EastEnders airs make or break ultimatum for Linda Carter in early iPlayer release

When Linda's mum, Elaine Knight (Harriet Thorpe), returned from her honeymoon, she was shocked to find that Linda had gone AWOL, with Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) only just telling Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff) that she had thrown Linda out.

Linda had spent the night on a park bench in the Square, and Elaine found her stumbling around with a missing shoe.

Elaine took her dishevelled daughter home to get cleaned up, and their discussion detailed some harrowing facts about Linda's night, which she couldn't even remember.

As Elaine cared for Linda in the bathroom, a fragile Linda recalled a childhood toy given to her by late father John, and Elaine struggled with her heartbreak during the rare tender moment.

Later, Elaine confronted Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), blaming them for Linda's terrible state.

The pair insisted that Linda had to make the decision to get help, but Elaine vowed to get Linda back on track in a solo mission.

Back at The Queen Vic, Linda was back in self-destruct mode as she condemned Johnny and Sharon for abandoning her, before reaching for the bottle once more.

Elaine was furious, but when Linda pleaded with her, Elaine walked away in despair, having a run-in with Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris).

Bernie explained that she had 'forgiven' Linda for killing her brother Keanu (Danny Walters), not wanting to be tied to Linda's continued drinking. But Elaine was soon horrified to find that Linda had disappeared again.

Linda brought back a drunken man, and the day took another turn when the stranger stumbled into young Ollie and Annie's room, leading Elaine to send him packing.

Summoning Sharon, Phil, Alfie and Johnny to the barrel store, Elaine apologised and revealed her worries. She was advised to leave Linda to her own devices, with Johnny in agreement over what should happen next.

Taking another bottle of booze from Linda, Elaine told her in no uncertain terms that if she didn't stop drinking, she would no longer be welcome at home. What will Linda choose?

It seems we already have our answer, as EastEnders has confirmed a dark night of binge drinking for Linda, in scenes due to air next week.

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

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