EastEnders' Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite) proved the drastic lengths she's prepared to go to in order to stop her killer son Hunter Owen (Charlie Winter) from spiralling out of control on Tuesday 5 February when she started to secretly drug him to curb his disturbing behaviour.

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The twisted teenager is growing increasingly unstable in the aftermath of shooting his stepdad Ray Kelly dead on New Year's Day to save his mum from being strangled by her evil husband. Helping Hunter bury the body in the woods and covering up the crime to the cops as they investigate the ex-undercover officer's mysterious disappearance, Mel is slowly realising her son is seriously dangerous having discovered he kept the gun he used to kill Ray and retrieved the bullet from the scene of the crime.

Locking him in the house while she made plans to sell her share of the E20 club to the Mitchells so she and Hunter can leave Walford as soon as possible, Mel was unnerved when the police visited with the news bigamist Ray's other wives Nicola and Maddie had reported Hunter for threatening them to leave him and his mum alone.

Tentatively let off with a caution, Hunter later raged at Mel refusing to apologise for intimidating the women and insisted he would not let anyone 'destroy' them.

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What happens when Ray's corpse is dug up?

Mel was forced to admit she had purposely locked him in the house earlier, encouraging him to take a sickie from school, and when her son accused her of not trusting him she convinced Hunter she was trying to protect him and they were still in this cover-up together. But viewers saw Mel was hiding just how shaken she was by his attitude and she later sneaked into the kitchen and reached for the diazepam…

The cliffhanger featured Mel bring a comforting mug of hot chocolate to Hunter in an attempt to make amends for their earlier argument - but it was secretly spiked and Hunter has no idea his own mother is now drugging him with sleeping tablets to stop him getting out of control.

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Hunter is leaving the show soon, so could this development be the start of a sinister exit storyline in which Mel ends up accidentally giving her son an overdose of medication? If Hunter discovers what Mel is doing, could he turn his rage on her and kill again? Next week Ray's body is dug up and the Owens go on the run, but the police soon catch up with them… Will Mel shop Hunter to the cops in the end?

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Authors

Johnathon HughesSoaps Writer, RadioTimes.com
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