EastEnders airs controversial twist for spiralling character on iPlayer

Having spent platonic time with Nadine, who charged Jay to let him sleep next to her, he later bought ketamine from her. Jay took the drugs in a bid to feel numb from his grief for late wife Lola (Danielle Harold).

Callum Highway (Tony Clay) was furious when he found out, resulting in a violent showdown; while Callum's husband Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) was disgusted to learn what Jay had been up to instead of looking after Ben and Lola's daughter Lexi (Isabella Brown), for whom Jay has acquired joint parental rights.

When Lola's grandfather Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) approached a broken Jay about scattering Lola's ashes and marking her life in Albert Square so the family could move on, Jay was further upset, replying that he didn't want to move on.

Jay later took a knife and used it to try and carve Lola's name into the same wooden bench he had carved his late father Jase Dyer's (Stephen Lord) name into as a teen.

If you're wondering what happened to Jase, EastEnders revisited his brutal murder storyline a few years back. But back in the present day, Jay was spotted at the bench by Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton).

Jay explained that he wanted to mark Lola's life just like he had his dad's, confiding that he couldn't bear to move on and forget Lola.

Honey gently replied that moving on didn't mean forgetting Lola, but they all needed to forgive themselves for being happy as that's what Lola would want.

Unable to face up to his pain, Jay got drunk at Peggy's bar and tried to chat to newcomer Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy), who dismissed him and told him to sober up. Instead, Jay called Nadine, who arrived at the car lot to hand over more ketamine.

But Jay claimed he didn't want the drugs – he wanted Nadine. He opened up about loss, and Nadine could relate as she explained everyone had to keep going after a bereavement. As she made to leave, Jay kissed her, saying this was him trying to move forward.

After one thing led to another, Nadine took some money from the desk and left. Alone again, Jay was swallowed up by his ongoing grief. But can he cope with what's he's just done – and how will his loved ones react?

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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