{"id":552844,"date":"2026-07-16T14:57:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/552844\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T14:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:57:11","slug":"eastenders-airs-surprise-twist-in-joel-marshall-return-story-in-iplayer-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/552844\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders airs surprise twist in Joel Marshall return story in iPlayer release"},"content":{"rendered":"

EastEnders<\/a> spoilers follow for the most recent episode that is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer (Thursday, 16 July), which will air on TV on Friday, 17 July. <\/p>\n

EastEnders has aired an unexpected twist in Joel Marshall\u2019s return story, as the troubled teen makes his way back to the Square after being released from young offenders. Vicki Fowler and Ross Marshall were all smiles as they returned from their honeymoon<\/a> this week, with Zack Hudson agreeing to move out and give them space.<\/p>\n

But the newly married couple got a shock when Joel showed up at their door unannounced, joined by his mum Cleo<\/a> \u2013 played by West End star and Joel actor Max Murray\u2019s real-life aunt Mazz Murray.<\/p>\n

\"mazz<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: Best streaming services<\/a><\/p>\n

In today’s episode<\/a>, Ross, Vicki and Sharon were outraged as Cleo explained that Joel wouldn\u2019t be able to stay with her and her new husband any longer, and they would have to take the teen back.<\/p>\n

As Sharon fought back against the new arrivals, Vicki burst into tears and rushed out of the house. Sharon followed her to the caf\u00e9<\/a> to comfort her half-sister, but Vicki conceded that even though Joel attacked her, he is still Ross\u2019s son and therefore his responsibility.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, as Ross and Cleo argued about their boy\u2019s vile actions and who should look after him, Joel overheard their conversation and headed out, feeling hurt.<\/p>\n

He sat in the park alone, but it wasn\u2019t long before Tommy spotted his former best friend \u2013 and the group of teens were shocked to discover that he was back in Walford.<\/p>\n

Avani and Amy were especially furious and went to the caf\u00e9 to confront Vicki about Joel\u2019s return. While Vicki eventually decided to give Joel another chance, Avani made her see that she shouldn\u2019t allow him to come back, so she promised the teen that he wouldn\u2019t be staying.<\/p>\n

\"vicki<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: 18 huge EastEnders spoilers for next week (20 to 23 July)<\/a><\/p>\n

Vicki returned home to tell Ross her decision and was relieved when her husband told her they were on the same page. But they then heard Joel calling for his mum and realised that Cleo had swiftly left the Square and left her son with them.<\/p>\n

That evening, it was agreed that Joel would stay the night in the B&B with his dad and they would work out the long-term plan in the morning, though Vicki made it clear that he would never set foot in the house again.<\/p>\n

Avani arrived and raged at Vicki for going back on her promise before lunging at Joel in revenge. Vicki managed to calm her down, then issued her own threat to Joel. With dramatic scenes set to air next week<\/a>, what does the future hold for the returning teenager?<\/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 for the most recent episode that is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer (Thursday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":552845,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[131124,1105,233931,1107,93,61,60,184510,1135,233930,223989,131322],"class_list":["post-552844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-e194172a-b92a-4a10-913b-1193cdb7a030","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-eastenders-airs-big-twist-in-joel-marshall-return-story","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-eastenders"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}