Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) is in for one hell of a week in EastEnders – and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) doesn’t make things much better.
It all kicks off when Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) receives a phone call, which soon brings her younger brother Oscar (Pierre Moullier) back to Walford.
It’s evident that something is stopping him returning home, and he does his best to convince her to let him stay in Albert Square.
After reuniting with his uncle Jack (Scott Maslen), Ian and his son Peter (Thomas Law) arrive with some questions.
After all, if he was to move into Lauren’s abode, he’d be sharing with members of the Beale clan. And the last thing they need is more drama brought to their door!
Following some tough deliberation, Lauren relents and lets her younger brother set up home, on the condition that he behaves. But when alone, his phone buzzes – and it’s evident that trouble is brewing.
As the week goes on, he wastes no time in showing off to his new neighbours and making quite the name for himself. Jack tries to calm him down, and the pair have an open conversation about his estranged relationship with parents Max (Jake Wood) and Tanya (Jo Joyner).
However, after heading to the chippy, Oscar comes up with a brilliant plan to get Ian to part with some of his cash.
He stages a dramatic fall on the floor, and wants compensation. Stacey watches on, amused, with a social worker watching on.
Ian heads home and boldly announces to mum Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth) and her partner Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) that it’s high time they rebuild the Beale empire, and he’s got grand designs for one iconic business.
The ‘for sale’ sign is up, and Ian reckons he could put in the winning bid, lording it over Stacey and her cousin Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace).
Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) reckons that her cleaning job at the boozer could be over should Ian take charge, prompting the other women in the family to come up with a quick plan.
Later, Stacey rushes into the boozer and presents her family with a winning scratch card. She’s won £100k, and intends to buy The Vic – and Ian isn’t happy.
