Love looks set to blossom for an unlikely EastEnders pairing next week, as teenagers Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) and Barney Mitchell (Lewis Bridgeman) share an unexpected kiss.

The pair have formed a close friendship since Barney and the extended Mitchell clan’s arrival in Walford last year, and he has been harbouring a secret crush on her.

However, recent weeks have seen Avani turn to newcomer Joel Marshall (Max Murray) in the wake of her horrific strip-search ordeal at the hands of the police.

Avani and Joel slept together in scenes that aired earlier this month, but Avani is currently unaware that Joel filmed one of their encounters without her consent.

News about Avani and Joel having sex gets out next week, and an already fragile Avani becomes the target of cruel online comments.

Barney makes several attempts to reach out to her in the midst of her distress, but she gets defensive and shuts him down.

As he later tries again, Barney’s mum Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) finds them and assumes Avani is leading Barney astray, but when Barney reveals the reason behind her emotional state, Nicola shares some wise words with Avani.

Avani is touched by Barney’s support, but they later fall out when Avani asks Barney if he wants to go back to her house, and he gets the wrong end of the stick, prompting her to storm off.

After spotting their row, Avani’s dad Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) steps in to give Barney some unexpected advice. When the friends later meet to make amends, there’s a shock in store as Avani plants a kiss on Barney.

While this could be the start of a new romance for Barney, he will soon have much bigger things to worry about, however.