This week on EastEnders, Zoe finally meets her son after 19 years, Cindy’s secret is out as the crucial evidence to free Jasmine comes to light, Bea manipulates the Mitchells, and Zack has the week from hell.
1) Zoe tries to meet her son
Last week, Jasmine’s (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) former foster mother Sandra (Dawn Steele) arrived in the square seeking answers on what had happened to her.
Sandra was closely followed by Josh (Joshua Vaughan), Jasmine’s twin, who’d not seen his sister since she was transferred to a different foster family a decade ago.
Josh made it clear he wanted nothing to do with birth mother Zoe (Michelle Ryan) when her name was brought up, but did eventually agree to meet Patrick (Rudolph Walker) after his biological grandfather wrote him a heartfelt letter.
This week, the Truemans anxiously prepare to welcome Josh and Sandra to No.27, but when Josh arrives, it’s clear it’s too much for Patrick and he retreats to the kitchen alone.
Josh soon joins his grandfather in the kitchen and the pair share a heart-to-heart, but unfortunately, across the square, Zoe has found out from Tommy (Sonny Kendall) that her son has turned up, and she arrives at No. 27 demanding to see him.
It’s on Kim (Tameka Empson) and Denise (Diane Parish) to diffuse the situation, and Zoe finally leaves after Sandra demands it.
2) Oscar and Josh sleep together
Since Jasmine’s arrest, a heartbroken Oscar (Pierre Moullier) has been trying to distract himself with a string of men, and at one point flirtatiously eyed up Mark (Stephen Aaron-Sipple), but this week sees him end up in bed with the most inappropriate person possible – Jasmine’s twin brother!
With the pair having already bumped into each – quite literally – last week, this week sees Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) spot another flirty interaction between Oscar and Josh, and she encourages her brother to get back on the dating scene.
With no idea that Josh is Jasmine’s twin brother, Oscar later meets him for a drink at The Albert, before the pair passionately kiss.
The following morning, they wake up together, while a panicked Sandra is out in the square frantically searching for him.
3) Zoe and Josh cross paths as Jasmine makes a decision
Nineteen years after giving him up, Tuesday’s episode sees Zoe finally meet her son, as she bumps into Josh and Sandra as she’s on her way to meet Jasmine at the prison.
Zoe pleads for an audience with Josh, and he eventually gives in and heads to The Vic with his birth mum.
There, Kat (Jessie Wallace) is overjoyed to meet her grandson for the first time, and after an emotional talk, Josh agrees to return the followijng day for a joint meal with the Slaters and the Truemans.
In the meantime, Jasmine is upset that Zoe hasn’t shown for her prison visit.
She calls Kat to ask what’s going on, and when she learns the truth about her brother’s reappearance, she asks Kat to relay a message – she’s pleading guilty!
4) Penny and Suki begin to bond
Last week, Suki (Balvinder Sopal) made her feelings about Penny’s (Kitty Castledine) pregnancy clear after learning the news from Jack (Scott Maslen), who assumed she already knew.
She expressed to Vinny (Shiv Jalota) how she thought Penny was only using him for his money, but as the week came to a close, Penny made her own feelings clear – she and Vinny would be having the baby, with or without Suki’s blessing.
This week, Vinny extends an olive branch to Suki, but when she dismisses him, Eve (Heather Peace) encourages her to put aside her differences with her son and support his decision.
The following day, Suki and Eve agree to attend a lunch at Jack and Denise’s (Diane Parish), and in a surprise turn of events, Suki begins to warm to Penny as the pair bond.
5) Penny and Suki’s bond doesn’t last
The following day, Penny makes it clear to Vinny that he doesn’t need to buy her expensive gifts – she’s not with him for the money.
However, her words don’t land, and she faces a shock when Vinny reveals that he’s put down a deposit on a shop on Turpin Road for her!
After some thought and a chat with Gina (Francesca Henry) and Harry (Elijah Holloway), Penny decides to accept Vinny’s generous offer – her market stall is no more, she’s about to be the owner of her very own shop!
However, when Suki gets word of it, she arrives and once again accuses Penny of using her son for money!
6) Zack has the week from hell
Months after their brief dalliance together, Zack (James Farrar) is still harbouring feelings for Vicki (Alice Haig), despite the fact that she’s since rekindled her romance with Ross (Alex Walkinshaw) and the pair have gotten engaged.
While Ross learnt that Vicki had slept with someone else, he didn’t ever find out their identity. This week, Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) tries to coax Zack into buying the pair an engagement present, leaving him feeling deflated.
In Thursday’s episode, Vicki offers Zack some words of encouragement after she learns from Barney (Lewis Bridgeman) about his money woes, which he’s been trying his best to keep from his family.
Will Zack be able to keep his lingering feelings for Vicki to himself, or will he make another attempt to woo her as she offers him emotional support?
Later on in the week, Zack’s situation goes from bad to worse when Barney discovers that they’re facing eviction, resulting in the father and son having a falling out.
7) The Brannings are getting busy
At the end of last week, Linda (Kellie Bright) was stunned to see Max (Jake Wood) and Cindy (Michelle Collins) kissing inside The Albert.
This week, the pair try to keep their tryst hidden from their families, unaware that Linda has already caught them out.
Meanwhile, Max isn’t the only Branning who can’t keep it in his pants, as Lauren and Peter (Thomas Law) talk to Oscar about his own new love interest.
8) Cindy’s big secret is out
While Cindy may be trying to hide her night of passion with Max from her family, she’s of course hiding an even bigger secret – she’s still got Jasmine’s phone, with the crucial evidence which provides that she acted in self defence when she killed Anthony (Nicholas Bailey).
On Wednesday, as The Slaters prepare to host Josh, Sandra and The Truemans at The Vic, Zoe can’t get her mind off Jasmine.
Kat offers to go and visit Jasmine while Zoe gets to know her son, but Zoe ends up upset when she realises just how close Josh is already growing to Patrick.
There’s soon a bombshell revelation from Josh as he explains how Jasmine’s mobile phone accepted a call from him a couple of weeks ago.
This makes Zoe realise that someone has Jasmine’s missing phone and is keeping it charged up!
Just as progress is being made, an argument breaks out between the Truemans and Slaters over Jasmine, prompting Josh to leave.
Max – still the only other person who knows that Cindy has the phone – feels guilty as he watches from afar, and heads to The Albert to encourage Cindy to give up the crucial evidence.
His words ringing in her head, Cindy later heads to The Vic and attempts to secretly plant the phone there, but her plan fails when she accidentally bumps into Oscar.
The phone goes flying, landing at Kat’s feet. Busted!
On Thursday, Max can only watch on as Kat and Zoe rile at Cindy for keeping the phone hidden for so long.
Then, as Zoe takes the phone upstairs, the Slaters and Oscar gather round to watch the crucial footage.
Will the newfound evidence clear Jasmine’s name?
9) Honey returns to the square
Last week saw Billy (Perry Fenwick) arrive home with Will (Freddie Phillips) and Janet, but without Honey (Emma Barton), who was staying behind to look after her Aunt Caroline (Una Stubbs).
Billy found Bea (Ronni Ancona) still living in his house, and with the cupboards bare, with an unemployed Bea having eaten them out of house and home.
A guilty Bea promised that she’d find herself a job, and stuck to her word as she bagged herself a position at McKlunky’s.
However, she had another money-making scheme up her sleeve, as she’d already secretly signed up for a credit card in Honey’s name.
Billy soon began to grow concerned about Bea’s obsession with his family after a conversation with Harvey (Ross Boatman), and when he found out that Bea had gotten Will a Saturday job in Harry’s Barn, he accused her of overstepping the mark.
This week, Honey returns home to Albert Square and Bea quickly starts becoming overbearing towards her new friend, going as far as to redecorate the house to Honey’s exact tastes.
“Honey appreciates that Bea has been able to help keep a sense of stability at home and ease the pressure on Billy having to do everything,” Emma continues.
“However, as she settles back in, she notices several times where Bea may have overridden Billy’s decisions.”
Later, when Linda (Kellie Bright) questions Bea’s motives for trying to get close to Honey and the Mitchells, and the two former school acquaintances come to blows.
10) Honey asks Bea to move out after a health revelation
Later on, Honey opens up to Billy that she’s concerned that she may be starting the menopause, and the pair agree that Bea needs to move out of No. 18 to give them some space.
“Honey knows that she’s been struggling and not feeling like herself,” Emma explains. “She’s experiencing a range of emotions and understands the need to address what’s happening and to seek support.
“She’s increasingly aware that something significant is going on, leaving her feeling disconnected from her usual self and not in her own skin.”
“As she begins to process the changes she’s experiencing, she knows that she must put her own well‑being first,” she continues.
When Honey meets up with Bea in the café the following day and asks her to move out, Bea does her best to hide how upset she is.
Yet when she later starts her shift at McKlunky’s, things overwhelm her and she orders everyone out before trashing the shop!
Soon after, Will heads to the chicken shop and is shocked to find the place trashed, but Bea lies and claims she was attacked as she tries to garner sympathy.
Meanwhile, Honey books an appointment with the GP, but she’s frustrated when she feels like she feels like her concerns weren’t listened to.
11) Bea manipulates the Mitchells
The following day, as Bea prepares to move out of No. 18, she continues with her plan to get the Mitchells to feel sorry for her.
Despite Honey asking Bea to move out, she still considers her a good friend – something which Bea is prepared to manipulate.
Will Bea manage to convince them to let her stay?
Honey believes Bea’s intentions are genuine,” Emma concludes. “She understands that Bea hasn’t had the easiest of lives, finding out immediately that she was bullied at school by Linda and her friends and later kicked out by her boyfriend.
“Honey sees Bea as a lost soul and naturally wants to help her, especially given how much Bea has been there for Honey’s family recently.
“Although Billy remains sceptical, Honey chooses to see the good in people and trusts Bea, although perhaps a little too much.”
12) Elsewhere…
Also this week, Gina and Harry bond as their relationship gets back on track.
Plus, Suki and Eve have a promising meeting with the adoption agency about fostering.
