Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) finds himself in grave danger in EastEnders next week as he becomes entangled in killer Gray Atkins' (Toby-Alexander Smith) terrifying revenge plot, leaving his family fearing the worst.
Ian was placed on the same prison wing as Gray after being jailed last month for knocking over Gray's son with ex-wife Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) while over the limit. The serial murderer has wasted no time exploiting Ian's own grudge against Chelsea.
Gray's sinister plan
Determined to make Chelsea pay for helping put him behind bars in 2022 for the murders of Chantelle Atkins (Jessica Plummer), Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami), and Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White), Gray starts to enact his plan by offering Ian a deal to protect him in prison if he requests a visit from Chelsea. Ian initially refuses, but after a situation escalates on the wing, he reluctantly gives in.
Despite Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) and Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) urging Chelsea not to see Ian, she heads to the prison to hear him out, leaving her auntie Kim to look after Jordan.
Jordan snatched
But lurking in the shadows is Gray's guileful gran Sheila Atkins (Sheila Ruskin), who seizes a moment to snatch young Jordan. As the Fox family hit panic mode and realise Sheila has taken the youngster, Ian, meanwhile, is horrified to realise Gray has been using him as part of a far more sinister scheme.
Realising Chelsea has walked straight into Gray's web, Ian desperately urges her to get out while she still can – but it's too late as a dangerous situation quickly unfolds.
Pressure mounts
Gray becomes increasingly irate when he doesn't hear from Sheila, causing him to pile even more pressure on an already frightened Ian. As the situation escalates, Ian's family Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) and Peter Beale (Thomas Law) are rocked when disturbing updates from the prison reach Albert Square.
While January's flashforward episode confirms that Ian and Chelsea will survive their ordeal, will they escape Gray's clutches completely unscathed?
EastEnders airs these scenes from Monday 10th August at 7.30pm on BBC One or stream first from 6am on iPlayer.
