{"id":483727,"date":"2026-06-18T13:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/483727\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T13:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:43:10","slug":"eastenders-airs-gray-atkins-cliffhanger-as-chelsea-and-ian-war-turns-nasty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/483727\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders airs Gray Atkins cliffhanger as Chelsea and Ian war turns nasty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A horrific twist spells huge trouble for Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) in <a href=\"http:\/\/radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">EastEnders<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It comes at a truly horrific time for her family, with mum Denise (Diane Parish) undergoing intensive chemotherapy following a blood cancer diagnosis, and son Jordan (Jahsaiah Williams) has just undergone life-changing spinal surgery.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;d been accidentally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-heartbreaking-denise-fox-tragic-accident-ian-beale-bbc-iplayer-newsupdate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">hit by Ian Beale&#8217;s (Adam Woodyatt) car<\/a>, who was distracted by trying to steer drunken mum Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) away from Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) and Ross Marshall&#8217;s (Alex Walkinshaw) wedding ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>While Chelsea initially took some responsibility for not watching over Jordan and allowing him to run away, matters have turned sour with Ian again and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-oscar-branning-love-triangle-heartbreak-war-declared-jordan-newsupdate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">she dealt him a menacing slap.<\/a> He&#8217;s now seeking representation from a tough lawyer, who suggested painting her as a bad parent.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, her sister Libby (Belinda Owusu) staged a return to support Denise, though then discovered that Jordan&#8217;s paternal grandmother <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-doctor-who-i-claudius-actress-sheila-ruskin-gray-atkins-newsupdate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sheila Atkins (Sheila Ruskin)<\/a> had been sending a number of cheques for him, that Chelsea hadn&#8217;t cashed.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/564108-ba2fbdb.jpg\" alt=\"Denise and Chelsea stand over Jordan, who is asleep in a hospital bed, in a scene from EastEnders\" data-item-name=\"Denise and Chelsea stand over Jordan, who is asleep in a hospital bed, in a scene from EastEnders\" title=\"564108,TITLE:Eastenders\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1 \/ 0.6666666666666666;object-fit:contain\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"466.66666666666663\" data-testid=\"image-img\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jahsaiah Williams, Zaraah Abrahams and Diane Parish as Jordan, Chelsea and Denise Fox in EastEnders.\u00a0BBC\/Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron<\/p>\n<p>Libby knew that this money could greatly benefit the youngster&#8217;s care, though Chelsea didn&#8217;t want to engage with Sheila. As long term viewers will recall, Jordan&#8217;s dad is the serial killer Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith).<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea was furious when she discovered that her sister had contacted Sheila without her blessing, but after a reality check from Eve Panesar-Unwin (Heather Peace), she decided to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/eastenders-unsettling-decision-chelsea-fox-bbc-iplayer-newsupdate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">proceed with meeting her.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In today&#8217;s episode, the sisters nervously awaited Sheila&#8217;s arrival. They decided not to tell her that Jordan was unwell, until they could ensure that she had no contact with Gray.<\/p>\n<p>Sheila explained that she&#8217;d been estranged from her grandson for quite some time, and only discovered that he was a serial killer when she saw him on television. She had concluded that prison was the best place for him after his abhorrent behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>She also admitted that she had been refused access to Gray&#8217;s other children, Mia and Mackenzie, and longed for some contact with Jordan.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea initially decided that they could meet up again, perhaps with Jordan this time, explaining that he&#8217;d been hospitalised and had a long recovery period ahead. Sheila then handed over another cheque, though Chelsea couldn&#8217;t feared that introducing them both would only cause confusion.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/564815-551d746.jpg\" alt=\"Libby and Chelsea chat to Sheila across a table in Knight Fusion in a scene from EastEnders\" data-item-name=\"Libby and Chelsea chat to Sheila across a table in Knight Fusion in a scene from EastEnders\" title=\"564815,TITLE:Eastenders\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1 \/ 0.6524953789279113;object-fit:contain\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"456.74676524953793\" data-testid=\"image-img\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Belinda Owusu and Zaraah Abrahams as Libby and Chelsea Fox, and Sheila Ruskin as Sheila in EastEnders.\u00a0BBC\/Jack Barnes\/Kieron McCarron<\/p>\n<p>A disheartened Sheila understood, and reluctantly accepted the cheque back.<\/p>\n<p>After heading back to the wards to check in on Jordan, Chelsea was saddened when her aunt Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) said that he&#8217;d been asking to return home and play football. She also learnt about Ian&#8217;s plan to play dirty.<\/p>\n<p>As the episode came to a close, Chelsea caught Sheila outside of the tube station and handed her one of Jordan&#8217;s school photos. She also accepted the cheque this time, knowing how much of a difference it would make to her son&#8217;s life.<\/p>\n<p>However, as the picture was slid into Sheila&#8217;s purse, we also caught glimpse of Gray&#8217;s face.<\/p>\n<p>Is Sheila still in touch with her grandson?<\/p>\n<p>Read more:<\/p>\n<p>Visit our dedicated <a title=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/eastenders\/\" data-outlook-id=\"407a7332-d02c-42a9-a1ac-e105b2f5e691\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">EastEnders<\/a> page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.<\/p>\n<p>Add EastEnders to your watchlist on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/download-the-app\/?af_xp=custom&amp;pid=website&amp;c=editorial_content&amp;is_retargeting=true&amp;af_reengagement_window=30d\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Radio Times: What to Watch app<\/a> \u2013 download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.<\/p>\n<p>Check out more of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/soaps\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0CQWGoiSAYvZvTD1dZ4eAs\">Soaps<\/a> coverage or visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw32C9VRDQ0MNT5CInEGyMAm\">TV Guide<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/streaming-guide\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2_j9koCLWjp1srEzK9td3T\">Streaming Guide <\/a>to find out what&#8217;s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to <a title=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/audio\/podcasts\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1753171828766000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3wbAcSTIv74D2RLzOpEtYE\">The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A horrific twist spells huge trouble for Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) in EastEnders. It comes at a truly&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-483727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}