Joel Marshall (Max Murray) makes it his mission to get answers in EastEnders next week as he confronts all the teens suspected of having played a role in his attack.
The character made no shortage of enemies in the Square due to his misogynistic views and vile attitude towards women. He was jailed back in January after a devastating attack on stepmum Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) and for recording Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) during sex without her knowledge or consent. Following a short prison sentence, he returned to the Square after mum Cleo (Mazz Murray) said that him living with her wasn’t an option.
Teens' plot to scare Joel backfires
Joel’s presence on the Square soon antagonised the local teens, particularly Avani and Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd), who were appalled to learn of his comeback. In a bid to scare him into leaving, the teens invited Joel to a party – before tying him up and chucking beer on him, filming the incident on their phones.
In the aftermath, Joel was attacked by an unknown assailant. Speculation has been rife and fingers have been pointed aplenty, though each of the teens have repeatedly professed their innocence.
Police investigation intensifies
DC Craig Ingram (Matthew James Bailey) is leading the investigation into Joel’s attack and his interests are piqued when he stumbles upon a clandestine meeting of all the suspects.
Jean Slater (Gillian Wright), meanwhile, is fearful of Lily’s involvement, confiding her fears in Kat (Jessie Wallace). Her concerns grow when she discovers that Lily has headed over to No. 43 to speak to Joel and she wastes little time in dragging her granddaughter back home.
Craig, however, is soon on the scene – and he’s got some questions for Lily. With Jean urging her to do so, Lil comes clean about what she saw.
Confrontation at Gaming Grounds
Joel, meanwhile, heads to Gaming Grounds – where much of the teens have congregated – and he confronts them all. Will he get answers about who is to blame for his attack?
We’ll just have to wait and see but when Jean gets word that Lily is with her mates she panics and heads to Dray Yard to split them up – with some help from Priya (Sophie Khan Levy). Upon arrival, Jean tells everyone what Lily told Craig, which leads to another truth coming to light – and the teens are at odds in the aftermath.
To complicate matters further, this isn’t the last big reveal to be made during the week in question as Amy drops one of her own in subsequent scenes.
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One or stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
