Following last night’s episode of EastEnders (Friday, 17 July) , Albert Square is reeling from the news that Ben Mitchell has been arrested for the murder of Lucy Beale.
Earlier this year, as part of the soap’s 30th anniversary, viewers discovered – almost a year after Lucy’s death – that she had been killed by her younger brother, Bobby.
It turned out that Jane had known all along and desperately tried to cover it up. When Ian found out, he – and the other Beales – agreed to keep it to themselves.
But while the family have been hoping to put the tragedy behind them, the police have still been trying to work out what happened.
So this week, Ian and Jane got a big shock when they got a visit from the police who told them that they were going to make an arrest…
On the other side of the Square, Phil and Sharon were alarmed when DCI Marsden turned up at their house looking for Ben.
As Phil refused to let the detective into the house, he tried to relay the news back to his son who, remember, ended up behind bars for killing Heather Trott with a photo frame.
Ben, however, was nowhere to be found. As the Mitchells and his girlfriend Abi tried to track him down, they had no idea he was enjoying a steamy session with Paul Coker in the funeral parlour – barely inches away from a dead woman lying in a coffin! Is that sick, or what?
When the lads were interrupted by Paul’s nan Pam, a half-naked Ben was forced to hide under the coffin. Pam was totally oblivious that Paul was ‘entertaining’ someone in the parlour when she popped her head around the door – she just thought he was giving the poor deceased woman a pre-funeral makeover!
Back at the Mitchells, DCI Marsden ordered her fellow cops to bash down the door with a battering ram, but they were stopped from ruining the paintwork when Phil finally opened the door!
As the police searched the property for their murder suspect, Ben managed to sneak out of the funeral parlour without being seen. But as he blithely made his way home, his pal Jay saw him and told him to run.
Confused, Ben just looked at his mate but soon worked out what was going on when police officer started charging towards him.
After a short chase through the back streets of Walford, the police finally caught up with Ben and arrested him for Lucy's murder.
As the cops bundled Ben into a police car, Phil warned Marsden: ”Don't mess with my family.”
"I'm not messing with anyone,” replied the tough DCI. “I’m arresting a murder suspect."
But that wasn’t the only shock in the episode.
Back at the Beales, Ian found Jane standing over a space in the floorboards. This is where Jane stored Lucy’s wallet and phone – which are both covered by Jay and Ben’s fingerprints because the boys had stolen them before Lucy’s demise. She just stood there, holding the items as a baffled Ian looked on.
Ian and Jane are both desperate to protect Bobby – who, by the way, has no idea that he dealt the deadly blow to his sister’s cranium – so will they use the evidence to get Ben or Jay sent down for Lucy’s murder?
