MONEY becomes scarce in the Slater household but Stacey Slater finds a shocking solution with the help of her cousin Freddie.
Meanwhile, some residents make the bold decision to leave Walford – but for what reasons? Get the lowdown on the EastEnders drama.
Stacey begins to wonder how Freddie has so much money
The Slaters soon come up with a scheme
But Rocky is keeping something massive from everyone
1. Rocky panics
This week in the London-based program, one massive secret comes to light.
In late 2022, BBC One viewers were surprised but delighted when Rocky Cotton (portrayed by Brian Conley) appeared to pop the question to an over-the-moon Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth).
She immediately accepted, unable to wait for him to finish his sentence – and unaware that Rocky hadn’t actually planned to propose to her.
However, the former con man didn’t correct her and, instead, went along with it while it became clear something was making him nervous.
Coming up, Alfie Moon, played by Shane Richie, decides to raid Big Mo’s stash of wedding dresses.
With her upcoming nuptials in mind, Kathy gets tempted to try on a dress at the wedding emporium and likes what she sees.
Later on, she tells her fiancé Rocky that she’s got herself a dress for their wedding and she intends to set a date with Reverend Mills as soon as possible.
Kathy may be expecting Rocky to be thrilled but, instead, the latter is actually heavily rattled by her announcement.
Rocky is keeping two major secrets from his other half and one of them involves how he has been making money with Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier).
Stacey makes a big discovery about her cousin
2. Stacey makes shock discovery
Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) has been adamant on supporting her twelve-year-old daughter Lily throughout her surprise pregnancy.
Unfortunately, this comes at a huge cost and Stacey is desperately trying to make ends meet.
But this week, she begins to wonder how Freddie is so flush while she is strapped for cash.
Later on, she and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) interrupt a clandestine meeting between Freddie and Rocky Cotton in the launderette back room.
Will Shiv the loan shark cause trouble for Freddie and Rocky?
3. New villain in Walford
The pair get more than they bargained for when it’s revealed that Freddie has been in cahoots with a loan shark named Shiv.
Stacey soon has to help her cousin out of a tough spot.
She’s relieved to have the cash for Shiv but when she pays him, the criminal demands another £200 by the following day and threatens violence.
Stacey grows increasingly desperate as she’s nowhere near being able to pay Shiv off.
As mentioned above, Alfie comes up with the idea to raid Big Mo’s stock of wedding dresses.
But when Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) turns down the chance to be his glamorous assistant, Linda Carter’s name is thrown into the mix, believed to be the perfect fit.
Although the Vic landlady played by Kellie Bright isn’t in the mood, watching Alfie crash and burn with some ill-judged banter convinces her that he needs the help and she soon gets involved.
Time is ticking to Shiv’s deadline and Stacey is more terrified than ever for her and her family.
Can Alfie make the money she needs?
How will Whitney cope?
4. Whitney and Zack face heartache
Whitney Dean (portrayed by Shona McGarty) has been mourning for her unborn daughter after making the decision to terminate her pregnancy.
Both the market trader and Zack Hudson (James Farrar) were devastated when they found out their baby was suffering from Edwards’ syndrome and it was unlikely to be born healthy.
They were then crushed to learn Peach wasn’t even legally recognised, despite their trauma and pain.
Coming up, Whitney and Zack try to find a way to make their suffering easier to handle.
Over at No.43, Martin Fowler (James Bye) and Sharon Watts are counselling Zack about being strong for Whitney as she’s going through physical and emotional turmoil.
Martin then explains that his late pal Kush and his former wife Shabnam planted a tree to remember their son, Zaair – and Zack has an idea.
Later on, he goes to see Whitney and tells of his plans.
Although she initially refuses to attend when Zack has planned, her best friend Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) manages to convince her and she changes her mind.
Zack is pleased when she arrives, and after the ceremony, they stay back to grieve alone.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Whitney kisses Zack, and he responds
before pulling away.
Whitney’s devastated but she has no idea that Zack is actually keeping a bombshell from her – his HIV diagnosis.
While he’s been trying to cope with the loss of his baby, he’s been unable to tell Whitney the truth, despite Sam Mitchell’s (Kim Medcalf) advice.
But just as he tries to find the nerve to come clean, Whitney is mulling their bond over and Chelsea counsels her to talk to Zack about how she feels.
Whitney is terrified by his rejection and finds it hard to make a move.
Meanwhile, Sam accompanies Zack to the clinic and asks some difficult questions on his behalf.
She notably asks about when he can have sexual intercourse and if he and a partner can try to conceive.
Back in Walford, Sam implores Zack to tell Whitney the truth and he goes to see her, determined to finally open up to her.
How will Whitney react?
Will Patrick leave the Square?
5. Patrick makes huge decision
Patrick Trueman (played by Rudolph Walker) has long been disappointed in love since his first arrival in the fictional London borough.
But he makes it clear his former wife Yolande still has a place in his heart.
Coming up, in honour of her 70th birthday, Patrick puts a bet on a horse called Little Prayer as it was their wedding song.
When the horse comes in, Patrick treats the family to a celebration meal at Walford East.
He then cautions Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega) never to take love for granted – before making a huge announcement.
Patrick soon breaks the news he’s decided to go see Yolande with the full intent of winning her back.
Will he really leave the Square to go to Birmingham, more than a decade after his separation with Yolande?
Emma has disappointed Lola again
6. Emma flees Walford
Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit) has disappointed her daughter Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) again.
Lexi has Mother’s Day with Lola all planned out until Emma arrives uninvited.
The little girl gets frustrated when Emma interferes at every turn and soon loses her temper about having to share her mum.
Mortified, Emma realises she’s overstepped the mark and offers to leave, but Lola insists she returns to the flat while she speaks to Lexi.
But the hairdresser’s hopes of a happy family gathering abruptly end as Emma bolts when an uncomfortable subject about her past is revisited.
Later in the week, Lola is fretting about Emma’s sudden exit and wonders if her mum has rejected her again.
Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) demands to speak with Emma at the car lot and tells her to either stick around or never reach out to Lola again.
What will she decide?
Will Ravi ever get the information he needs from Denise and Chelsea?
7. Denise is terrified
Denise Fox (Diane Parish) initially took a liking to the gangster (Aaron Thiara) but after sharing a few steamy moments, she decided to back away.
Her worst fears seemed to come true when her husband, Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), made it clear to her he was investigation Ravi – meaning her secrets could all be exposed.
Ravi then found out Jack was working on a case against him, prompting him to blackmail Denise into giving him information.
But when she refused, he turned to her daughter Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) instead.
This week, Ravi continues to flirt with Chelsea in an attempt to put pressure on Denise to gain access to Jack’s files.
When Chelsea rebuffs him, he’s convinced he can win her round.
Meanwhile, Denise tries to get Jack to take some time off when the copper stays up all night working on the case against Ravi.
She later collars her daughter to insist she comes to a family games night at No.27 and Felix Baker stirs the pot by asking if she can bring a plus one.
In later scenes, Chelsea walks in with Ravi in tow, as the hunk invited himself to the evening as her guest – leaving Jack and especially Denise horrified.
The night still goes on but not without Ravi twisting the knife with both as things are set to get out of hand.
Jack and Denise’s marriage, which has already hit the rocks, is even more in peril when the copper accuses her of telling Chelsea he’s investigating Ravi, implying she could have compromised the case.
He then tries to fix everything by warning Ravi off Chelsea during a tense stand-off.
However, Ravi knows exactly how to get under Jack’s skin and needles him about the state of his marriage with Denise.
He then offers to stay away from Chelsea on the one condition that Jack gives him information about the investigation.
At Walford East, Denise puts Ravi in his place but loses her smug attitude when he fires back with a threat that leaves her shaking in her boots.
What will she do?
EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
