EastEnders airs intriguing Mark Fowler and Sam Mitchell twist in early BBC iPlayer release
Warning: Contains spoilers for Thursday's episode of EastEnders, which airs at 7.30pm on BBC One or can be streamed now on BBC iPlayer.
Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) has made a desperate attempt to make £200k in EastEnders, after learning that the gangster he owes debt to was closing in on his family.
The character's introductory story earlier this year saw him working for ruthless crime boss Russell Delaney (Anthony Skordi), who wanted him to track down and kill police informant Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).
A fight to the death ensued between the men, with Ravi even begging to put "put out of [his] misery", though Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) stepped in and urged her brother to do the morally right thing and allow him to live.
As a result, Russell demanded 100k, or the Fowler clan would be at risk.
When Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) discovered her nephew's concerns, she encouraged him to speak to his estranged dad Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and ash for the cash. He was initially reluctant, though after some encouragement from Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa), he decided to come clean about his troubles.
Things didn't exactly go to plan, and after spotting Grant flirting with Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Mark wondered whether his priorities were in the right place.
Eventually, his uncle Phil (Steve McFadden) offered to find the money, though said it could be a while as he was still paying out for Nigel Bates's (Paul Bradley) care home fees and forthcoming funeral. Grant overheard their conversation and demanded to be informed, though ended up making matters a whole lot worse.
He arranged to meet up with Russell, and a physical fight ensued when it was revealed that Grant had slept with his wife. The criminal wasn't prepared to offer any extra time, and as a result of the Mitchells' intervention, he'd now doubled the debt.
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In today's episode, Vicki was stunned to find menacing Russell in her kitchen, warning her that he knew all about her forthcoming wedding and that he could ruin it should Mark not pay up in time.
She was shocked to hear that Grant had stepped in, and Mark was similarly furious to discover his dad's meddling. In a bid to stop the situation getting any worse, Mark asked him to steer clear of his problems - he wanted to sort them out himself, and wouldn't take his money.
Grant explained that he'd already instructed Ritchie Scott (Sian Webber) to help sell his bar in Portugal, and that he would hopefully have a buyer imminently.
Meanwhile, Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa) called by at The Arches to ask Mark whether the cars he'd been repairing for her to sell on were legitimate. As viewers will recall, the last time she was involved in the vehicle trade with Mark, the car being stolen in a brutal robbery and she was injured.
Mark was the one who had orchestrated the attack, managing to cash in on the proceeds.
With seemingly nowhere left to turn in his current predicament, Sam offered a potential solution. She said that if he could convince Lauren to use the stolen cars he was mending, she'd have no option but to buy into the scam.
On some wasteland, Sam and Mark stood with their hoods up, watching the vehicle that she was about to purchase ignite...
Will their plan work?
Read more:
- 5 EastEnders spoilers next week: Emotional returns for Nigel Bates's funeral and Mark Fowler held hostage
- EastEnders legend teases "dangerous" dynamic between Max Branning and Cindy Beale
- EastEnders boss teases "emotional" Denise Fox scenes from blood cancer storyline after 20 years on the show
- EastEnders wins Soap award at BAFTA Television Awards 2026 as fan-favourite delivers speech amid anniversary
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Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
