EastEnders reveals new mystery about Ross and Joel Marshall in early BBC iPlayer release

The BBC One soap aired the pair’s arrivals earlier this week alongside returnee Vicki Fowler, now played by Alice Haig.

Vicki and Ross’s relationship has already proven controversial, given it was born out of infidelity, with Vicki cheating on the younger brother of Alfie Moon (Shane Richie), Spencer Moon, with his best friend.

Ostensibly in Walford for her uncle Martin Fowler’s funeral, it was later revealed that Vicki was also in need of a cash injection to pay off debts, which were later revealed to not be joint debts but instead those belonging to Ross.

In Wednesday’s episode, Sharon was furious to learn of Vicki’s deception following a phone call from Michelle Fowler.

In Thursday’s episode, Vicki explained the situation to Sharon in a showdown with her sister after Ross was told to leave and Sharon accused her sister of being a liar like their father, Den Watts.

Vicki revealed how much she loved Ross and how her relationship with Spencer was growing stale.

Claiming that Ross was married when the pair got together, Vicki revealed that a very costly divorce led to Ross taking out loans from dangerous people he now needs to pay back.

As the pair tore strips off each other, with Vicki also trying to drive a wedge between Sharon and Michelle, Sharon was furious and outright refused to help financially, and also refused the help of Vicki’s relative Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), who Vicki had previously approached for cash.

While being judged in Kathy’s Cafe as a “home wrecker” by Spencer’s ex-sister-in-law Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), Ross was shown receiving a phone call and reassuring a mystery person on the phone that they would get the money they were owed.

Meanwhile, Joel was shown meeting and flirting with Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd), before continuing to develop a friendship with Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) - despite the concerns from Alfie given the history between the families.

At Sonia’s house, Sharon sought advice from best friend Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and filled her in on the situation with Vicki. Linda warned that Vicki could be placed in danger by whoever Ross owes money to, giving Sharon something to ponder.

Later, Vicki caught up with Ross and told him that she hoped Sharon would understand given her previous divorces.

When Sharon returned, the couple made to leave but then Sharon asked how much was owed and it was the equivalent of £25,000. Sharon agreed given how much she loved and wanted to look after Vicki, with Ross agreeing to pay Sharon back in instalments.

However, at the conclusion of the episode, Ross had a chat with Joel in the Square, and it was revealed that the debt actually belonged to Joel, not Ross!

Ross stated: "I’m keeping my end of the bargain – now it’s up to you to keep yours. I’m up to my eyes in debt because of you, and we don’t want anyone knowing why."

So, what sort of trouble is Joel involved in, and will he soon drag Tommy into something they’ll regret? And when will Vicki be aware of the secrets going on?

Read more:

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• EastEnders at 40: Best ever scandals from Pat and Frank to Sharongate
• EastEnders at 40: Best ever villains from Nick Cotton to Nish Panesar
• EastEnders at 40: Best ever whodunnits – From who shot Phil to who killed Archie?

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

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