SHOCKING NEWS JUST DROPPED! EastEnders confirms return for Joel Marshall as Max Murray reprises role

EastEnders revisits Joel Marshall’s dark storyline this year as the teenage villain returns to the show,  can exclusively confirm.

Max Murray, who plays Joel, has already returned to filming and will be back on screen in the coming weeks.

Joel took centre stage in one of the best-received storylines of last year, as the BBC soap explored the issue of radicalised misogyny.

The plot came to an end in January this year as he stood trial on charges of grievous bodily harm, voyeurism and producing and distributing indecent images of a child.

An EastEnders spokesperson has now exclusively told : “We can confirm that Max Murray will be returning to EastEnders.”

Joel’s comeuppance played out after he’d brutally attacked his dad’s partner Vicki Fowler and recorded a sexual video of Avani Nandra-Hart without her consent.

While an unrepentant Joel was smug for the early stages of his trial, he started to consider the error of his ways after some home truths from his dad Ross.

Ultimately, Joel changed his plea to guilty on all three charges. Afterwards, there were early signs that Joel could turn a corner when he broke down in tears in front of Ross and apologised for everything.

More recently, EastEnders aired scenes confirming that Joel had finally been sentenced and would serve six months in a young offenders’ institute.

Tensions unfolded between Ross and Vicki, when questions were raised over where Joel would live following his short sentence.

Although Ross pointed out that he had responsibilities to his troubled son, he later promised to put Vicki first and vowed to make arrangements for Joel to live somewhere else upon his release.

But with news of Joel’s return, does this mean that things won’t go as Ross planned? Firm story details are being kept under wraps for now, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Max made his first appearance as Joel in March 2025. During his time on the show, he also appeared in BBC Three spin-off documentary EastEnders: The Manosphere, which further explored the issues raised in Joel’s storyline.

Speaking to y last year, Max revealed that he’d had “a pretty positive response from the audience” despite his character not being “the most likeable”.

He added: “The character isn’t meant to be liked. It’s very challenging, but equally I’ve got the best support I can possibly have with the whole team.”

Joel Marshall (Max Murray) may have a new target, after one of the Walford teens branded him an ‘incel’.

It comes after yet another troubling day for Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig), who found herself on the receiving end of his misogynistic abuse.

She noticed that he was once again skipping school, yet there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with him. When she flagged his behaviour to partner Ross (Alex Walkinshaw), he said that he’d approved the day off.

But why? Well, it’s the day of Joel’s mum Cleo’s marriage, and apparently he’s so hurt by it.

As we know, that’s not the case.

There’s clearly no love lost between mother and son, with Joel previously branding her a ‘slapper’. He seemed unbothered by the news was getting remarried, and later headed to The Vic to steal booze with his mate Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall).

After spending the day on the sofa gaming in today’s episode, Vicki returned home and found the living room a mess.

She demanded he clean up, and he spouted more vile comments about how it was a woman’s job.

He rushed out to the park to watch more videos featuring a disturbing influencer, and bumped into Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd), Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) and Nugget Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury).

Amy called him an incel, before asking where his mates were.

Is Amy about to be targeted?

Amy’s run-ins with Joel

This isn’t the first time the two have come head to head. Earlier in the year, he made it clear that he was attracted and tried to woo her.

She was initially flattered by his comments, but that soon changed following his behaviour towards best mate Avani.

As viewers know, he filmed them having sex and impregnated her. In the aftermath he said it was wrong for her to have an abortion, and all of the Albert Square teens – bar Tommy – have disowned him.

Ellie Dadd to front new documentary on ‘The Manosphere’

Joel actor Max, alongside his co-stars Diane Parish and Ellie – who play Denise Fox and Amy – will front a special documentary, speaking with experts to get a better understanding of the story they will all be part of in tomorrow’s episode.

The special will drop on BBC iPlayer tomorrow morning alongside that day’s instalment of the soap, before being given a linear airing on BBC Three that evening.

Cast from the show will explore issues raised by Joel’s behaviour, meeting individuals whose lives were changed as a result of toxic masculinity and ‘The Manosphere’.

They will also meet those who are looking to change the narrative.

Those who are spoken to include Professor Harriet Over of York University, individuals with lived-experience, poet Sam Browne who produced a viral poem about misogyny and the charity Beyond Equality.

Little is known about the episode of EastEnders that it relates to, though we do know that things will take a sinister turn for Vicki.

Joel set to attack Vicki

With Vicki and Ross at breaking point over Joel’s vicious behaviour, they’re confused how they can help him moving forward.

After an incident at school orchestrated by Joel and Tommy has ramifications for the whole community, with a focus on how and why it came to happen, Vicki and Ross and Kat and Alfie each attempt to talk to their sons.