EastEnders’ Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) is left further concerned about troubled son Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) next week.
The teenager recently returned home to the care of his parents after spending months living with foster carer Zack Hudson (James Farrar), following his abuse his abuse of mum Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) last year.
Kat and Alfie were worried when he then revealed he had been chatting to a mysterious friend online.
However, they were then stunned when his pal ‘Matt’ was later revealed to be an AI chatbot, with Tommy confessing he felt it helped him feel less lonely.
Next week though, Tommy starts to make a real-life friend following the arrival of newcomer Joel (Max Murray) in Walford.
Joel turns up with his dad Ross (Alex Walkinshaw) and his partner, legacy character Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig), who is back in Albert Square for her uncle Martin Fowler’s (James Bye) funeral.
Keen to make pals, Joel introduces himself to Tommy and Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James), and the two lads strike up an immediate bond.
As their friendship begins to flourish over the course of the week, Tommy decides its time to delete his chatbot.
However, it is clear Alfie is unsure about his new-found bond with Joel – is he right to be concerned?
Newcomer Max Murray previously said of joining the cast as Joel: ‘It’s an absolute privilege and honour to be joining such a wonderful production full of a lovely cast and crew. I’m really looking forward to introducing Joel to EastEnders viewers and telling his story.’
