EastEnders' Chantelle is keeping the Panesar family at arm’s length for fear of what her abusive husband Gray will do if she’s seen talking to them. But I bet she ultimately decides to tell newcomer Jags about the violence to which she’s being subjected – if only because he appears to have the potential to be the Square’s next Fatboy, in whom I recall everyone seemed to confide their woes.
I’d be disappointed, though, if Jags ended up swooping in to rescue Chantelle from Gray’s clutches. There’s no point really in doing such hard-hitting storylines if the victim of the abuse doesn’t eventually find the strength to thwart the aggressor. Even if it means we get one of those over-familiar lines such as “I’m not scared of you anymore” before the villain gets their clothes thrown on the pavement in bin bags and is lamped in the face with an iron or, as the recent case of Honey and horrible Adam, a recycling bin.
Now, speaking of Honey, we also get ex-husband Billy realising that she’s hiding an eating order. Meanwhile, the fallout from Christmas continues for the Mitchells, with Louise now facing life as a single mother, unaware of course that Keanu is still in the land of living. After coming face to face with Karen in the café, Lou starts to buckle under the weight of guilt she’s carrying around with her.
And if you thought that Leo’s unmasking would be paving the way for his exit, then think again. Tuesday’s episode sees Whitney left slack-jawed with shock when she realises that her creepy ex is now a stallholder on the market…
