EastEnders airs unannounced departure in early BBC iPlayer release

After less than two years on screen, Vi Highway (Gwen Taylor) left to live with eldest grandson Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ) and his wife Rainie (Tanya Franks), who were in need of a nanny for baby son Roland.

Vi began the week by joining in writing supportive messages to a grieving Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), which reminded her of her own sadness after giving up a baby some years ago. Pal Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) offered some words of wisdom, before the pair headed off to another interview posing as the grandparents of local teen Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega).

But Vi was now being plagued with mysterious calls from an unknown number, leaving her stressed. When Patrick suggested she answered the call, though, it turned out to be her beloved Stuart. Later, she was thrilled to tell her friend that she would be leaving to lend them a hand.

Younger grandson Callum (Tony Clay) was stunned when Vi revealed her news, with his husband Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) jokingly referencing the fact that Stuart was her favourite — something Vi failed to deny.

The pair arranged to send Vi off with drinks at The Vic, and when the moment came to say goodbye, Vi admitted that she wasn't keen on the idea of gay marriage when she first arrived but that she now understood how important it was, happy to see Callum and Ben strong and united.

After one last hug with Patrick and Callum, and warning Ben to look after Callum, Vi was on her way, leaving Ben to remark that she had just given them a "homophobic seal of approval".

The BBC has confirmed to RadioTimes.com that Thursday's episode does indeed feature Gwen Taylor's final scenes as Vi Highway. The character's exit was not announced prior to transmission.

Taylor made her first appearance in EastEnders in May 2021, arriving ahead of Callum and Ben's dramatic wedding week. She made quite the impact with her offensive remarks, but won the locals over and formed quite the friendship with Patrick.

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