EastEnders viewers are terrified that a dreadful fate awaits Lauren Branning ahead of her departure from Walford.
It’s been well-documented that both she and sister Abi will be departing Albert Square, and fans have cooked up a theory of how the exit will play out.
Lauren has recently been growing close to Josh after months of skirting around each other.
And some viewers suspect her boss will turn out to be a very dark character – and share some sick similarities with his father, James Willmott-Brown.
They fear that Lauren could be sexually assaulted by her so-called love interest – in scenes that echo Willmott-Brown’s rape of Kathy Beale back in 1988.
It’s certainly a shocking idea, but not entirely unthinkable – this week, a more sinister side has been revealed in Josh, as he repeatedly called Lauren and then turned up at her home without warning.
“He has crossed the line into sexual harassment,” wrote one viewer on Twitter.
Another said: “It’d be a bit too much if there’s a twist and Josh is a rapist because it’d be too much destruction from one family.”
A third commented how creepy he’s becoming: “Turning up in your employee’s house without knocking on the door is more than weird.”
Another replied: “Josh is coming across as creepy it’s like he’s stalking Lauren.”
And tonight the soap will show that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree where Willmott-Brown and his other son Luke are concerned.
In disturbing scenes, we will see the older sibling turn on his boyfriend Ben – Kathy’s son.
He’ll get him by the throat, leaving him terrified. As everyone knows Ben is also leaving Walford, there’s no knowing what anyone in this family is actually capable of…