EastEnders airs distressing police cliffhanger for Avani Nandra-Hart in early iPlayer release

The mischievous teen convinced grieving Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) and their pal Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) to skip school for the day, insisting on cheering Lily up as she struggles to cope with adoptive dad Martin Fowler's (James Bye) death.

Amy wasn't so keen to join in, having been reminded by disapproving dad Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) that, unlike Avani in his view, Amy had been brought up with good family values.

Still, Amy agreed to be led astray - only for the girls to be caught out by Avani's mum Priya (Sophie Khan Levy).

When Avani urged Priya to let them off as she was trying to cheer up Lily, she gave in, warning them not to hang around the Square.

Avani shared her vape with Amy and, later, they headed to the tube station to blag a ride on the London Eye.

But dealer Marvin accosted Avani and offered her some dodgy pills, which she refused.

As two police officers approached, Marvin dropped the pills on the ground by Avani's feet, and the girls were taken to the police station under suspicion over the drugs.

Avani refused to declare her name, but detective Jack found Amy in the interview room after a colleague recognised her from a photo.

As Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) came to collect Lily, Jack told the officers Avani's name, and Amy was forced to confirm that Avani had been selling vapes last year.

The situation took a dark turn when Avani's parents Priya and Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) failed to answer their phones.

As a male policeman questioned Avani and she continued to deny possession of the drugs, he authorised two female officers to conduct a strip search, leaving Avani terrified!

Will Avani be okay?

Read more:

• EastEnders airs powerful Phil Mitchell episode with important message in moving iPlayer release
• EastEnders guest star Keith Allen reveals he nearly played major role alongside Danny Dyer
• EastEnders favourite addresses plans for future on soap – says she's "never going to stop"
• EastEnders advance spoilers tease shock revelation for Sharon Watts
• 4 EastEnders spoilers: Avani Nandra-Hart faces traumatic incident and Nigel Bates exposes Phil Mitchell secret
• EastEnders at 40: Best ever scandals from Pat and Frank to Sharongate
• EastEnders at 40: Best ever villains from Nick Cotton to Nish Panesar
• EastEnders at 40: Best ever whodunnits – From who shot Phil to who killed Archie?

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

Visit our dedicated Soaps page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.