EastEnders airs sad showdown after big bombshell in Thursday's episode

Ben recently discovered that Jay had been taking ketamine to cope with his grief for late wife Lola (Danielle Harold). This meant that Jay totally neglected Lola and Ben's daughter Lexi (Isabella Brown), despite pushing for Ben to allow Jay to have parental rights to her.

Ben's husband Callum Highway (Tony Clay) previously confronted Jay, and was also in the know about Jay's encounters with sex worker and drug dealer Nadine (Jazzy Phoenix).

Still in the doghouse for keeping quiet about the drugs, Callum urged Ben to forgive Jay. Ben found Jay sleeping in the car lot and told him to get his act together, and Jay tried to do so, also apologising to Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) for having a go at her for trying to help.

At The Vic, Jay offered to buy drinks for Ben and Callum, and Ben was sceptical that Jay was truly going to mend his ways.

But when Jay gave a heartfelt speech, apologised for putting Callum in an uncomfortable position and pleaded with Ben not to keep Lexi from him, Ben and Callum agreed to give him another chance.

But the day took a turn when Callum recognised Nadine as she walked in with a client. Although Callum tried to cover, Ben saw right through him, and Callum admitted what he knew – that Jay had been paying Nadine to sleep next to him.

Little did they know that Jay had since had sex with Nadine, and Ben heard Jay smoothing things over with Nadine at the bar. Furious, Ben expressed his disgust that Jay had had a fling mere months after his wife's death, and Jay tried to deflect by saying that Ben had done some similar things in the past.

But the damage was already done, and Ben insisted he had to protect both Lexi and his marriage, telling Jay he was done with him and that he wanted him out of the flat. Is there any way back for Jay?

Read more:

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EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer. Visit our dedicated EastEnders 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.

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