EastEnders confirms truth behind mysterious Maya Houssain in early BBC iPlayer release

The BBC One soap introduced a new friend for Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) a few weeks ago amid his feelings of loneliness.

However, it soon became clear that Maya had an ulterior motive amidst their friendship and came under the suspicion of Harvey’s partner Jean Slater (Gillian Wright).

After catching Maya rifling through the draws of the Slater kitchen, Jean voiced her suspicions to Harvey who spoke with Maya and she told him she was struggling with poverty and her home was due to be repossessed, prompting Harvey to lend her money.

However, when Maya left behind a letter with her name and address on it, Harvey realised that she did not live in the part of London she claimed to and headed to her address in Battersea.

On Monday, Harvey arrived at Maya’s semi-detached house in the more affluent area of Battersea but found the front door open and a distressed man wearing an eye patch inside.

In Tuesday’s episode, Harvey learned that this man was Maya’s husband Abdul (Sanjiv Hayre) and he was not dead but deeply traumatised.

After Maya emerged and explained the situation, Harvey discovered that Abdul was the man who his far-right terrorist son Aaron Monroe (played by Charlie Wenham) had beaten almost to death.

As Harvey called out Maya’s lies, she called out Harvey for providing Aaron with a false alibi for the attack on Abdul. While Harvey noted that he turned on Aaron and even called the police on him, Maya said that Aaron escaped justice for what happened to Abdul.

Since the attack, Maya’s family life has fallen apart and her children have since left home she is a full-time carer for Abdul and can’t afford to keep their home together, suggesting that Harvey owes her for what he did.

Haunted by his past actions, Harvey returned home where he found Jean who welcomed him back but the pair’s anxieties went unsaid.

Jean privately broke down in tears, convinced that Harvey was now cheating on her with Maya, while Harvey cried in the kitchen following his discovery.

Will Harvey reveal all to Jean and what will he do now?

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

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