Max Branning (Jake Wood) is determined to help Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) cope with the family drama brought on by the return of her children, Lee and Nancy (Danny Hatchard and Maddy Hill), in EastEnders. When Nancy came back, Linda was shocked to see her baby bump, and even more so when Lee revealed he is the dad, with Nancy acting as a surrogate for her brother and his partner, Jess (Emma Lau).
Believing Jess had walked out and abandoned her baby boy, Linda organised a mission to track her down with Lee, unaware of what had actually happened. Returning home to find Jess in Peacock's Palace, Linda learned the truth: Lee had left Jess, with his escalating alcohol issues at the root of their predicament. Nancy later swore she would not sign over parental responsibility to Lee in his current state.
Lee exposes Linda and Max's secret
While Linda had tried to keep her fledgling relationship with Max secret, a drunken Lee exposed them in the Vic, leading to a bitter clash with Max's ex, Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), and harsh judgement from other Walford residents. Cindy even told Linda the truth about Max leaving Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) to die, though Max managed to talk his way out of it.
Next week, Lee's drinking remains out of control, and Linda challenges her son to go sober for a week. Nancy gets brutally honest with her mum over her worries, leading Linda to offer to attend her upcoming antenatal class with her daughter in Lee's place, soothing Nancy's fears momentarily.
Max vows to win a place among the Carters
Wounded at being pushed out of the situation, Lee heads for the bottle and later emerges at the antenatal class drunk, making a scene and making everything worse. Later in the week, Max tries to step in and cut the tension between Linda, Lee and Nancy but is told by Linda in no uncertain terms to butt out; he is not welcome to get involved in family business.
Deeply hurt, things only get worse when Linda then asks him to leave, making it clear she means what she says. He turns to Nancy instead, still trying to help resolve things, but puts his foot in his mouth when he starts criticising Lee, and Nancy echoes her mum's words, telling him to butt out. Turning to his own daughter Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) for support, Max vows to win a place among the Carters, but his constant attempts to interfere may only damage his relationship with Linda.
EastEnders airs these scenes from Monday, November 2 at 7.30pm on BBC One, or stream first from 6am on iPlayer.
