EastEnders has ended the week on a tense note, with a fraught argument brewing on the Square following Joel Marshall's return. The young offender returned on Wednesday's episode, but many Walford residents were not made aware until an episode later. When his victim Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) found out, she was close to attacking him.
Joel's Release and Return
Only months after he was sent down for brutally attacking stepmum Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) and sharing indecent images of Avani online, Joel (Max Murray) was released from his young offenders institute. The teen was supposed to live with his mum Cleo (Mazz Murray) in Cornwall, but she unexpectedly turned up on ex-husband Ross' (Alex Walkinshaw) doorstep with Joel in tow.
Cleo insisted that Joel could not stay with her and foisted him back on Ross and Vicki. Bursting into tears, Vicki stormed out, followed by sister Sharon (Letitia Dean). While she was out, the ex-spouses descended into an argument, in which Cleo blamed Ross for turning Joel into a monster. Hearing this from another room, Joel snuck into the Square.
Confrontation in the Square
Joel was spotted by former pal Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall). Tommy stood staring at Joel while he sat on the swings of the playground with his headphones on. Soon, Tommy's friends noticed as well, including Avani. Avani was fuming when she saw Joel and was about to charge up to him until Ross found Joel and brought him away. As such, Avani went to yell at Vicki instead, blaming her for allowing Joel to come back. Vicki then went to Ross to say that she could not have Joel stay in Walford, and he agreed.
Their plans to send Joel back with Cleo were scuppered when she scarpered. With Joel abandoned at their home, Ross and Vicki had no choice but to let him stay for the night. When Avani learned, she was enraged and again almost attacked Joel before Vicki stopped her.
Tommy's Fear and Exit
Cleo was not the only one who had plans on running from Walford. After seeing Joel in the Square, Tommy was sick with fear. He was terrified that Joel would blame him for providing a witness testimony that got him imprisoned, and would spew comments plucked from the manosphere at him, as Joel had done before. As Tommy stewed, his older sister Zoe (Michelle Ryan) found him and said she was planning on visiting their aunt, Lynne, on the other side of London for a few weeks. She asked if he would want to go with her, and Tommy agreed.
Michelle Ryan's Departure
This comes shortly after it was revealed that Michelle Ryan had quit EastEnders, although her permanent exit is still expected to be in the form of her character being killed off. A spokesperson said to the Mirror: “We can confirm Zoe Slater will be departing EastEnders later this year. We wish Michelle Ryan all the best for the future. However, we never comment on future storylines as we don’t want to spoil it for the viewers.” But The Sun reported that Zoe would be killed off and that Ryan filmed her final scenes last month.
