SUKI Panesar has been dreading the day her abusive husband Nish gets released from prison.
However, her son Vinny is eager to get some answers about him. Get the lowdown on all the upcoming EastEnders drama.
Vinny Panesar was a child when his father Nish was sent to prison
Nish was incarcerated in 2002 after he murdered a man
Vinny is manipulated into visiting him
The criminal is set to be released from behind bars
What havoc could he wreak in Walford?
1. Vinny sees his father
Very little is known about Nish, the Panesar patriarch.
In June, 2022, Suki Panesar was made aware that her husband and the father of her children, Nish, would be released from behind bars.
Terrified, she ignored and tore the letter warning her of his release, before finding support in the form of Eve Unwin and confiding in her about Nish’s abusive tendencies.
But while she may be trying to put off the inevitable, some Albert Square residents are eager to bump into Nish (portrayed by Navin Chowdhry), in the likes of his son Vinny (Shiv Jalota) as well as Walford gangster Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).
Coming up, Ravi bumps into Nina who mocks his hopefulness at a reconciliation with Nish as his release is looming on the horizon.
Fans have been speculating that Ravi could be Nish’s secret son.
While at the prison, a conversation between Ravi and Nish goes south as the latter only wants to see his sons, Vinny and Kheerat (Jaz Deol) but only feels rejected by his own family.
Soon enough, Ravi agrees to do Nish’s bidding and manipulates Vinny into going to visit his father in prison.
Vinny is overwhelmed to see that his name has already been written down on the prison list by Ravi.
This prompts him to question Suki about their relationship with their father as Vinny was still very young when Nish was locked up in 2002.
Agitated, Vinny is determined to get the answers he’s looking for in Suki – but will she open up?
In later scenes, Vinny visits his father in prison and is surprised to see how affectionate he is.
Nish reminisces about old times but Vinny is more interested to know why he was asked to visit him in the first place.
Are the Panesars in danger?
Lola Pearce and Jay Brown broke up in 2020 after she cheated on him – but they may give it another go
2. Jay and Lola get close (again)
Could Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) rekindle her romance with Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick)?
The chances are far from slim, especially as her emotional exit is looming.
Coming up on BBC One, Lola first decides it’s time for her to get involved in Ben Mitchell and Callum Highway’s reconciliation and she plans to get them to talk by helping Vi Highway move out of her house.
Lola later ropes Jay into her plans before organising a surprise birthday party for him.
But while she gets ready to celebrate the mechanic’s birthday, a case of mistaken identity puts her in serious danger at Peggy’s.
Walford thug Jonah Tyler returns to the wine bar with two heavies to get the rest of his money from Sam Mitchell – only to find Lola in the office.
Lola is strong-armed into opening the safe and, after a struggle, she manages to break away while the heavies chase her into the party.
In later scenes, she awaits for everybody’s arrival at Peggy’s while Ben and Callum find it hard to push a reluctant Jay to celebrate.
They eventually reveal Lola’s surprise and, when Jay arrives to the crowd, feigning enthusiasm, Lola discovers he was already aware of his own surprise party.
This is followed by an exchange during which Jay admits Lola was the love of his life.
The night soon turns awry, however, particularly for Lola.
Chaos at Peggy’s ensues as Jonah’s men walk into the party, ready to get what they want.
Is this the beginning of the end for Lola?
Stacey Slater is highly protective of Eve Unwin
3. Stacey threatens Suki
Elsewhere in Albert Square, Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), hasn’t been the most upfront about her sexuality but fan favourite Eve Unwin (played by Heather Peace) seems to have the patience needed to be by her side.
In recent scenes, Suki was seen clearly in a downward spiral as her guilt is taking over her life and Eve ran to her rescue before it was too late.
Suki eventually felt safe enough with Eve to tell her she had almost been raped by Ranveer Gulati – but she never mentioned what had really happened to the businessman.
As viewers know, Ranveer was killed by own son Ravi and Suki was led to believe she was responsible for his death.
But Eve is happy to take care of Suki when needed, her wife Stacey Slater (portrayed by Lacey Turner) won’t show her the same kindness.
This week, Eve reveals to the owner of Stacey’s Baps that she and Suki have kissed.
Stacey vows to keep it a secret, while Eve continues to worry about Suki.
Later on, Stacey confronts Suki about Eve and threatens the owner of the Minute Mart with her worst fear – exposing the kiss if she dares to hurt Eve.
A shaken Suki then has a frosty exchange with Eve after her conversation with Stacey.
Eve guesses correctly that Stacey must have said something and rushes over to her to confront her.
Could Stacey and Eve have a fallout because of Suki?
Will Stacey really keep Eve and Suki’s secret?
Shirley Carter is causing trouble for Phil Mitchell
4. Shirley makes a discovery
Shirley (portrayed by Linda Henry) has had it in for the Mitchell clan for several years and the feud only got more bitter due to Ben’s involvement in her pal Heather Trott’s death.
This week, she makes a shocking discovery about her former flame Phil (Steve McFadden) and is willing to use it to her advantage.
When she notices him talking to his lawyer Ritchie Scott, Shirley becomes intrigued.
Phil later receives a mysterious text from DCI Samantha Keeble, asking him to meet her and a curious Shirley follows him.
This leads to her finding some incriminating evidence on Phil which she believes she could use to her advantage.
Sam Mitchell has been working alongside Jonah Tyler
5. Sam is exposed
But while she may be causing trouble for Phil, who was granted freedom on the one condition he became a police informant for DCI Samantha Keeble, Shirley will be wreaking havoc within the Mitchell clan.
The Walford tough woman has been making Sam’s (Kim Medcalf) life more difficult after being told she was planning on taking down the family empire.
Coming up, Shirley blackmails Sam for more money, threatening to tell her brother Phil the truth about her plans.
Sam tries to keep a clear head and calls her bluff – but it backfires when Shirley storms off to find the Walford tough man.
After a run-in with Jonah Tyler, Shirley drops a bombshell on Phil by revealing to him that Sam has been scamming him for months and playing him all along.
Sam already tried to get Phil’s trust back by finding and capturing Lewis Butler.
Could she come up with another strategy to get Phil on her side?
How will Phil react to Shirley’s revelation?
What will Sam do to avoid repercussions from her brother?
EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm.
