EastEnders’ Harry Mitchell goes spiralling off the rails again next week, but what’s happened to make him hit the bottle so hard?

It’s no secret that Harry turns to alcohol when he is struggling with his emotions – and this time is no different as the mechanic wakes up at The Arches with a nasty hungover.

Soon afterwards, Billy discovers his nephew and escorts him to Walford East for some much-needed quality time. However, the one-to-one takes a turn when Teddy turns up at the door.

“Harry is a mess,” explains our Walford insider. “We’ve always known he’s rough around the edges, but the fact he wakes up hungover in his own place of work says it all.

“His painful thoughts have clearly taken their toll on him, and he can’t bear the sight of his dad when he walks in at Ravi’s restaurant. It’s yet to be seen what exactly goes down between the father and son, but we know that they’re both fiery men who struggle to keep their tempers in check…”

Afterwards, Billy finds Harry at the café and attempts to put things right with his fragile relative. Will Harry respond well to his uncle’s efforts, or will he fall into yet another self-destructive spiral?

Later in the week, Nicola Mitchell sets out to find her eldest son and stops Gina Knight in her tracks while out on the Square. After the odd exchange, Gina meets up with Jay Brown for a drink, but their exchange is derailed when they spot Harry under the influence.

“Alarm bells ring for Jay,” says our source. “He’s no stranger to drunken behaviour, and he informs Nicola and Teddy that their son is in a bad way.

“Luckily, the two parents turn up in time to calm the situation down – but Gina gets the feeling that there’s something fishy going on.”

Once everything has calmed down, Gina and Harry meet for a chat at the café. However, the bartender grows even more suspicious of Harry and his recent behaviour when he refuses to give her prying questions the time of day.

As Gina closes in on her new flame, will Harry manage to keep her out of his family business? Or will she entice him to reveal all about his inner demons?