This week saw the added stress of Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) returning to Walford and discovering that Linda’s daughter Annie Carter is the daughter of Max Branning (Jake Wood) and therefore is Lauren’s half-sister.
In scenes on Tuesday (9th January 2024), Linda was confronted by an angry Lauren for keeping the secret. However, after a chat with her uncle Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), Lauren has to decide whether or not to keep Linda’s secret and emotionally meets Annie for the first time.
However, a shocking twist in the same episode saw Linda feel more alone than ever as she felt abandoned by her best friend Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).
This, along with her killer secret, the loss of true love Mick Carter (Danny Dyer), the abuse of Dean, and the threat of Max returning, prompted Linda to hit the bottle once more.
On Wednesday (10th January 2024), Linda drowns her sorrows at the Albert to the concern of bar manager Felix Baker (Matthew Morrison).
As Linda gets progressively drunk instead of meeting with the rest of The Six to discuss what to do with Keanu’s body, Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) finds Linda at the Albert and collects her before she says too much or comes to any harm.
When Kathy takes Linda back home to the Vic to sober up, Linda faces anger from a panicked Denise Fox (Diane Parish) in the barrel store for her behaviour, prompting Kathy to prevent a nastier clash.
As the week continues, the remaining members of The Six seek to execute their plan, but how much more can Linda cope with?
One person who continues to worry is her mother and fellow Queen Vic landlady Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe), but George Knight (Colin Salmon) has some advice for her regarding Linda. Will Elaine heed his warning?
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
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