{"id":768742,"date":"2026-06-29T11:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/768742\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T11:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:46:13","slug":"eastenders-airs-major-villains-return-in-early-iplayer-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/768742\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders airs major villain’s return in early iPlayer release"},"content":{"rendered":"

EastEnders spoilers<\/a> follow from Monday’s first episode (29 June)<\/a>, which is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer<\/a> but hasn’t aired on TV yet.<\/p>\n

EastEnders has aired Gray Atkins’s ominous return to the show \u2013 with big trouble sure to follow for Chelsea Fox. <\/p>\n

Toby-Alexander Smith has reprised the role of Gray for a guest stint, tying in with Chelsea’s ongoing storyline involving her young son Jordan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"gray<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: EastEnders announces last-minute BBC schedule change – with treat for iPlayer fans<\/a><\/p>\n

Monday’s first episode opened with a brief glimpse of Gray in prison, where he’s serving time for his string of murders.<\/p>\n

Later, he reappeared as his grandmother Sheila<\/a> paid him a visit in prison \u2013 and her true agenda became clear at last.<\/p>\n

As they came face-to-face in the jail’s visiting room, Gray initially complained that Sheila had kept her distance in recent years rather than supporting him.<\/p>\n

Although Sheila made no apologies for staying away from a convicted murderer, she suggested that it was time to team up so that she’d secure regular access to her great-grandson Jordan.<\/p>\n

“[Chelsea] doesn’t want him to know who I am,” Sheila complained. “And she won’t tell the family about me.<\/p>\n

\"shelia,<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: EastEnders reveals “nerve-wracking” improvised scenes in La Voix Pride episode<\/a><\/p>\n

“I pushed to spend time with him, put her under pressure and now she may not let me see him again. She’s his mother \u2013 you’re in here, and she can do what she likes.”<\/p>\n

After handing Gray an up-to-date photo of Jordan, she added: “He really is special. The thought of not seeing him again\u2026 I tried getting through to Chelsea, she wouldn’t listen.<\/p>\n

“You and she had a life together. If anyone knows how to get through to her, it’s you. If I’m going to see Jordan again, I need your help.”<\/p>\n

Can Gray find a way to help Sheila achieve her aims from behind bars?<\/p>\n

\"gray<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: EastEnders to air emotional Denise Fox scenes as she struggles in isolation<\/a><\/p>\n

News of Gray’s return first leaked in May<\/a>, although show bosses kept quiet about his exact comeback storyline at the time.<\/p>\n

Toby later<\/a> told The Mirror<\/a>: “Gray was a brilliant character. It was a gift to play Gray and it’ll be fascinating to know what four years in prison would do for someone like him.<\/p>\n

“His identity was very much, you know, control and power and very manipulative. Being in prison would very much strip a lot of that identity. So it was fascinating to tap into that psychology.”<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit our Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n

The new edition of Living Legends, celebrating the global phenomenon of BTS, is here! Buy this ultimate fan guide in newsagents or online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EastEnders spoilers follow from Monday’s first episode (29 June), which is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":768743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[49,48,181355,782,273145,784,75,237154,783,273144,181532,348],"class_list":["post-768742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-4fb29cc9-5b99-4fa2-9087-b51bc68f5f5d","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-eastenders-airs-major-villains-return-on-iplayer","tag-subsection-eastenders","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/768743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}