EastEnders’ Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) tries to take hold of a growing crisis next week as Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) remains paralysed by grief following Martin Fowler’s (James Bye) tragic death.
The beloved fruit and veg trader perished in the aftermath of the Queen Vic explosion back in February, having only just reunited with ex-wife Stacey in the rubble of the destroyed pub.
With Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) and Mo Harris (Laila Morse) away and Stacey refusing to come out of her bedroom, pressure is mounting at No.31 next week, which leads to Kat making a shock discovery.
Fans of the BBC soap will see how the burden of keeping the Slater house running has fallen on the shoulders of Stacey’s teenage daughter Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) and cousin Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier).

After Lily lies to both Kat and Stacey’s best friend Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) to cover for her mum, Freddie is finally forced to tell Kat the truth, begging her to step in before things spiral any further.
A worried Kat heads to the Slaters and is stunned by the state of the house and the emotional toll everything is taking on Lily, who’s been skipping school to look after her baby daughter Charli and her young siblings Hope and Arthur.
Kat then calls a crisis meeting with partner Alfie Moon (Shane Richie), Eve and her wife Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), where they begin to discuss childcare duties and the possibility that Stacey – who has bipolar disorder – may need medical intervention.

But when Stacey eventually emerges from her room to find everyone gathered in the kitchen, she quickly shuts them down, leaving Kat feeling helpless.
Later, a distraught Lily finally breaks down, admitting her fears over her mum’s behaviour.
Things only get more concerning, however, when Stacey suddenly announces a big family meal.
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Believing her cousin is pushing herself too hard too soon, Kat’s concerns look to be realised when Stacey loses it after realising her phone has fallen into a washing bag that Freddie has taken to the laundrette.
Revealing it has irreplaceable voicemails, photos and texts from Martin on it, Stacey races to the laundrette to rescue her phone.
Meanwhile, back at No.31, Alfie is shaken when young Arthur tells him a secret. While soap bosses are holding back the details of what exactly Alfie learns, when he tells the Slaters, it risks tearing the already-volatile family even further apart…