EastEnders’ Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) makes a surprise proposal next week when she asks Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) to marry her – but it’s set to all end in tears.
As fans of the BBC soap will know, Harvey is currently having a secret affair with Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), with Jean having shut him out while dealing with the impact of Martin Fowler’s (James Bye) death on her devastated family.
However, after Jean starts to soften towards Harvey in forthcoming scenes, her spontaneous decision to propose sets off a chain of events that shockingly exposes his and Kathy’s affair.
As next week begins, Harvey is preparing for a camping trip with the Slaters, but tensions between mum and daughter Stacey (Lacey Turner) and Lily (Lillia Turner) boil over and the getaway gets cancelled.
An angry Harvey receives the cold shoulder when he tries to seek solace from Kathy, and overcome with guilt, he arrives home to be greeted by Jean unexpectedly popping the question.
‘Jean thinks Harvey’s organised this camping trip for them, and even though it falls through, it makes her suddenly think “Do you know what, he’s a really decent bloke,”’ explains Gillian Wright, who plays Jean.
‘So, she wants to give him something back and, at the same time, in the wake of everything, she realises it’s so easy to lose somebody. So, Jean thinks, “Why not”. She wants to go for it, ask him to marry her and really cement what they’ve got.’
Harvey is flabbergasted by the proposal, and when he fails to find an answer, a heartbroken Jean flees to the café, where she confides in mortified Kathy.
‘I think [Jean] is lost and floundering because I don’t think it crossed her mind that he would say no otherwise, she would have done it in private,’ Gillian says. ‘Jean is absolutely thrown that he’s hesitated and that there is some doubt there.’
Harvey later decides it’s time to come clean and prepares to reveal all to Jean. But when she returns home, things go from bad to worse when Jean mistakes Harvey’s words as an acceptance to her proposal.
As the Slaters celebrate the happy news, Harvey sneaks off to see Kathy, and the pair share a kiss.
Unfortunately for them, however, their tryst is witnessed and recorded by none other than a vengeful Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins). Of course, this proves to be an absolute gift for Cindy, who is still desperate to destroy her former mother-in-law for attacking her and leaving her for dead at Christmas.
Later in the week, the Square gathers at The Vic to celebrate the homecoming of Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) and Peter Beale’s (Thomas Law) newborn baby.
But when a scorned Cindy is shunned by her family once again, she seizes the opportunity to expose Kathy’s lies by playing the recording of her kissing Harvey to a pub full of punters – including a dumbfounded Jean.
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‘The truth is there on the screen, but she doesn’t want to see it,’ Gillian says. ‘It wouldn’t occur to Jean that Harvey would be the sort of person that would ever be looking at anybody else.’
As Jean’s world crashes down around her, Gillian says that while her character is ‘angry and hugely betrayed’, she also feels ‘lonely and scared’ at the prospect of a future without Harvey.
Will Jean forgive Harvey for his betrayal, or is this the end of the road for them?
