EastEnders’ Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) disappears from Walford next week following a conversation with Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner).
As viewers of the BBC One soap know, Stacey, along with her children Arthur (Rocco Brenner) and Hope (Isabelle Smith) went to stay with their cousin Lynne (Elaine Lordan) last month.
She’d had a traumatic week, having finally plucked up the courage to face the outside world following ex-husband Martin Fowler’s (James Bye) death.
Just as she felt brave enough, she faced a horrific setback as Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) accidentally washed her phone, containing precious photographs and voicemails.
Arthur also confessed that he had access to Martin’s phone – and that Stacey had been sending text messages implying that he was still alive. Fearing that she had stopped taking her bipolar medication, Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) staged an intervention.
When Stacey’s eldest daughter Lily (Lillia Turner) announced her intention to visit her dad Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott) in Wakefield, Stace’ decided that she too should take some time away from Albert Square.
Despite their absence, tensions have been running high in the Slater household.
In the aftermath of Harvey Monroe’s (Ross Boatman) affair with Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth), he unknowingly signed on the dotted line to operate a limousine business with Kat.
Love was clearly in the air, as Alfie then got down on one knee and proposed to Kat, with them deciding to get wed and use it as an opportunity to publicise the purchase of the vehicle.
In upcoming scenes, Harvey’s ex Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) is heartbroken to see the press coverage, which suggests that Kathy is ‘Mrs Monroe.’
She pours her heart out to Alfie, who is otherwise distracted by his phone. Jean then runs into Harvey, and attempts to sabotage his new venture until Alfie intervenes.
He promises that he’ll be there for her in the wake of her breakup, but it soon becomes clear that he’s already got enough on his plate when Stacey calls him with another problem.
What is wrong?
Elsewhere, Kat worries about son Tommy (Sonny Kendall), who has landed himself in more hot water with mate Joel Marshall (Max Murray). While on the tube, Joel got Tommy to record him falling onto a woman – and touching her.
She’s desperate to find Alfie and talk to him about Joel’s influence, but he’s nowhere to be found. When they do eventually have a conversation, she’s left feeling like he isn’t being completely honest with her.
Things then go from bad to worse when he reveals that Spencer is in a bad way in Australia, and he needs to go and stay with him.
