EastEnders airs life-changing offer for Whitney Dean in early BBC iPlayer release

The BBC One soap ended on a cliffhanger yesterday as pregnant Whitney (Shona McGarty) was hit by a car attempting to save young Britney Wainwright (Lola Campbell) from harm.

Thankfully, a visit to the hospital confirmed that Whitney and her unborn child were safe and sound, but her partner Zack Hudson (James Farrar) remained concerned about her dedication to making sure Britney was okay and it was putting their future family life in jeopardy.

Despite Zack insisting that they return home to Walford after five weeks away, Whitney remained focused on helping Britney after her drug-addicted mother Keeley Wainwright (Kirsty J. Curtis) was arrested.

As Zack aired his frustrations about understanding Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and she in turn tried to guide Whitney to think about her family life with Zack, Whitney remained a woman on a mission despite agreeing to return to Walford.

Ultimately, it was Zack who found Britney but called social services to get professionals to deal with the situation - to Whitney's chagrin.

In the end, the social services officer agreed that Britney could stay at Bianca's flat with Britney until Keeley returned home.

Whitney then told Zack that she did not want to return to Walford yet as she wanted to foster Britney as this was something she took seriously and wanted to be a foster mother.

Zack told Whitney that he wanted to focus on their future with their child and Britney was not a priority for him and he needed to provide for his child and planned to return to work in Walford.

In the end, Zack left the flat for Walford alone but not until after Whitney let slip that they were expecting a baby girl - which saddened Zack as she had asked for the baby's gender at the hospital without consulting him.

After Zack departed, Whitney broke down in tears and watched him leave from the window but then saw that Keeley had returned to the estate.

Marching over to Keeley's against Bianca's advice, Whitney barged her way in when Keeley answered the door and saw the house was in such a neglected state and criticised Keeley's parenting.

When an argument ensued, Keeley noted that if Whitney cared about Britney then Whitney would take the young girl off of Keeley's hands.

Will Whitney choose to raise Britney over staying with Zack?

As the week continues in Walford, Zack spirals into drinking and being parted from Whitney, leading to him being consoled by Whitney's best pal Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) and then making a move on her.

Will Lauren respond and will this be the nail in the coffin of Zack's relationship with Whitney?

Fans will be aware that Whitney is set to depart the soap in the coming weeks as actress Shona McGarty departs EastEnders after 15 years.

Speaking last year, McGarty made clear that she believes Whitney deserves a happy ending to conclude years of tragedy.

McGarty told Inside Soap: "As a viewer, and after playing her for so long, Whitney deserves a happy ending. The majority of comments online and when I speak to people in the street are along the lines of, 'When is Whitney going to have her happy ending?' and I think it's time.

"Don't get me wrong, I want it to be dramatic! Everyone knows that I love playing the drama. So, I hope there are some twists and turns thrown in there and maybe even a little stunt!

Read more:

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• EastEnders confirms steroid story for struggling teen Denzel Danes
• EastEnders' Shona McGarty teases Whitney's final weeks: "Drama, deceit and chaos"

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

Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

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