Mel and Hunter Owen are finally back in Walford next week, but it isn’t long before people start asking about Ray…
Fans have been left hanging for weeks, wondering what has happened to Mel and Hunter after they suddenly disappeared earlier this month.
The pair did a vanishing act after Hunter shot Ray Kelly dead in the dramatic showdown in the woods after his wedding to Mel – but the wait to find out what happens next is finally over.
Next week sees the pair return and Mel quickly get to work to rid her home of all traces of Ray.
But Hunter seems to be in self-destruct mode and can’t keep himself out of trouble – causing a scene with Keanu not long after returning.
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Mel is worried about Hunter when she hears about his fight with Keanu, but she soon has bigger things to worry about when Nicola and Maddie – Ray’s other wives – arrive on her doorstep demanding to know where he is!
Mel manages to fob the pair off, claiming that she is as clueless as they are. But she can tell they don’t believe her, a suspicion that is confirmed when Hunter later sees the women spying on him.
Jack has also noticed that Hunter is acting out of character when he is seen making a nuisance of himself while chatting up some women in the E20, and when he tells Mel what her son has been up to, she is forced to confront him.
But while Mel is worried about what is happening with Hunter, she can’t help but panic that Nicola and Maddie are getting closet to working out what happened to Ray.
With her whole future – not to mention Hunter’s – relying on their secret being kept hidden, Mel decides to ask Ian for some friendly advice, thinking that he might have some parenting tips for troubled boys after his experiences with Bobby.
But when Mel asks Ian about his son, she keeps out the part that she is worried about Hunter, meaning Ian takes offence, thinking she is just prying.
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Mel’s forced to go and apologise after Ian storms out, and soon the pair are bonding when Ian finally opens up about Bobby.
But while they’re talking, Ian says something that gives Mel an idea – and soon she has got a plan for the future.
But what is this plan that’s so great? And will it stop Nicola and Maddie finding out the sinister truth about Ray’s grisly death?
EastEnders airs Monday and Friday at 8pm and Tuesday and Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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