This article contains spoilers for tonight’s episode of EastEnders, which airs at 7.30pm on BBC One or can be streamed now on iPlayer.

Joel Marshall (Max Murray) has spiralled out of control – and dad Ross (Alex Walkinshaw) has enabled it.

The teen has now chosen to target a neighbour after another troubling week.

As viewers have seen, Joel discovered that his mum Cleo – who he previously branded a ‘slapper’ – was getting remarried. He seemed to take the news well, but later headed to The Vic to steal booze with his mate Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall).

When they were caught, he began to tear strips off Tommy’s mum Kat (Jessie Wallace), and Ross had to drag him out of the pub.

Back at home, he decided to allow his dad into his inner circle, showing him a worrying video from a sexist and misogynistic influencer who he clearly was inspired by.

When Joel wandered off into the kitchen, Ross decided to delve deeper into his files and noticed that he’d shared countless videos of girls being upskirted or filmed without their knowledge online.

Ross snapped, and threw the laptop into the sink before branding his son a ‘disgusting little pervert.’

How has Joel reacted to his dad’s comments?

In today’s episode, Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) questioned why the device had been waterlogged, and why Ross didn’t want Joel to work with him at the timber yard.

Outside on Bridge Street, Joel begged Peter Beale (Thomas Law) to give him work, clearly desperate to get some money in his pocket to buy a new laptop.

Vicki questioned her partner once again, and he finally came clean about what he’d found. She was disgusted, and told him that it was about time he set the vile youngster onto the straight and narrow.

Joel apologised to Kat, and while hanging out with Tommy again, noticed that Vicki was downing drinks with Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) at the bar.

The two were discussing recent events, and Stace’ spoke of her own mistreatment at the hands of various men in her life.

Joel lashed out again in a public display of hatred, demanding that Vicki go home and make his evening meal and degrading Stacey. Kat ordered the boys back upstairs, where Tommy leapt to the defence of his family, explaining that Stacey had once been stalked as a result of using the platform SecretCam.

That clearly gave Joel food for thought…

What happened to Stacey when she used SecretCam?

As viewers will recall, Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) introduced Stacey to the OnlyFans dupe when she was looking for a way to make some quick cash.

Under the username IceSKater95, she uploaded feet pictures to the site to pay off her bills and a loan shark.

Her uploads became more risqué at the request of a subscriber, who she later realised was Walford High teacher Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis).

He subsequently stalked Stacey, attempting to rape her and was handed a 10 year stretch in prison.

Joel launches an attack on Stacey

Inspired by Tommy’s story, he headed downstairs and referred to Stacey by her username, branding her a ‘dirty little prostitute’.

He then brought up daughter Lily Slater (Lillia Turner), saying that she is a ‘sket’ because she fell pregnant with Ricky Branning’s (Frankie Day) baby when she was 12 years old.

Stacey was furious, and as Ross stepped into the bar, she slapped Joel across the face.

In a serious case of déjà vu, Ross marched him back across the road for another confrontation. Boosted by some advice from Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) about parenting, he told Joel that some things are better left unsaid – even if it is how you feel.

He also demanded that if he felt compelled to view such shocking content online in future, he should turn to him for support.

Then, to make matters a lot worse, he presented Joel with a new laptop that he could use to study ahead of his return to Walford High in September. Ross clearly thought that by putting trust in him, his behaviour would change.