EastEnders’ Lauren Branning and Peter Beale suffer their worst nightmare next week, when their two boys vanish! Can they team up and track down their children – or will their relationship troubles hinder the hunt?
Once Lauren is forced to admit that she and Zack shared a kiss, Peter lashes out at his love rival and hits him.
Afterwards, the warring parents return home fraught with frustration – where they discover that their sons are missing…
The week kicks off with Jay visiting No 25, where he inadvertently manages to soothe Jimmy by strumming on a guitar, even though Peter has been struggling to settle his little one beforehand.
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Soon afterwards, Lauren spots her partner receiving a guitar lesson from Jay, who urges the dad-of-two to put the past behind him and move forward with Lauren and his young children. Will he see sense in his friend’s wise words?
Clearly feeling positive about her relationship, Lauren then surprises Peter with a family picnic in the Square gardens. However, Cindy’s untimely arrival, with Ian by her side, wrecks the couple’s special day out…
“Cindy spotted Lauren hugging Zack earlier in the day,” explains our source, “which convinces her to tell Ian that Peter is being cheated on.
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“Meanwhile, Lauren and Peter open up to Louie about Jimmy’s eye condition, which brings the family closer – until Cindy crashes in and forces Lauren to admit the truth about her naughty kiss.”
The next day, Peter refuses to give his guilty girlfriend time to explain herself, as he focuses on his first shift at the newly re-opened fruit and veg stall.
However, the couple are forced to come face-to-face when they attend the local hospital to receive Jimmy’s gene test results.
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Lauren and Peter find out that their baby’s blindness was caused by a genetic mutation, that cannot be inherited or develop from opioid use.
While the news should relieve Lauren from some of the shame that she has felt over her boy’s diagnosis, the information only provokes yet another huge argument between her and Peter – eventually causing Lauren to storm out.
With Louie and Jimmy later suddenly going missing, is someone to blame for their disappearance?