Three massive BBC EastEnders theories: huge blackmail ordeal and new baby for Albert Square favourite
PHIL Mitchell and Kat Slater FINALLY tied the knot during a recent trip to Albert Square.
Unfortunately, the EastEnders tough man is keeping a secret Emma Harding could easily use against him to get what she wants.
1. Blackmail plot
Phil Mitchell (played by Steve McFadden) cheated on his new bride Kat Slater before their marriage even begun.
And while Keanu Taylor tried to use his fling to get access to his daughter Peggy, another Walford resident could well do the same to put pressure on his son Ben Mitchell and Jay Brown.
Coming up this week on BBC One, Tommy Moon (played by Sonny Kendall) gets ready for his debut fight after turning to boxing in the midst of a behavioural crisis.
However, the young lad is fretting about Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) turning up to watch.
Phil Mitchell tries to reassure the schoolboy and promises Alfie will be there – while internally finding it hard to cope with the guilt of his infidelity.
The Walford tough man has done all he can to support Alfie, despite their love rivalry over Kat Slater.
He goes to the hospital to bring Alfie to The Boxing Den but once he gets there, Phil is shocked to see Alfie’s in bad shape following his operation.
Alfie then tells Phil he needs to recuperate in Spain – how will the latter react?
This remains to be seen but Phil later returns home and frets about breaking the news to Tommy, unaware that he’s overheard it all.
Angry and hurt, Tommy lashes out at Phil and calls him a liar.
In later scenes, Phil asks Vic resident and former boxing star George Knight (Colin Salmon) to give Tommy boxing lessons.
Kat (Jessie Wallace) tries to reassure Tommy that Alfie will be back, but having been hurt so many times before, the youngster doesn’t believe her.
Phil does whatever he can to distract himself from his one night stand with Emma Harding in Peggy’s.
The character played by Patsy Kensit came back in previous scenes of the London-based drama and let Jay Brown know she was ready to bond with her granddaughter Lexi.
However, the mechanic was more than reluctant to grant her access to Lexi due to Emma abandoning Lola Pearce at the height of her brain tumour ordeal.
In a shocking twist, could Emma try to get custody of Lexi by blackmailing Phil with their tryst?
Could this lead Phil to push his son Ben to allow Emma to spend time with Lexi?
In the same breath, one viewer took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their own theory – and it could mean trouble for Jay.
“What if Emma finds out Jay was on the sex offenders register a few years ago… and is worried about her granddaughter and its Jay who is killed at Christmas?”, they penned.
Regular viewers will recall that Jay had a relationship with a schoolgirl named Star and, despite calling it off after finding out she was underage, the situation landed him in hot water as he was placed on the sex offenders register.
Could both Jay’s past and Phil’s infidelity be the tools Emma needs to get her granddaughter?
2. Baby twist for Whitney
Elsewhere in the Square, Zack Hudson and Whitney Dean get massive news this week.
Whitney (played by Shona McGarty) has been put through the wringer during her time in Albert Square from her grooming storyline in her teens to her involvement in bringing serial killer Gray Atkins down.
Viewers recently found out she’s set to leave Walford and soap fans are hopeful she’ll get the happy ending she deserves.
The fan favourite made the decision to foster kids with her partner Zack Hudson (James Farrar) following the loss of their daughter Peach earlier this year.
To achieve their dreams of a happy family without going through the same trauma of losing a child, the pair have had to make the difficult decision to leave No.1 behind to get their own place.
Coming up, the lovebirds are one step closer to getting what they want.
Whitney and Zack are excited to get the keys to their new place and to hear they’ll be getting a visit from the fostering department next week.
But will everything go according to plan for Zack and Whitney?
With Whitney’s exit fast approaching, many viewers are growing increasingly convinced she could get the family she wants with a little help from her young niece Lily Slater.
The thirteen-year-old gave birth to a daughter named Charli in an explosive trip to Walford but motherhood could be a challenge she isn’t fit to overcome at her young age.
As a result, one fan theorised Whitney could take the new-born with her before her departure.
“I have a feeling that Lily is going to give up her baby, and Whitney and Zack will get her”, the soap fan penned.
“It will be too hard for Lily to see her grow up on the square so that’s why Whitney leaves.”
And with stalker Theo Hawthorne ready to wreak more havoc in Stacey’s life this week, both her and Lily may be keen to give Charli a safer, more stable life away from his misdeeds.
3. Ravi on a warpath
The truth about Ranveer Gulati’s death was finally exposed after Denise Fox (portrayed by Diane Parish) found camera footage showing Ravi (Aaron Thiara) committing the crime.
But just as he was exposed, Ravi’s son Davinder “Nugget” Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) fled Albert Square.
The aftermath of Nugget’s sudden disappearance begins this week as Ravi is horrified to realise his son is nowhere to be found.
He lays the blame at Suki Panesar’s (Balvinder Sopal) door and they begin a desperate search for him.
Later at The Vic, Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) is about to sign the Beales’ contract when Ravi bursts in to share the news about Nugget going missing.
The search for Nugget later intensifies as Nish demands that Ravi gets the police involved while Suki is riddled with guilt as her own actions led to the lad vanishing from Walford.
In later scenes, Ravi is horrified when the police ask questions and then devastated when Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega) tells him that his son is scared of him.
Denzel tells Ravi that Nugget’s disappearance is all his fault – but how will Ravi react?
Suki fields questions from PC Nash about Nugget’s disappearance and whether there were problems at home.
She’s keen to drop Ravi in it, and he and Nish demand to know why the police are pursuing this line of enquiry.
Later, Ravi confronts Denise and accuses her of stirring things up with PC Nash, but she unleashes some harsh home truths.
In turmoil, Ravi can’t stop lashing out at people as he tortures himself over Nugget’s disappearance, and Nish demands that Suki start treating his eldest son as if he were one of her own children.
Ravi recently intimidate Suki by organising an attack against her son Kheerat, who was sentenced to a lifetime in prison for the murder of Ranveer Gulati.
But the businesswoman refused to allow Ravi to intimidate her and went as far as to tell his son Davinder that he had killed Ranveer.
In a fit of rage, Nugget cornered his father with the truth before vanishing after spending some time with Suki.
As a result, one could theorise that Ravi may try and get revenge on Suki once and for all – but how will he go about it?
Could this even lead to him being killed off in the Christmas murder mystery teased back in February, 2023?
The cufflinks found on the unknown male victim have been a major clue for viewers as they have tirelessly tried to figure out who will be murdered during the festive season.
They were most recently handed over to Phil Mitchell for his wedding with Kat Slater but judging by Sharon Watts’ calm reaction in the now famous flashforward scene, it’s unlikely that the Walford baddie will be the one to meet his maker later this year.
Sharon, Stacey, Denise and Suki have all had issues with Ravi and, to top it all off, the cufflinks once belonged to his father Nish.
Could his downfall begin this week as he tries to find Nugget?
Will the lad ever return and, if so, what will it mean for his relationship with Ravi?
EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
