EastEnders has revealed the dark role that Howie Danes will play in Oscar Branning’s dramatic attack plot.

Oscar was responsible for Patrick’s attack this week, when the teen’s attempt to steal his gambling winnings went seriously wrong.

Scared about getting caught, Oscar put the cash in an envelope addressed to Lauren and prepared to flee Walford – but his sister caught him in the act.

In today’s episode, Lauren was horrified to discover that it was Oscar who put Patrick in hospital and was frustrated that he had messed up again.

This led to an emotional conversation between the pair, where Oscar explained how his mum Tanya fell apart after Abi’s death and that his tough upbringing has left him feeling aimless in life.

He decided to take Lauren’s advice and vowed to tell the truth about the attack. However, when the police arrived to enquire about their movements that night, Lauren gave Oscar an alibi.

Lauren wanted to spare Oscar going back to prison, but she urged him to give the money back to the Truemans at the earliest opportunity the next day.

Meanwhile, as Patrick’s family desperately waited for news at the hospital, Howie gave the police a witness statement but couldn’t give them any useful information.

Kim wasn’t pleased that her partner wasn’t more helpful, and the couple rowed about the money he had gambled on Patrick’s behalf.

Later, Yolande, Kim and Denise got to see Patrick, who’d had a lucky escape as his CT scan had come back clear. Yolande made amends with her fiancé and asked him to marry her again.

But Howie had remembered that Patrick’s attacker was wearing an ankle tag so he called round to confront Oscar about the attack.

He threatened to go to the police with this information unless Oscar and Lauren gave him the cash – and Lauren realised that Howie was blackmailing them and intended to keep the money for himself.

Lauren remained firm and refused Howie’s request, confident that he had no proof that Oscar was responsible. What will Howie do next?