Old rivals Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) and Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) came face-to-face on Thursday’s EastEnders, and it’s fair to say things did not go well.
Fans of the BBC soap will remember that Jean took revenge against Ruby back in 2021, after Ruby had Jean’s daughter Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) falsely imprisoned, claiming she attacked her during a showdown that led to Ruby miscarrying her unborn baby.
As payback for her lies, Jean framed Ruby after discovering someone had been growing a cannabis farm in the Slaters’ garage.
Ruby was subsequently locked up for the crime, and while in prison, secretly gave birth to a son that ex-husband Martin Fowler (James Bye) had no idea about.
The truth came spilling out earlier this week as Ruby returned to Walford and confirmed Martin had a son called Roman.
A further twist then revealed the youngster was in currently hospital experiencing liver failure.
After hearing about Roman’s plight, Jean started feeling guilty for her role in having Ruby sent to prison, and tried to make amends on Thursday.
Heading to the hospital where Ruby was at Roman’s bedside, Jean told her she regretted her actions – but was met with a clear threat.
Pointing out they were now loosely related through Martin – who was previously married to Stacey – Jean begged to ‘end all hostilities and be a family’.
Ruby saw red and accused her of nearly killing her son by having her locked up.
‘Did you not think of the stress? How I could have lost him?’ she asked. ‘Course you didn’t, because you didn’t believe he existed.
‘And you come here saying he’s family? He’s mine! He’s just mine. So you ever put your face near him again, I’ll rip it off.’
But with Martin determined to get custody of Roman, it seems Ruby’s problems are only just beginning…
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and from 6am on iPlayer.
