With Stephen Aaron-Sipple taking on the role. EastEnders has confirmed that Mark Fowler Jr will be returning to the soap, ten years since he was last seen in 2016, discovering that Grant Mitchell was his father, after getting close to Courtney Mitchell, who he did not realise at the time was his half-sister. He'll be heading back to Walford later this month to join his older sister Vicki Fowler, but eagle-eyed viewers will recognise him as the mysterious figure in the flashf

But can Sam talk Phil out of taking Nigel to Portugal? 17-23 JANUARY At Raymond’s request, Ricky arranges a surprise birthday party for Phil, but the mood sours when he suspects Sam is about to leave again. When George finds Sam with a letter about her lumpectomy, he advises her to be honest with Ricky. Later, Sam finally shares her diagnosis with Ricky, who promises to support her. Sam tries to talk Phil out of taking Nigel to Portugal. As Phil prepares to take Nigel to Por

Can Max stop her? 17-23 JANUARY Kat returns, and Jasmine goes with her to visit Zoe in prison, who explains that she’s decided to plead guilty and that she acted in self-defence. But Kat insists that if they tell the police about Chrissie, the case against Zoe may fall apart. But Zoe refuses, as it may implicate Jasmine. Later, Jasmine lies to Kat that she’ll speak to the police anyway, before plotting to cut all ties and leave Walford with Oscar. Whilst Jasmine is adamant t

Will Ravi open up about how much he's struggling? 17-23 JANUARY Priya insists that Nugget must move into Ravi’s flat, determined to keep them close. But Ravi’s guilt makes the atmosphere awkward, which Nugget misinterprets. When Nugget pushes Ravi for answers about why he didn’t visit him in the hospital, Ravi snaps, and Priya has to step in to smooth things over. Later, Nugget goes outside to please Ravi, who is trying to push him to return to normality, but gets overwhelme

Has Ian finally found his match? 17-23 JANUARY Elaine unveils a new advertising sign outside Peacock Palace, which Ian finds objectionable. And after another argument with Elaine at The Vic, Ian calls Councillor Barker to make an official complaint to the council about the sign. Meanwhile, Linda and Elaine go to The Vic to remember Mick on his birthday. It seems that Ian’s efforts to get Elaine’s sign removed seem to be paying off, until Honey gives her some intel on Council

Will Max’s speech change Lauren’s mind? 10-16 JANUARY At Peacock Palace, Bea is getting her feet under the table and takes a shine to Max, and Linda offers to pick up the rest of Bea’s stuff from her old flat and then go for a drink. However, when Ollie has an issue at school, Max offers to take Bea out so Linda can focus on her son, and Bea is thrilled to have a ‘date’ with Max. Stunned to hear that Bea thinks they're going on a date, Max decides to keep up the pretence for

Will he piece together exactly what happened? 10-16 JANUARY Waking up in the street, Ravi has no recollection of what happened the night before. After charging his phone, Ravi picks up some worrying messages and soon realises that he is responsible for a terrible incident. Soon, Ravi confesses everything to Priya, who struggles with the weight of his confession and is rattled when the detectives investigating the incident ask to talk to Priya. Following their interview with

What consequences will their actions have? 3-9 JANUARY With Harry wanting to take revenge on Ravi, Nicola advises him to wait for the right time. After seeing Ravi seemingly living a perfect family life, Harry decides to take action, and Nicola steps in to stop him from using violence, sharing that she has a plan that will ensure Ravi pays for what he did to Harry. As the rest of the family goes for an interview with Suki and Eve’s adoption assessors, Ravi is left out, and l

Bu t will Phil be there to support her? 3-9 JANUARY Sam confides in Alfie ahead of the lumpectomy operation and later reveals to Phil that the date has come through for her lumpectomy. But will he be there to support her? EastEnders continues Mondays to Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One with first look episodes available from 6am on BBC iPlayer

Will Bea finally get an apology from Linda? 3-9 JANUARY Linda is conflicted about attending her school reunion, but Johnny encourages her to go and Honey agrees to accompany her. When they arrive, they lie that Honey is ‘Bea’, another pupil from Linda’s school, so she can get into the party. However, when they get inside, the real Bea is there and reveals what Linda was like back in their school days. But when Bea gives her version of events from their school days that paint