As soon as the Taylors moved onto Albert Square we all knew something was up with them and that it was going to be a bumpy ride.
But the mother of the clan, the infamous Karen Taylor, will find out a terrible secret in tonight’s episode that will leave her reeling.
Last month the Taylors seemed to come out of nowhere as they barged their way onto the Square with their loud blaring music and complete disregard for their neighbours, and it was quickly revealed that Karen is Keegan’s mum. It isn’t hard to see that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Keegan’s bullying behaviour has been causing quite a stir on the square.
So far the family have caused hassle for the residents of Walford but no one expected that the daughter in the family, Bernadette, would be the one with a big secret to spill.
All seems to go well for the matriarch at first in tonight’s episode as Karen manages to get a job as a cleaner at Beales’. After getting rejected by The Queen Vic and Minute Mart, she somehow strikes a bond with Jane and secures a job cleaning Ian’s restaurant.
Read more: EastEnders star reveals Karen’s vulnerable side as family’s secrets start coming out
She doesn’t get off to a good start with Ian and although they have a bit of a row, she manages to convince him that he should give her a chance (we don’t know how either!). That’s when we see Karen with her scrubs on getting her hands dirty, which is better than punching the locals and arguing with her kids at all hours.
Within days of turning up on the square Karen got into an argument with Sharon over Keegan’s made-up claims that he slept with Louise, which ended in Sharon getting a bloodied nose, and Kush was also spoken to by the police over the Taylors’ dog accidentally getting thrown into a pond.
And it was only last week that Patrick’s attempts to rescue Dot were foiled because he couldn’t hear Dot shouting for help over the ridiculously loud music coming from the nearby house of the Taylors.
So the family are definitely not the viewers’ or the Walford residents’ favourites yet, but they do add a spark of drama. Who doesn’t like a bit of drama? It’s EastEnders after all!
Just as Karen seems to be turning her life around by getting into work, she is hit with a bombshell of a secret from her daughter Bernadette who has been bunking off school lately. Karen gets frustrated with Bernadette’s excuses of being too ill for school, and forces her to go back to her lessons.
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But with Bernadette’s odd behaviour, Karen becomes more and more suspicious, and by the end of tonight’s episode she finds out the shocking truth behind her daughter’s strange demeanour.
Lorraine Stanley, who plays the character of Karen, has said that we will get to see a new side to the loudmouth mother. She revealed to Inside Soap: “Karen also has a heart of gold, and when her vulnerability comes through, you really feel for her. She’s the sort that would give you her last fiver.”
It will be interesting to see Karen’s softer side, but what exactly has her daughter been hiding from her and will the family be able to recover? Find out tonight on BBC One at 8pm.