EastEnders reveals shock outcome of Joel Marshall's trial 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.
This article includes discussion of abuse, sexual harassment and assault that some readers may find distressing.
It's been an emotional day for Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) in EastEnders, in the wake of Joel Marshall's (Max Murray) trial.
The teen had been charged with grievous bodily harm, voyeurism, and producing and distributing indecent images of a child. Yet, despite everyone turning against him, he couldn't see the error of his ways.
During yesterday's episode, we discovered that he'd tipped off his defence lawyer about the times Vicki and his dad Ross (Alex Walkinshaw) paid off his victims, effectively enabling his misogynistic behaviour to continue.
This proved too much for Vicki, who rushed out of the courtroom fearing that her attacker would never face justice for his crimes.
Her fears had intensified in today's instalment, as she began to wonder whether everything she had done in life had proved his views about women to be correct.
Another of Joel's victims, Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James), caught Vicki in the Square and tried to reassure her ahead of another day in court. She explained that although she had tried to block out what happened to her, the memories flooded back.
Amid Vicki's doubts, she asserted that neither of them could be held responsible for his repulsive behaviour.
Joel was more confident than ever, but when Ross declined his visit, he called on old mate Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) instead. The lads chatted, and Tommy explained that he wished he'd never been violent towards mum Kat (Jessie Wallace), as it didn't make him any more of a man.
It was evident that Joel didn't want to hear what Tommy had to say, but was somewhat unnerved by the thought of being locked up for the rest of his life.
In the courtroom, Vicki made a late arrival but bravely pleaded her side of the case. She said that when she and Ross got together, she tried her hardest to be the maternal figure he needed in life and that each time he lied, she believed he could change.
Avani then spoke to the room, saying that she felt seen and that she could trust him. However, when she expressed no desire to have a full-time relationship, he changed.
Joel found great humour in her words and began to smirk, causing Avani to lash out.
In retaliation, he said that he'd been repeatedly failed by his dad, who seemed more focused on his relationship with Vicki rather than caring for him. He saw the couple throwing their money at his problems as a terrible example, and couldn't decipher right from wrong.
However, when the judge came to give her verdict, she delivered some surprising news. Joel had decided to change his plea to guilty, and after the youth offending team had compiled a comprehensive report on his background, he could be sentenced.
While this was good news for Vicki, she couldn't help but feel saddened by what had happened. As everyone gathered in The Vic to celebrate, she explained that there was nothing to raise a glass to – a confused child would potentially be locked up, and it shouldn't have got this far.
How long will Joel's sentence be? Something tells us this isn't the last we've seen of him, or sadly, the end of Vicki's turmoil.
Read more:
- 5 EastEnders spoilers next week: Shock proposal amid wedding drama for Nigel and Julie Bates
- EastEnders reveals Mark Fowler Jr's secret and surprise connection to Walford local in BBC iPlayer release
- EastEnders airs dark Ravi Gulati scenes amid revenge story in early BBC iPlayer release
- 10 EastEnders characters who need to have a huge 2026 – from Chelsea Fox to Oscar Branning
Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.
Add EastEnders to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
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.
