Desperate for money, Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa) has made a very risky decision in EastEnders.
Earlier this year, she stole £3,000 from a charity fundraiser organised by the Queen Vic punters to benefit an organisation that helped children with sight loss. She believed that this cash could benefit her own visually impaired son Jimmy, and plunged it into an experimental treatment plan.
Little did she realise at the time, this was a sophisticated scam and the money was lost forever.
Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) then proposed that she team up with him at the car lot, and that he could source a number of motors and split the profits.
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.
Lauren then seized the opportunity, though shortly afterwards, Callum Highway (Tony Clay) asked her to remain vigilant following a series of thefts in the area. She had a gut-feeling that there was something strange with Mark’s deal, and went to confront him.
As she approached, she noticed him chatting to the thug that had assaulted her. She firmly told him that the deal was off, though she’s now been forced to reconsider.
It comes after Mark had decided to fix up some classic cars and then sell them onto the car lot. Lauren was excited about the work, though explained that she didn’t have enough space on their ground to accommodate anymore vehicles.
With a crime boss breathing down his neck demanding £200,000, he teamed up with his aunt Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) and torched four of them in a quarry in Essex.
In today’s episode, Max was made aware of the stolen cars, and wondered whether Lauren had any part in it. She denied all knowledge, though had a feeling that Mark might’ve been involved.
Supported by Sam, they created a pretty believable alibi about being in a pub in Hackney all evening, celebrating Nigel Bates’s (Paul Bradley) life, meaning that they couldn’t have been responsible. Sam then turned the attention towards Max, and posed whether he could have done it to discredit Lauren.
She was left humiliated when she addressed Sam’s theory with Max, as he was just about to sign over 50% of the business to her.
Peter Beale (Thomas Law) then broke the news that their carers allowance for Jimmy had been revoked, because his wages from the fruit and veg stall and from his PT side-hustle went over a certain threshold. He’d also received an invite from a private nursery that could help with Jimmy, though knew they couldn’t afford it.
Sadly, money doesn’t grow on trees, and so she was forced to turn to Mark and demand that he call his contact about shifting more stolen cars.
Will Lauren and Mark get away with their scheme?
Read more:
- 5 EastEnders spoilers this week: Emotional returns for Nigel Bates’s funeral and Mark Fowler held hostage
- EastEnders legend teases “dangerous” dynamic between Max Branning and Cindy Beale
- EastEnders boss teases “emotional” Denise Fox scenes from blood cancer storyline after 20 years on the show
- EastEnders wins Soap award at BAFTA Television Awards 2026 as fan-favourite delivers speech amid anniversary
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