Mark and Lauren's lunchtime drive ends in a shocking attack in EastEnders

Will Mark come to her rescue?

 7-13 MARCH

As Lauren worries about her future, news reaches her that the car lot is up for sale, and Penny encourages her to consider buying it.

When the bank rejects Lauren, Ian suggests she ask Max for the money, but he refuses. As Lauren sulks, Oscar and Cindy jibe at her.

But when Cindy antagonises Max about his lack of investment, he makes a U-turn and tells Lauren he’s going to invest.

As the pair head to The Vic to celebrate, following their respective conversations with Peter and Jack, it’s clear that Max and Lauren both have very different ideas on how their business partnership is going to run.

As Lauren prepares for her first day as manager of the car lot, she's upset to learn that Max intends to run the business. Desperately trying to prove herself, Lauren agrees to sell a classic car in 24 hours.

When Mark shows interest, Lauren takes him for a spin in the car, but when Mark admits he doesn’t have the funds to buy it, he agrees to buy her lunch to make up for it.

But when Mark leaves Lauren unattended, a thug attacks her and speeds off with the car. Coming to Lauren’s aid, Mark takes her back to the Square to Max and Peter.

EastEnders continues Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One with first look episodes available from 6am on BBC iPlayer