Max Branning is at the centre of the drama as 2027 kicks off (Picture: BBC/Kieron McCarron)
EastEnders once again had viewers speculating by kicking off 2026 with another flashforward episode, which gave us an insight into New Year’s Day 2027 and focused on the dramatic life of Max Branning (Jake Wood).
As well as an arrest for solicitation to murder, a wedding and the terrifying realisation that his kids, Lauren and Oscar Branning (Jacqueline Jossa and Pierre Counihan-Moullier), were being held at gunpoint, Max also appeared to be in the midst of a sordid affair with a pregnant woman.
Now, the BBC soap appears to have dropped a major hint to the woman’s identity during an inconspicuous scene in today’s (Thursday, March 5) instalment.
While today’s EastEnders focused on Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) and his final trip to the Queen Vic before moving into a care home, it was actually a scene between Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy) and Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) that caught our attention.
Amid the celebrations, Ravi attempted to buoy Priya’s mood by listing the benefits of a new job that Lauren had head-hunted her for.
In yesterday’s episode, Lauren visited the bap van, where Priya is currently working, and was impressed by her upselling abilities.
Priya Nandra-Hart’s new job puts her right in Max’s orbit (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Add to that Priya’s complaints that she was skint, and it made perfect sense to offer her the job going at the car lot, which puts her directly in Max’s orbit.
Fans had mixed feelings about the possibility of Priya being the pregnant woman Max was sleeping with, and took to social media with their predictions.
Priya’s going to be working at the car lot…I don’t want her anywhere near Max 🫣 #EastEnders
— Debs (@Debs_1982) March 4, 2026
Of course, there is one major obstacle in the way where Max and Priya are concerned, and his name is Ravi Gulati.
While Max is a known womaniser, and it has made little difference to him in the past if his lovers are single or in a relationship, we can’t see Ravi staying calm if he learned about a fling between Max and Priya.
Will Priya and Max start spending a lot of time together? (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
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In fact, we’re pretty sure he’d be hellbent on getting revenge – something that someone in the flashforward goes to great lengths to get when they force Max to choose which of his kids is shot.
Is Ravi the mysterious gunman holding Lauren and Oscar hostage?
Could Max be set to ask Priya to choose between him and Ravi, causing Ravi to go to such extreme lengths to give him a taste of his own medicine?
Some fans certainly think so, taking to Twitter/X with their theories.
priya is sooo the pregnant lady in max’s bed and it’s ravi holding lauren and oscar at gunpoint btw #eastenders
— liv (@oscarbrannings) February 24, 2026
So Priya will be working at the car lot. She’ll get closer to Max… Mark and Lauren will soon begin their affair. Ravi will be the one holding Lauren and Oscar at gunpoint. Max will get engaged to Elaine. Turns out, she is his type after all…#EastEnders
— Shannon 👩❤️💋👨💞 (@Shannon79053723) March 4, 2026
Or, could Max have already dealt with the Ravi issue entirely before the events of the flashforward?
We know that Max is set to be arrested for solicitation to murder, so could he have called a hit on Ravi to get him out of the way? He makes it clear to Lauren that he’s got caught up with some dodgy people, and we know that Ravi has been acting as an informant for Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) after getting caught up in a drugs ring.
Mark Fowler Jr is on to Ravi Gulati (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
In recent scenes, Ravi warned Mark Fowler Jr (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) to stay away from an organised drug deal, insisting that he had a hunch things would go wrong. In reality, Ravi had been informed by Jack that the whole thing was a police set up.
Though Priya warned him to let Mark make his own mistakes, Ravi wanted to protect his friend, which could prove to be a big mistake.
Despite thanking Ravi for saving his skin, Mark went on to make a suspicious phone call, informing the person on the other end that he had ‘found the rat’.
Could Ravi be at risk of retaliation from Mark and the other dealers, and could Max somehow find himself involved and be the one to order his death?
Or, could Priya realise the danger that Ravi has put himself and their family in and choose to leave him, ultimately ending up falling into bed with Max as a newly single woman?
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