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.”