EastEnders: the SPOILERS thread!

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the EastEnders spoilers thread, where we post and talk about any EE spoilers we've read about, including those in early release episodes on iPlayer.

Link below to watch episodes on BBC iPlayer - these are usually dropped at 6am on broadcast days - and you can read brief synopses of upcoming episodes:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m86d

I can’t stand Keith Allen so I’m glad he’s out of it.
What will happen to Phil when he finds out Shazza has shagged Grant? Again.
I like Lexi and Lily.

I don't mind Lexi. I agree she is 'stage school' but she gets the most horrible lines to recite. Her mum is dead, her dad is in jail, she has to deal with the likes of Billy, Callum is a wet weekend, so I'll let her off.

I even sympathise a bit with Lily at the moment, as Stacey has absconded and Jean is too busy slinging mud at Ruby to bother with her.

I think the last we heard of Charli was that Kat was looking after her for the day - that was weeks ago!

Dull episode today. I have no interest in Avani and all I keep thinking of in her scenes with Amy and Lily was how ridiculous it is that an actress in her mid-20s (and looks it) is playing someone in year 11.

It was a bit dull, but I liked the girls chatting at the bus stop and how Avani takes an interest in the others and asks questions. Neither are judgemental that Lily had a baby so young and were supportive about Martin.
Jack made me laugh saying how his family have ‘ family values ‘ ! Hasn’t anyone ever looked too deeply into that family before ? 😆 …
I feel a bit sorry for Phil , once he discovers Sharon slept with Grant he’ll be hurt all over again.
I hope she tells him and he doesn’t find out by other means.
Slight realism about the big rebuild for the pub.
At least Teddy knows people and surveys were mentioned etc . It’ll probably be redone in no time now !

Elaine promised to be a bit kinder to Linda , but it seems that she is has quickly reverted to type now she is much better and out of rehab.

I'm not surprised to hear about Elaine, she has no self awareness!

But bloody hell when are they going to bury Martin? We'll have forgotten who he is at this rate.

I think the funeral is next week, but I’ll buy my trusty tv guide tomorrow for next week and see if it’s mentioned there !!

Thanks 80s!

I agree it was a mostly boring episode.

I don't care about Avani but nice to see Priya again. Shoddy police work. Something lying on the ground near someone doesn't mean it belongs to them.

Nigel needs to stop work and organise the rest of his life while he still just about can.

It was all about Avani, today’s episode. It felt like one long PSA, although it did surprise me that children can be strip searched.

I think it showed that the Avanti actress is very good and I hope they give her good storylines

Not another PSA. 🙄

I've just watched Adolescence on Netflix (brilliant), so I knew children could be strip searched. I suspect watching similar scenes on EE so soon after may be a bit of a let down.

Tbh it doesn’t really have the same factor when Avani didn’t do herself any favours being the big man. There wasn’t enough vulnerability from her until after- so the sympathy wasn’t there for me. Also I think if young people can take and deal drugs and conceal weapons then young people who are involved in those crimes should be strip searched.
Young girls who are raped are also subjected to intimate examinations and their clothes being taken for examination etc… after they’ve already been violated. I will save my sympathy for people who deserve it. If some of the jumped up little shit teenagers actually got a fright and treated like criminals then maybe half of them would not go on to commit actual offences and have some respect for the law.

Avani hadn't actually done anything though, except wag off school and smoke a vape, which doesn't warrant a strip search. It would have made a lot more sense to have storylined it so that she had committed a crime, rather than it being 'oh poor Avani' (who is really annoying to start with).

I think the Avani character is so unlikeable that episode was a bit unhelpful. It was blaming her poor parenting for all her faults, which is probably true.
Priya doesn't give a shit about either her or Nugget unless she is point scoring against Ravi and Ravi only cares about him.

Maybe I wasn’t watching closely enough, but Amy and Lily also didn’t do anything, so why weren’t they strip searched?

I thought strip searches on children had to be done by a nurse, not two stroppy WPCs. I don't like Avani or Lily so don't care what happens to them. Does Lily do any childcare at all? Amy's mannerisms made her look a lot older last night. Nigel's clothing and personal grooming isn't ideal for someone working in a food environment

A Quick Look at next week and it seems the funeral is the week after ( 7th onwards)

I see Vicki returns next week, she’s got money problems and asks Sharon and then Ian for money.

@Bunionbabe according to Adolescence the strip search is done by police officers. They are looking for drugs or a weapon, a nurse isn't qualified to do that.

@Southeastdweller I was thinking exactly the same about Amy and Lily, why were they sent home and why was Avani picked out. It made no sense and wasn't thought through at all. Yet another 'cake and eat it' scenario for the drama.

I thought that until the strip search she was all bolshy and aggy, and then when she realised what was happening and going to happen she showed the vulnerability underneath. I dont like the character, but thought the actress was very good in the episode today.

Lily and Amy were collected by parents, which could partially explain Avanis strip search, but it could also be explained by Lily and Amy are white.

Was Avani given any options about the search apart from the adult who left the room? Did she have to submit to the search?

https://www.hja.net/expert-comments/blog/falsely-accused-of-crime/under-18s-what-are-your-rights-if-the-police-seek-to-strip-search-you/

3. A search requiring exposure of intimate parts of the body (commonly known as ‘strip search’)
This is a search where a person removes some or all of their clothing and intimate parts of their body are exposed. This is the type of search that Child Q was subjected to.
There is a high threshold for such a search, which should only be used when necessary and reasonable. A police supervisor should always be consulted. A search of this type must take place out of public view or in a police station, but not in a police vehicle.
The requirements for this type of search is set out in Paragraph 3.7 of PACE Code A. This makes clear that they must not be used as a routine extension of a less thorough search, and cannot be used simply because nothing was found in the initial search.

https://www.stop-watch.org/what-we-do/resources/strip-and-intimate-searches-factsheet/
Search exposing intimate parts of the body (EIP)

• Commonly known as a strip search
• This is a search involving the removal of clothing more than JOG that exposes intimate parts of the body
• This search must take place out of public view, but not in a police vehicle
• The searching officer must be of the same sex
• There must be a minimum of two people present, in addition to the person being searched and one of those people must be an appropriate adult in the case of a child or vulnerable adult

An awful episode, whether or not she was ‘bolshy’ or hobby she is still a child, it made for uncomfortable watching.
tbh I hate any episodes which just focus on one person/ storyline such as the recent Phil one. They used to do those as separate specials, in addition to the everyday soap stuff. I wish they would carry on doing it like that, not take away from the daily lives of the soap characters

It just felt so clunky - why on earth would they do that to a 15 year old with no proof?

I thought the episode highlighted what a nasty piece of work Jack is. He singled Avani out and prejudiced the other police officers against her because of his issues with her parents. He sees his daughter’s vulnerabilities but does not see Avani’s and was happy for her to be criminalised.

She was certainly treated differently to how Lily and Amy were and the older police officer was victimising her and seemed to enjoy humiliating her: dropping her clothes on the floor, for example. She also seemed to enjoy goading her. It was very unprofessional to suggest that Avani should be examined in the absence of a responsible adult, and there was no rush to conduct the search. The fact that neither of her parents answered the phone should have raised even more alarm bells about how vulnerable she might be.

I think it is an interesting storyline for Eastenders to explore because it did actually happen in real life - there was the very high profile case of a 15 year old girl, ‘child Q’, who was strip searched in school. It was very horrific at the time.

I did wonder if it was supposed to highlight that POC are often suspected and treated as criminals way more easily at face value, particularly by authority figures, just because of their ethnicity than the average white person.