EastEnders airs dramatic aftermath of affair bombshell in early iPlayer release

Martin cheerfully arrived back in Walford, only to walk in on Stacey and Jack sharing a farewell smooch after calling a halt to their affair. As Jack tried to downplay it, Stacey ended up admitting to Martin that she and Jack had been sleeping together for quite some time, but it was now over.

A disgusted Martin left, seeking support from godmother Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth), who tried to persuade Martin to keep quiet about Stacey and Jack.

When Kathy explained that she wanted to keep the peace between Stacey and Denise, an angry Martin was baffled, and Kathy brushed it off. However, viewers know she was aiming to stop the murderous pact between the woman from exploding!

Trying to stay cool and collected, Kathy quizzed Martin on Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), who remains in Australia. Calming down, Martin explained that Sharon had been the one who urged Martin to return home early to surprise his loved ones.

Kathy advised Martin to stop concerning himself with Stacey's actions. Meanwhile, Jack panicked that his marriage was about to be destroyed, and Stacey assured him that it wouldn't be as Jack hoped to minimise the fallout of Martin's fury.

Jack later broke down to Denise, revealing how scared he had been during her recent illness, and the pair shared a tender moment.

But amid this breakthrough, a riled up Martin stormed back to the Fox-Branning residence, where his attitude towards Jack was witnessed by Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams). Chelsea let rip at Martin for his aggression towards Jack, but her praise for her stepfather led Martin to expose Jack's infidelity to her.

Chelsea announced Jack and Stacey's cheating to the rest of the family, but Denise revealed she knew about the fling and wanted to move on. As Jack latched onto this lifeline, Martin told Denise that he had only just seen Jack and Stacey kissing!

Realisation dawned on Denise that the affair had continued, but still the selfish Jack claimed there was nothing going on.

As he looked to Stacey to back him up, there was a huge throwback to the moment Jack's brother Max (Jake Wood) shamelessly tried to persuade Stacey to go along with his fib that the now-famous footage of them smooching was a wind-up.

Just as she had done during EastEnders' epic 2007 Christmas special, Stacey confirmed the truth as she tearfully uttered the words: "I'm sorry."

Jack made excuses as he claimed that Denise had pushed him away and this was, apparently, why he felt the need to cheat. A raging Chelsea lunged at Stacey, while Martin and Jack came to blows in a violent showdown which spilled out onto the street.

Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) arrived and intervened, and Stacey tried to justify her behaviour, but confessed she had caught real feelings for Jack.

Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) disowned mum Stacey as Chelsea took Denise away from the house, and Martin asked why Stacey had gone anywhere near Jack. Stacey had the nerve to claim that Jack wouldn't have looked her way if he had been happy with Denise, and Martin walked away in disgust.

As Jack and Stacey were left out in the cold, can their families ever forgive them or have they pushed them all away for good?

Read more:

• EastEnders' Martin Fowler uncovers secret affair in early iPlayer release
• EastEnders spoilers confirm Ben Mitchell in "hot water" ahead of dramatic exit
• EastEnders cast: Who is joining, leaving and returning to the soap?
• EastEnders airs major confrontations for Denise Fox in early BBC iPlayer release

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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