This article contains spoilers for tonight’s episode of Eastenders, which airs tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One but is available to view now on BBC iPlayer.
Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) has confessed to Debbie’s m.u.r.d.e.r in a desperate bid to free her sister Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) from prison.
The Walford legend has been held hostage in a storage lockup for months after she uncovered incriminating evidence that proved that Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) is the real k.i.l.l.e.r.
With all fingers pointed at poor Son’, she’s faced the prospect of spending the rest of her life at His Majesty’s Pleasure, and this week has faced trial.
To make matters worse, she’s heavily pregnant.
In recent weeks, we’ve seen Reiss tried to convince the nurse who had seen her lurking around the murder scene to change her witness statement.
The desired result wasn’t achieved, and only worsened Sonia’s desperation to be free.
As the locals gathered in court, they wondered whether Bianca would arrive at the eleventh hour and show her support – blissfully unaware of her current circumstances.
Things took a turn for a worse when Sonia collapsed, and she was convinced that she couldn’t continue fighting for freedom. Pleading guilty would be the best thing for both her, and the unborn child.
As Reiss fell into a state of despair, and Bianca wondered whether she would ever see the light of day again, she threw him a lifeline. She would take responsibility and then go on the run.
In tonight’s episode, she told him it was now or never. Given she paid comatose Debbie a visit at the care home, she could well have been responsible.
With huge doubts over the matter, Reiss left but was given food for thought by Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton), who explained her experiences of giving birth behind bars.
Rushing back to the lockup, he handed Bianca a confession statement and filmed her reading it out. He then sent it to himself using a VPN to protect it being traced.
Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and Martin Fowler (James Bye) headed back to the courtroom, horrified to see Sonia preparing to plead guilty.
Suddenly, Reiss charged in and said that he had new evidence and the trial was yet again adjourned.
The solicitor then delivered the upsetting news that despite Bianca’s tape being handed to the CPS, it could take weeks for it to be admissible and therefore the jury could only use their prior knowledge when deciding on Sonia’s guilt.
It could be months before a retrial was arranged.
Reiss was devastated – his plan falling through – so targeted a member of the jury as they were leaving. He begged them to take a look at the video, and although they were initially reluctant, they agreed.
Is Sonia’s ordeal finally over, and what consequences could Bianca’s confession have?
