Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) couldn’t return to EastEnders without getting into a scrap – it’s basically soap opera law.
Surprisingly, on his current stint, Grant has managed to keep his head down and focus on trying to unite his family in the wake of Nigel Bates’s (Paul Bradley) death. There’s been one major stumbling block, however, and that’s his relationship with son Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple).
The two have only just met for the first time, and Mark has made it clear that given their three decades of estrangement, he wants him to play no part in his life.
In today’s episode, Grant decided to throw himself into the latest Albert Square drama, which unfortunately involves his son. Mark has been working for a ruthless crime boss, Russell Delaney (Anthony Skordi), for months, and was ordered to kill police informant Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).
A fight to the death ensued between the men, though Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) urged her brother to do the morally right thing and back away.
As a result, Russell has now demanded a whopping £30,000, or he will target Mark’s family.
Earlier this week, as the pressure was mounting, Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) urged her nephew to speak to Grant for some help. He was initially reluctant, though after some encouragement from Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa), he decided to come clean.
Things didn’t exactly go to plan. He spotted him flirting with Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), and wondered whether his priorities were in place.
Desperate for money, Mark then turned to Lauren again and asked her whether she was able to sell some more of his restored vintage vehicles at the car lot. She told him that there simply wasn’t room, and so he was forced to tell Vicki everything.
In today’s episodes, she said that she didn’t have the funds to help him out, but reckoned that Walford’s resident moneybags Phil (Steve McFadden) might be able to cough up the cash.
He explained that Nigel’s care home and funeral had drained his bank account, and that it might take some time to get him the 30k.
Meanwhile, Sam told Grant about what was happening, and he demanded to get involved. Phil warned him against it, as they both knew how brutal Russell could be, but Grant thought that he was capable of taking him on.
After luring the gangster to The Boxing Den, Grant spelled out that Mark needed more time to get the money. Russell recognised him as a face from his past – he was the one who slept with his wife in his marital bed, and he wasn’t happy.
The two began fighting, though Phil broke up the altercation and tried to reason with him. Russell wasn’t pleased, and asserted that the debt had now doubled, and had to be paid within a week.
How will Mark find the money?
Read more:
Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.
Add EastEnders to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.