EastEnders spoilers follow for Thursday’s episode (16 October), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC iPlayer and hasn’t yet aired on TV.

EastEnders has confirmed Ross Marshall’s next steps, as he continues to face consequences for his son Joel’s horrific attack. The struggling dad reaches rock bottom tonight as the community hits back, but who steps in to offer him support?

This week, Vicki discovered that Ross had known for months about Joel’s illicit recordings of women – including a video of him and Avani having sex – and had kept these vile actions under wraps.

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In the aftermath of her attack, Vicki was desperate to cut all ties with the family and ended her relationship with Ross for good.

As she returned home from the hospital, Sharon demanded that Ross never sets foot in the house again, and he was left without a place to stay.

ross, eastenders

BBC

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In today’s episode, Ross attempted to get a message to Joel, who is being held in a detention centre, as he wandered around the Square in a sorry state.

Harvey empathised with his plight, after what he went through with his son Aaron’s extremism, so he made sure to check on Ross and they had a candid chat.

As Ross admitted that he was currently sleeping rough, Harvey offered him a place to stay for a few days, promising that Kathy would understand.

Meanwhile, Vicki couldn’t stop thinking about Ross, so Sharon and Kathy decided to take her on a last-minute trip to the Lake District to get away from Walford.

vicki fowler, kathy beale, sharon watts, eastenders

BBC

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But everyone soon found out that Harvey had taken Ross in and were furious, with Ian even tipping Ross’ belongings out onto the road.

With all eyes on Ross, he explained his situation to the community, saying that he did everything he could to help and urging the crowd to consider what they would have done in his shoes.

His speech didn’t do much to shift public opinion, but Harvey remained firmly in his corner – reminding Ian that he went to great lengths to hide the truth about his son Bobby’s murder.

ross, eastenders

BBC

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Ross continued drinking heavily as he spiralled out of control, and Harvey and Anthony later found him collapsed in the alley in a seriously bad way.

As they took Ross back to the house, they were spotted by Kathy before she left for the Lakes. She raged at them, but this time Ian was on Harvey’s side, reasoning that they know what it’s like to hit rock bottom.

Kathy made it clear that Vicki and Sharon can’t find out about this, but will they discover the truth on their return to Walford?

EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.

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