EastEnders spoilers follow.

EastEnders’ Penny Branning takes drastic action to keep Nicola Mitchell off her back next week – and fakes a DNA test for her unborn baby! Penny has been left shocked by the revelation that she is much further along in her pregnancy than she thought, which means Vinny Panesar is unlikely to be the dad.

She and her ex Harry secretly slept together at the end of last year before he left to go to rehab, and Penny has realised that there is every chance he could be the father instead.

penny branning, nicola mitchell, eastenders

BBC

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As this week continues, Nicola finds out about this one-off encounter and twigs that Harry might be the dad. She confronts Penny about her baby theory, demanding that she does a DNA test or she will expose her secret to everyone!

While Nicola’s blackmail is put on hold when she unexpectedly goes into premature labour, the drama continues next week as she recovers from her traumatic ordeal – and Penny is still firmly in the firing line.

Nicola continues to push Penny over her suspicions that the pregnant stallholder is carrying Harry’s child, and demands a DNA test to prove it. Seeing only one way out, panicked Penny hands Nicola a fake document in the hope of keeping the grandma-to-be at bay…

“Baby lies always come out in Walford – and this one is a whopper,” says our Square insider. “Penny might get Nicola off her back for the moment, but is she planning on lying to Vinny forever, or just buying herself some time while she decides what’s best?”

oscar branning, penny branning, eastenders

BBC

nicola mitchell, penny branning, eastenders

BBC

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It’s after chatting with her cousin Lauren that Penny makes her big decision. She then sees a softer side to tough guy Harry that only makes things trickier, so with the pressure mounting, the mum-to-be ropes in Oscar’s help as she plans her next move.

After handing over the fake certificate to Nicola when she gets home from hospital, Penny can only hope that she will get away with her lie. But how long can she keep fooling Vinny and Harry as each passing day sees her increasingly trapped in a disaster of her own making?

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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For exclusive soap star interviews, gossip, spoilers and theories every week, don’t miss the Soap Scoop podcast from Inside Soap magazine. The latest episode delves into next week’s soap spoilers for EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale- as Gary Windass battles Theo Silverton, and Kim Tate is rocked by a poisoning mystery!