(Monday 9^th – Thursday 12^th November 2020)

Well, the first thing I have to say is that I am so impressed with Simone Lahbib’s arrival as Katy Lewis.  The story unravelling is engaging and deeply uncomfortable in equal measure.  I had no idea how it was going to play out when Katy arrived on the Square but the way it has, blindsided me.  This woman is clearly a master manipulator.  She is wrapped up in beautiful smiles and a gentle voice and it was so unsettling to watch her persuade Mick that nothing had ever happened between them.  Danny Dyer was incredible in these scenes as Mick began not to trust his own, very clear memories of how their relationship began.  And she was so convincing!  And so lovely to him at times.  So bloody clever.

Tina was delighted to see her and looked like she had as much of a crush on her as Mick once had.  She forced Mick to persuade Frankie that he had been wrong and couldn’t be her Dad.  Frankie was furious and disgusted with him that he could have let her believe her Mum was a paedophile.  It really has been awful to watch but also fascinating.  Eastenders has cast this so well.  She is the nicest, girl next door type character.  And yet, there she was, pressuring Mick, manipulating him, without him even realising it half the time.  Changing his memories.  Confusing him.

However, could I just suggest that the obvious answer is a paternity test?  Just saying.

With Mick still in a dark place and his family not understanding why, Tina very sweetly persuaded Ian to ask him to do a shift at the Vic.  And for a moment, Mick was back in his stride.  But conversation between him, Tina and Shirley soon turned to Katy, he dropped an expensive bottle, Ian told him off and accidentally revealed that it was a pity shift.  Mick was back to square one, leading to a very emotional scene between him and Tina where he so nearly told her the truth.  I actually begged him out loud to tell her!  But he closed up and kept his silence.

Meanwhile, Jay confronted Lola and Peter about their infidelity but a chat with Honey made him realise that he and Lola were not meant to be and actually, he felt okay about it.  She didn’t want his baby, she didn’t want to marry him, she didn’t really want to move in with him.  Finally, he has realised he deserves better!  Hooray!  May I suggest he gets together with Honey?  I hadn’t seen it before but recently, I’ve concluded they would make an excellent match.

Kat made her presence felt at Phil’s when she did the cleaning, stealing a football shirt in order to get his attention.  She then requested his help in the robbery again.  My wife and I actually laughed out loud when Kat turned up at the office with Phil in a cleaning pinny, allowing Kat to make fun of him in front of the security guard she had befriended, with a view to rob the place the next day.  It really was funny.  However, Phil decided that was no point robbing the place for a few grand and backed out, frustrating Kat.  When he spotted the fancy cars parked in the underground car park though, he was much more interested and a new plan began to form.  Kush was hurt when Kat refused to let him get involved, admitting that she didn’t trust him.

Stuart and Rainie were told once and for all that she could never carry a child.  Having been friends for all of ten seconds, they then asked Tiffany if, for £10,000, she would be their surrogate.  After a lot of thought, she agreed but Keegan was not happy about it.

Jack was supportive as Denise continued to try and bond with Raymond and help him through the grief of losing his parents.  They took him to his old church, where he finally smiled and began to come back to life.  Denise was able to speak to the church leader and find out more about Raymond and his family, as well as to get some advice about the way forward.  Is this the storyline that will bring evil Lucas back into Denise’s life, I wonder…?

Eastenders airs on BBC1 on Mondays @ 8:05pm, Tuesdays & Thursdays @ 7:35pm & Fridays @ 8:30pm