EastEnders’ Joel Marshall’s influence on Tommy Moon gets more worrying next week – when he convinces his friend to start stealing vapes.

The toxic teen has already filled his impressionable mate’s mind with some very questionable ideas, so can Kat save Tommy from being completely corrupted?

“Joel is continuing to lead vulnerable Tommy down a dark path and is brainwashing him,” says our EastEnders insider. “The boys are pushing their luck with their bad behaviour, and they’re about to cross yet another line.”

Kat is already on high alert about the impact that Joel is having on Tommy, with her suspicion being peaked after a number of disturbing incidents since he arrived on the Square earlier this year.

Reprimanded for his antics, Joel has opened up to Tommy about his troubled background – abandoned by his mum and bullied when he moved to Australia.

While he has been through some tough times, it doesn’t excuse his inappropriate attitudes and conduct towards women.

Joel has also exposed Tommy to online influencer Drake Zagan’s misogynistic views – and his latest idea could land them both in serious trouble.

“Naughty Joel encourages Tommy to nick some vapes from the Minute Mart,” reveals our source. “Tommy is apprehensive, but Joel reckons he can get away with anything, so puts pressure on his pal to shoplift. But of course, there are consequences.”

The pair think they’ve got away with their latest spot of law breaking, but their luck runs out as Kat soon gets wind of the situation.

Angrily confronting Tommy over his actions, the mortified mum tears a strip off her son and despairs at the kind of person Joel is turning him into.

Kat marches round to speak to Vicki and Ross about Joel, demanding they take a harder line on the sinister schoolboy.

Struggling to keep Tommy on the straight and narrow, especially with the lack of support from missing Alfie, Kat then shares her woes with a sympathetic Stacey.

What will the manipulative Joel make Tommy do next?