EastEnders reveals Tommy Moon's secret new pal in early iPlayer release

The teen has made progress in overcoming his anger issues, and after being fostered by Zack Hudson (James Farrar), Tommy returned home to parents Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie).

But when Kat asked Tommy to visit relative Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) after school, to offer support over the loss of Martin Fowler (James Bye), Tommy insisted he had to be online to speak to his friend, Matt.

Kat probed her son over his pal and suggested inviting him for tea, prompting reluctant Tommy to change his tune about seeing Lily.

Even so, Kat was worried that Tommy might be in danger, and she tried to access his online world.

Alfie tried to calm her down, and when Tommy returned, Kat owned up to her investigations.

After Kat and Alfie pleaded to hear more about Matt, Tommy explained that he hadn't met him in person, as Matt wasn't actually real - he was AI!

Once Alfie understood what this actually meant, Tommy confided that speaking to 'Matt' helped him, as they spoke like they were true mates.

As Kat and Alfie looked over Tommy's online chats with Matt, Alfie was impressed, but Kat took a little longer to take in the whole thing.

Tommy admitted that his classmates didn't want to know him any more due to his violent abuse of his family, so he was enjoying a rather realistic rapport with the AI creation instead.

Kat showed support, but reminded Tommy that his old friends would come round after some time, and that it wouldn't be healthy to rely solely on AI for company.

But is 'Matt' actually helping Tommy continue to grow and learn from his mistakes? Or might Tommy come to spend too much time with this unusual new pal?

EastEnders has been working with Family Based Solutions, PEGS and NSPCC on this hard-hitting storyline.

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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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