Five explosive BBC EastEnders theories: shock alliance, huge betrayal and paternity twist
JAY Brown has been spiralling out of control and Ben Mitchell is growing concerned about his ability to raise Lexi.
And with the EastEnders mechanic getting out of hand, Ben could be tempted to take precautions. Here’s what you can expect this week.
1. Custody betrayal
The mechanic played by Jamie Borthwick turned to newcomer Nadine, attracted by her striking resemblance to the late Lola.
Unfortunately, in his grief-stricken state, Jay decided drugs were the only way he could cope with the pain of being without his wife.
This week on BBC One, Jay’s state of mind fails to improve and things get worse for him after a horror accident.
Coming up, Jay wakes after a night filled with booze and drugs and Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) soon senses something is wrong.
He heads to Jay who confesses to taking drugs to but he keeps quiet about Nadine.
Billy is heartbroken by Jay’s turmoil and attempts to rally the family together for a meet in The Vic, but things don’t go according to plan when Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) reveals all about Nadine, completely unaware that Lexi (Isabella Brown) is listening.
Lexi reels and abruptly leaves as the family follow her and shun Jay.
In later scenes, Jay desperately tries to make amends but Ben and Callum Highway (Tony Clay) shut him out, wanting to protect Lexi.
Jay gets a dealer’s number off Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) and picks up more drugs before Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) finds him at the car lot to confiscate them and offers him a bed for the night at The Vic.
Gina convinces Jay to head to No.29B where they put a plan into action to speak to Lexi.
Ben and Billy are reluctant, but once inside, Jay finally has an honest conversation with Lexi – how will she react?
While this remains to be seen, another character grows cautious around Jay.
George is concerned when he finds a groggy Jay waking up at The Vic and fears he’s having a negative influence on Gina, who has had her share of issues with drugs.
Jay drinks himself into oblivion before George kicks him out after finding drugs in his belongings and Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) bars him.
The mechanic later bumps into Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) and the pair almost fight, unaware that Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) is watching,
Later on, Jay is overcome with emotion whilst looking at Lola’s things before Ben and Gina find him unconscious on the sofa having taken more drugs.
Billy is disgusted at Jay and a huge row erupts between the pair.
Jay is then ordered out of their lives for good and, heartbroken, he decides to drive to Margate against Gina’s wishes.
Later, the police arrive at The Vic looking for Jay’s next-of-kin as its revealed Jay has been in an accident.
Will he survive?
While this remains to be seen, one viewer reminded other fans of the London-based drama one detail that seems to have been forgotten.
“Remember, Ben never wanted Jay to co-parent. Ben was always going to use any excuse to get rid of him”, they penned.
If Jay survives his accident, could Ben do everything in his power to keep him away from Lexi once and for all?
2. Surprise alliance
Soap viewers were introduced to Nugget Gulati’s mother for the first time on Monday, October 16, 2023, as the lad was finally found alive and well after going missing for several weeks.
Sophie Khan-Levy has taken on the new role but her arrival leaves Suki Panesar (played by Balvinder Sopal) fearing for her marriage.
In upcoming scenes, both women butt heads on their different values as they both try to one up each other.
Priya then attempts to get Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) on side by flirting as the pair go clothes shopping.
In later scenes, Suki is shocked at Nish’s new look, but how will he react?
Things don’t get any better between Priya and Suki as they continue to irritate each other.
Nish doesn’t help them get along and, instead, helps tension grow by giving Priya a job in the Minute Mart.
Could Suki fire her on the spot?
Fans will have to wait and see to find out more but, while many suspect an affair is in the works, one of them is convinced Nish is likely to only use Priya to remind Suki he’s in charge.
“Nish doesn’t even know Priya that well but already he’s cementing his control”, they wrote.
“I don’t think he’ll get into a relationship with her – I mean we know full well Nish’s intentions with women. I just think he’ll use Priya to rub Suki up the wrong way.”
However, one theory could suggest that Priya, who was seen bedding Peter Beale (Thomas Law) upon her arrival, may have other intentions for Nish.
There’s clear tension between her and Ravi and with Suki not being Nish’s biggest fan, both women could be tempted to team up to get rid of both men.
This is most notably due to the fact that Ravi made it clear he wants to become more involved in his daughter Avani’s life – and Priya may believe she runs the risk of losing both of her children.
With Nish watching over Ravi’s wrongdoings and condoning them, she may also be keen to get rid of the duo and secure herself an ally in the form of Suki.
3. Lovers reconcile
Speaking of which, Suki put an end to her affair with Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) earlier this year after it was clear Nish could be catching on – and both of their lives were in danger.
But with Priya growing closer to Nish and a potential affair ahead, fans are hoping it will be enough for Suki to run back to Eve.
The former solicitor has been standing on the side-lines of Suki’s life in recent weeks as she helped her pal Stacey Slater face her stalker Theo Hawthorne.
During the summer, she also met her twin sister’s killer Caz and Suki stepped in to help her, proving their love was still going strong despite their circumstances.
And with a Christmas murder mystery coming up, one could theorise Priya, Eve and Suki could team up and work out a plan to get rid of Nish once and for all, with Ravi in tow.
4. Newcomer keeps shock secret
According to another fan, Ravi could also be set for a nasty surprise.
In recent EastEnders scenes, the gangster was faced with his former girlfriend Priya and his secret daughter Avani (Aaliyah James).
However, one soap fan was sceptical – is Avani really who she says she is?
According to them, Priya and Avani could be in cahoots to scam Ravi and the latter may even be lying about her age.
“So Avani is meant to be 14 but her actress is 23 Maybe this isn’t an accident”, they commented.
“Let’s think about how she was introduced in the past two episodes.”
“Wednesday: She hits on Martin. Thursday: She drinks Priya’s coffee.”
“Both of these things are her acting older than she’s mean to be. Maybe it’s hinting that she’s not as young as she’s pretending to be.”
“Maybe she’s just Priya’s friend and not actually her daughter and they are trying to scam Ravi.”
Could they be on to something?
5. DNA twist
But there’s another secret that could be in store when it boils down to the dynamics of the Panesar family.
Suki has recently been fighting to get her son Kheerat out of prison after finding out Ravi was responsible for Ranveer’s death.
Unlike her, Nish has been happy to leave Kheerat behind bars and protect his illegitimate son.
One fan believes they know all about Nish’s reasoning and took to Reddit: “I reckon Kheerat is not actually Nish’s biological son and I think Nish knows this.”
They added: “with Vinny, Ash & Ravi, you can tell he’s at least got some fatherly bond with them and he has some sort of unconditional love for them but he never seemed to have this at all with Kheerat.”
“Even with Jags, who he never met, he’s been shown to feel some remorse in the past about his death.”
“But with Kheerat, he acts like he’s the son of someone else and seems glad that he was sent to prison and that he’s no longer a part of their family.”
“He even feels determined to keep Kheerat in prison and make sure he’s never released.”
“Maybe it will come out in the future that Kheerat was the son of the guy Nish killed which would explain why he hates him so much.”
Regular EastEnders viewers will remember that Kheerat was thrown in prison after he took the blame for Ranveer’s murder to save his mother Suki.
He was sentenced to a lifetime in prison off-screen and refused to have Suki by his side during the process.
Nish has made no effort to be present from Kheerat, his supposed son – could it be down to the character’s parentage?
EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
