Get set for some pyrotechnics in next week’s episodes as a result of Joey and Lauren’s car crash through a shop window. We start with Lauren unconscious, while Joey has been able to free himself from the wreckage. But pretty soon the car is on fire, meaning that Lauren is now trapped. 

Thankfully, Alice calls Joey’s mobile and he’s able to tell her to call an ambulance. Next thing Joey knows, Derek is on the scene, grappling with the debris and freeing both him and Lauren with only seconds to spare before the car explodes.

While waiting for the emergency services to arrive, Derek learns that Lauren was behind the wheel and that she’d had a drink. Warning them that she will face a prison sentence, Derek convinces them to tell the police that it was Joey who was driving. 

However, this being Derek, there are strings attached. While at the hospital, he tells his boy that he needs to start acting like a dutiful son or he will tell the police the truth. Joey calls his dad’s bluff by saying that Lauren means nothing to him, but Derek asks him to prove it: 

“Be my son or dump her. Right here, right now,” Derek glowers. Sickened by the threat, Joey then leaves Lauren heartbroken. Little does he know though, that Lauren has already told Tanya that she was driving the car and that she’s in love with Joey.

Suspicious as to why Derek is covering for Lauren, Tanya confronts him in the waiting room. But Derek warns her not to cross him or he’ll go to the authorities: “All you are is a frustrated housewife hurtling towards middle age,” he adds for good measure. 

Later in the week, when Tanya again speaks to Derek about Lauren and Joey’s relationship, she’s adamant that Joey should leave Walford. Derek disagrees: this is an opportunity for Joey to show his father some respect as he has no one else to turn to except him. Derek then gives her an ultimatum – convince Joey to stay or he will call the police. 

Lauren though is in a terrible state. Joey won’t return her calls, which leads her to believe that he’s angry because she let him take the blame for the crash. So when the police arrive, will she end up revealing what really happened?

There are further ructions in the Branning house when Bianca returns, having been released from prison. Determined to get earn some money, she approaches Tanya about a job in the salon and ends up with a trial post. 

But back at home, Bianca has cause for frustration. Upset by her feelings that the kids now see Carol as their mum, she breaks down in tears. Carol assures her that it’s not a competition and that they need to work together. 

Kat, meanwhile, has received a package with an expensive watch and a note inside that reads “Miss You. Time we got together again. X”. Later, Alfie accidentally opens a letter addressed to Kat that contains a sale flyer for the bedsit love nest with “open house at 2pm” written on it. Kat pretends it’s just junk mail, but when Alfie leaves the room, she calls up her lover and demands he leave her alone. 

Kat is certain that she isn’t going to visit the bedsit, but when she receives another message claiming something has been left for her, she rushes out. When she arrives, she finds champagne and rose petals on the bed but, angered by her lover’s insistence, she rubs out the message on the mirror and throws away the key.

Matters worsen though after Alfie becomes annoyed that the council have refused to fund the Square’s Christmas decorations. He reveals a plan to get the Branning brothers to help pay for a seasonal spruce-up, but when Kat bristles at the mention of their names, Alfie remains oblivious. 

Determined to make his German market plans a success, Alfie plans a trip abroad to stock up on supplies and is thrilled when he receives £500 and a ticket to Cologne. But Kat gets unnerved when she receives another text that reads “finally, I’ve got you all to myself.” 

Once Alfie has departed, the pressure mounts for Kat when she finds a candle with a note: “Light it. Put it in the window. And I’ll come knocking.”

Despite throwing the candle out of the window, Kat later panics when Jean tells her that she has settled Tommy with the aid of a candle (one she received from Patrick) to help him sleep. Kat immediately extinguishes it but, as she turns the lights off in he Vic, she worries when someone knocks at the door…