EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders’ Lauren Beale falls victim to a cruel con next week, when fraudsters promise to deliver a treatment plan for vulnerable baby Jimmy. When Lauren and Peter are bombarded by information about new treatments for children with vision impairment, Lauren is understandably eager to hear more.
The doting mum contacts the so-called doctor, who requests £3,000 as an initial payment. But Lauren later discovers that it was all a sick ruse – how will she cope with the devastating truth?
“You can only imagine the panic that Lauren is feeling inside,” reveals our Walford insider. “Her whole world crumbles as she tries to process how this could be happening to her.
“It goes without saying that it’s evil to scam anyone, but to exploit a young mum over her baby’s health is beyond the pale. Lauren fully believes that the treatment on offer could help Jimmy, then she’s left totally beside herself.”
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Before Lauren’s heartbreaking revelation, Ian insists that the material she and Peter are being sent about potential treatments is not to be taken seriously. Desperate to help Jimmy in any way possible, Lauren ignores his warning and investigates the promising claims.
“Lauren would move mountains for her kids,” declares our sneak. “Even the slightest chance that she could give Jimmy a better shot at life is enough to convince her to act.
“After reaching out, Lauren not only learns that she will need to pay £3,000, but she is also provided with ‘results’ from previous patients. It’s no wonder that she falls for the vile scheme.”
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Oblivious to the fact that she’s been given non-existent case studies, Lauren confides in Cindy that she’s concerned about where she’ll find the cash for the doctor.
Afterwards, Lauren goes along to a fundraising quiz at the Vic, but an incident involving Jimmy derails her evening and makes her even more anxious to give him all the help that he needs. Will Lauren source the full amount that the scammers are after?
“The situation at the pub heightens Lauren’s desperation to help Jimmy,” explains our snoop. “If you thought she was fixated on helping her son before, then this takes it to a new level.
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BBC
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“EastEnders bosses are keeping tight lipped about what exactly goes down, but it’s a big deal for Lauren.”
The next day, Lauren checks her laptop to discover that the ‘doctor’ never existed in the first place – and that she’s fallen for a savage scam. Having unknowingly placed her faith in criminals, will Lauren come clean about her ordeal? Or will she try to deal with her distressing situation all by herself?
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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