Martin Fowler (James Bye) and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) have been left in grave danger at the end of the 40th anniversary episode of EastEnders.

The Wednesday 19th February 2024 episode of the BBC One soap saw Martin survive the initial explosion of the Queen Vic pub and then set about saving his family.

While all the other Slaters and his partner Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) were accounted for, his ex-wife and soulmate Stacey was trapped in the pub toilets and in grave peril.

Despite pleas from Ruby to think of their son Roman and to escape with her, Martin refused to leave Stacey behind and a look exchanged between him and Ruby suggested she knew where his heart lies.

As Martin freed Stacey from beneath debris in the toilets, she refused to leave until he had explained to her why he had chosen Ruby over her and why the “timing” wasn’t right for the pair of them to now be together.

They raked over the past as Martin remained stubborn that they didn’t work. Yet, as they managed to escape into the main room of the pub together, Martin finally proclaimed to Stacey that of course, it was she who he loved.

“It’s you, Stace. Of course, it’s you,” proclaimed Martin, holding her tenderly.

However, just as the pair gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes, a metal beam fell down atop them, with Martin pushing Stacey out of the way to safety as it fell on top of him.

As Martin screamed in pain with the wreckage atop him, Stacey looked terrified as the episode concluded.

Is EastEnders about to rob Martin and Stacey of their happy ending? We have been fearing it for a while now!

Elsewhere in the episode, Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth) saved the life of daughter-in-law Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) before the latter was rushed to hospital – after having previously tried to kill her.

Meanwhile, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) was persuaded to shout for help by a vision of her late mother Angie Watts – in a surprise return for Anita Dobson – and was saved by ex-husband Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp).

Finally, Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) went into labour in the pub kitchen with sister Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and cousin Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) by her side, right after a final confrontation with killer Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) saw him crushed by a falling ceiling and killed.