{"id":387564,"date":"2026-01-24T07:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T07:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/387564\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T07:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T07:26:14","slug":"eastenders-sets-up-fierce-competition-in-dramatic-elaine-and-ian-feud-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/387564\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders sets up fierce competition in dramatic Elaine and Ian feud story"},"content":{"rendered":"

EastEnders<\/a> spoilers follow.<\/p>\n

Tensions between EastEnders’ Elaine Peacock and Ian Beale will rise next week, as they compete to become Walford’s new councillor. The bitter rivals vow to ruin each other’s businesses<\/a> when they come into power, but who will emerge victorious? <\/p>\n

Elaine and Ian’s ongoing feud continued into the new year when Elaine disparaged the food at Kathy’s caf\u00e9<\/a>. Furious Ian retaliated by making an official complaint to Councillor Barker about the garish sign outside Peacock Palace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, Ian’s plan backfired when Elaine discovered Councillor Barker’s affair with his assistant and struck up a deal. The councillor agreed to turn a blind eye to Elaine’s illegally obtained planning permission while he used her hotel<\/a> for his secret liaisons. <\/p>\n

In next week’s episodes, Elaine is pleased when George invites her out for a drink, believing he wants to rekindle their romance. At the Vic, George sheepishly reveals that he just wanted to break the news about Nicola Mitchell’s pregnancy<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"elaine<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

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

Embarrassed by the mix up, Elaine lashes out at a nearby Ian \u2013 which he predictably doesn’t take well. He contacts the local paper about her dodgy deal, adding further fuel to their feud. <\/p>\n

As the week goes on, the pair continue to take aim at each other before Elaine finally tries to wave the white flag. She approaches the Beales to apologise, but they turn her away. Did she take her revenge too far?<\/p>\n

\"linda<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: EastEnders resolves Oscar and Jasmine exit plot \u2013 but there’s drama ahead<\/a><\/p>\n

Later, following another showdown in the caf\u00e9, Ian reveals his plan to run for disgraced Barker’s vacant seat on the council. He tells Elaine that he will make it his mission to close Peacock Palace, once and for all. <\/p>\n

Never one to back down from a fight, Elaine announces her own campaign to become the next councillor of Walford. <\/p>\n

With their fate left in the hands of their friends and neighbours, who will ultimately win? And will they actually go through with their threats? <\/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

For exclusive soap star interviews, gossip, spoilers and theories every week, don’t miss the Soap Scoop podcast<\/a> from Inside Soap magazine. This week’s episode<\/a> explores soap shocks galore, from Debbie\u2019s big secret in Coronation Street, to the return of Mark Fowler Jnr in EastEnders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EastEnders spoilers follow. Tensions between EastEnders’ Elaine Peacock and Ian Beale will rise next week, as they compete…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[379,146379,381,96,1156,146378,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-387564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-c9e6a0b9-04a2-462a-b6a4-8f1f07f6ac01","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-eastenders-sets-up-new-competition-in-ongoing-feud","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}