5 EastEnders spoilers for next week: Jay proposes, plus Gray feels desperate

Plotlines in which characters fake illnesses only ever end one way: the attention-seeker gets caught out in a heated showdown. You’d have thought everyone on EastEnders, in particular, would steer clear of pretending they had cancer. Surely, Angie Watts’s classic “I’ve got six months to live” ruse is the stuff of local legend? It seems not, though, because Panesar matriarch Suki is the latest malingerer – and Jean is now determined to find out whether she’s lying about her diagnosis.

• EastEnders' Jay Brown for heartbreak as Lola faces a difficult decision
• EastEnders confirm return of Danny Hardcastle - but what does he want with Ben Mitchell?
• EastEnders' Chantelle Atkins in more danger as Gray erupts after huge news

New pressure for Gray and Whitney

Elsewhere, we have the horrible irony of Gray continuing to involve himself in Whitney’s legal battle. She, of course, stands accused of killing Leo, who subjected her to mental abuse. But lawyer Gray is also a master manipulator who regularly terrorises wife Chantelle behind closed doors when his temper frays. Viewers who fear those explosions of anger should be braced more violence now that he’s learned his firm has dropped Whit’s case. How will he react when Chantelle tells him to represent Whitney on his own?

Jay proposes

Jay has romance on his mind and will be seen secretly checking the engagement ring he’s planning to use in his proposal to Lola. The trouble is, Lexi catches him and Jay makes her promise to keep it a secret. The next day, Jay is practising proposals with Lexi when Lola suddenly arrives on the scene, all of which forces him to quickly come up with a cover story. Later on, an unsuspecting Lola returns home to a romantic lunch and is gobsmacked when Jay pops the question. What will be her reaction?

Rainie’s dark past

And Jay isn’t the only resident of the Square becoming preoccupied with the issue of marriage. Stuart is concerned about Rainie’s mood when an ex-‘client’ turns up at Cokers’, all of which results in her opening up about her history as a sex worker. Dredging up the past puts Rainie in a black mood and leaves Stuart at a loss as to how he can cheer her up. But after overhearing Jay and Lola talking, Stuart hatches a plan – to propose to Rainie…

Patrick v Isaac

Tensions will boil over between Patrick and Isaac during a lads’ night out – but is the paternity secret that Patrick has been keeping finally be revealed? A game of air hockey will be the catalyst for the clash, which sees Patrick receive a dressing down from the man he’s recently learned is his son. But will he retaliate by telling Isaac the truth about his family tree?

Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.