It’s been a case of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ in EastEnders when it comes to Max Branning (Jake Wood) and Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), but something more than friendship is about to explode.
The gruesome twosome haven’t ever been on the best of terms. Max is responsible for the death of Cindy’s son Steven (Aaron Sidwell), something she fully planned on confronting him over.
Back on the Square following her own return from the grave, Cindy geared up to tear Max apart when she learned he’d reappeared for her other son, Peter’s (Thomas Law) wedding to Max’s daughter, Lauren’s (Jacqueline Jossa), though through some careful manipulation, she was kept away from him until he left yet again.
Further juggling of troublesome relations came on Christmas Day, when Max was allowed to attend the Beale/Branning Christmas dinner, while Cindy was denied entry.
The turkey had barely been carved, though, when things erupted. Max was still furious to learn that Lauren, his son, Oscar (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) and brother, Jack (Scott Maslen) had hidden that he was the father of Annie Carter (Lois Hawkins), Linda Carter’s (Kellie Bright) daughter, and when he learned that Jack had gotten involved with his former lover, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), fists started to fly.
Banished from the house, a drunken Max stumbled over to the Albert, finding Cindy, equally tipsy and lonely.
As they both lambasted their families, completely unaware of each others identity, it didn’t take long for hormones to start raging and clothes to start flying.
Of course, with this being soap land, their bunk up was revealed at the worst possible moment: at Lauren and Peter’s son, Jimmy’s christening. The penny dropped hard when they realised who each other were, and after a few slaps and some comments about biting and ginger nuts were thrown, the blood between them had certainly turned bad.
The two only reunited due to their shared dislike of Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness), Oscar’s girlfriend who’d previously grievously injured Cindy.
As Max clashed with Jasmine, Cindy offered her support and the two joined forces to bring her down, with Max successfully forcing her to depart the Square.
When she returned, she was arrested for killing her dad and Max took her phone which contained the only evidence that could prove her innocence, with Cindy later stealing it from him.
With Jasmine seemingly defeated, there’s no need for them to continue to interact, right?
Well, apparently, their partnership is set to return to its physical roots, as the two end up back in each others arms, but decide to keep it secret. Though we can’t disclose how and when, another union between two of Walford’s most devious residents can only spell trouble, right?
