Is Janine about to abandon Scarlett in EastEnders?

Is Janine about to abandon Scarlett in EastEnders?
Is Janine about to abandon Scarlett in EastEnders? (Image credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

EastEnders' Janine Butcher is set to leave Albert Square on a cliffhanger - with viewers left wondering if she will abandon her baby daughter Scarlett. Actress Charlie Brooks is being written out of EastEnders for a six-month break amid rumours she has signed up to compete in this year's Strictly Come Dancing. The Sun reports her dramatic exit storyline will see her storming out of Walford after a furious row with husband Michael Moon. Viewers must wait until the scenes screen in September to find out if Janine takes baby Scarlett with her, or leaves her with bad boy Michael, played by Steve John Shepherd. Janine - who has inherited a fortune from her grandmother - reportedly leaves after testing her equally evil husband Michael's commitment to her with a suitcase stuffed with cash. Janine's problems trusting Michael are said to come to a head when she accuses him of cheating on her with another woman. During a heated row she then asks why he forced her to destroy their prenuptial agreement before their wedding. She apparently tells him she is leaving a suitcase with £450,000 in it in the kitchen overnight as a test of his love and loyalty. But when Michael does not run off with the money, Janine decides to leave as she feels so ashamed of what she has done.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.