Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa) was dressed to the nines, Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) waited for her in anticipation, and the latest EastEnders affair seemed to be born in yesterday’s episode.
But what really happened after the blinds on The Boxing Den office were shut?
Sexual tension has been bubbling under the service for months with these two, first sparked when Mark offered Lauren some dodgy work on the side to pay for son Jimmy’s nursery fees.
The deal sounded promising, though she couldn’t help but feel that she was tempting fate, just days after a man violently attacked her and stole the car keys to a vintage vehicle. It seriously knocked her confidence, and she had no idea that Mark was the one who orchestrated the incident.
He needed the cash to pay off some gangsters who wanted his blood, and went on to torch a number of other cars with his aunty Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf).
Last week, Mark wanted to test Lauren’s loyalty to him, and pulled her away from a family barbecue. He pretended that he was in serious danger while delivering a car, but when she got there, he was fine.
However, a real incident soon surfaced. He’d forgotten to put fake number plates on a motor he was shifting to a contact, and had to outrun the police. Lauren rushed to his rescue, and while at a lock-up site, they started to kiss.
The noise of approaching sirens broke up their intimacy, and she darted off.
However, later that day, after speaking to sister Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) about his adoration for Lauren – without giving away her name – he text her and asked to meet at The Boxing Den. She was initially hesitant, but soon swanned over and dragged him into the office.
In today’s episode, as they began to kiss, a guilt-ridden Mark stopped the interaction. He admitted that he was the one who had set fire to the vehicles, and that he’d effectively lied to her.
She wondered what else he was keeping from her, and with the trust between them shattered, it was clear that he wasn’t the right person to be pursuing an affair with. He was furious and fired back, saying that she was clearly a chip off the old block given dad Max Branning’s (Jake Wood) endless infidelities.
Lauren later sat alone in the Square Gardens, clutching a bottle of vodka. She was close to relapsing, though after a run-in with Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), decided to return home to husband Peter (Thomas Law) and their children.
Despite that, she lingered over a text from Mark inviting her back to the gym.
Is this the end of their secret trysts?
Read more:
- 4 EastEnders spoilers for next week: Ian Beale faces prison sentence and Sharon Watts gets a shock
- EastEnders confirms Zoe Slater exit as legendary character tipped to be killed off
- EastEnders confirms Hollyoaks favourite cast as new detective for major Branning storyline
- EastEnders legend teases “dangerous” dynamic between Max Branning and Cindy Beale
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