EastEnders has confirmed Martin Fowler's (James Bye) temporary exit from the soap following the discovery that his adoptive daughter Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) is pregnant.
Recently in EastEnders, the Slater family was stunned to discover that 12-year-old Lily was pregnant with Ricky Jr's (Frankie Day) baby and after backtracking on her decision to have an abortion, Martin was furious to learn that the teen wanted to keep the baby.
Since Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) told him that it was Lily's choice, Martin has been forced to accept her decision. But Martin is set to receive an offer that he can't refuse which will see him leave the Square temporarily.
Martin is offered some well-paid work in Turkey for a few weeks, but he's hesitant to accept the job because of Lily's circumstances. Will he tell Stacey about the work opportunity?
In real life, actor James and his wife Victoria renewed their wedding vows to celebrate their anniversary and the couple are now set to welcome their fourth child together. So it's expected that he may need some well-earned time off from the show!
While James' life away from the soap world is far less dramatic than Albert Square, things kick off next week between the Brannings and Slaters after Jack (Scott Maslen) discovers that Ricky Jr wants to help Lily bring up their child.
Jack demands that Stacey and Martin make Lily come to her senses, but Stacey is adamant that abortion isn't an option.
Later on, Jack tries to persuade Lily not to have the baby by telling her what life will be like as a young mum.
A furious Stacey then storms over to their house and forbids them from having anything to do with the baby, which leaves Ricky Jr devastated and he calls his mum Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) for support.
Denise Fox (Diane Parish) criticises Jack's behaviour towards Lily, while Ricky Jr decides to move in with Sam and a crushed Jack desperately tries to convince him to come home.
Unable to cope, Denise teams up with Stacey to get Martin to talk some sense into Jack — will they be successful?
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
