read more:

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EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

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Authors
Laura Denby is a Freelance Soaps writer covering all the latest news in the Dales, Cobbles and East End for Radio Times. She’s a soaps nerd with a love for comedy drama, and has also written for Digital Spy, Metro UK and Yahoo UK.