BBC EastEnders’ Lauren ‘set for heartbreaking twist’

Viewers tuning into EastEnders this week are concerned there’s something devastating on the way for Lauren Branning.

Just this week she made an alarming confession to her cousin Penny Branning, as she continued to battle a secret addiction to painkillers. Lauren was badly injured in a crush at a nightclub in September, with her suffering from pain ever since.

Weeks on she was still in agony, and said she was unable to do anything without needing to take painkillers. She then discovered she was pregnant, before telling partner Peter Beale about the baby.

But what she hasn’t told him is that ever since the crush, she’s become addicted to painkillers. Around this, Lauren continues to be in serious pain constantly, leaving her loved ones concerned.

When she visited a doctor they told her they needed to reduce her painkillers. When she later realised she had been putting her unborn child at risk due to the medication, she and Penny went for an appointment at a private clinic, where she had a sonogram.

All was fine with her baby, and on Tuesday Lauren showed Peter the scan. But she continued to lash out and experience pain, clutching her chest at one point, and then telling Peter it was morning sickness.

But viewers think it could be something worrying, and that a sad twist might be on the way. While many viewers have noted that she appears to be experiencing withdrawal from the pain killers, others were not convinced and predicted she may have an unknown injury.

Some viewers feared for Lauren’s life, wondering where the storyline was going. One fan said: “Maybe Lauren is in pain and she generally needs the medication for the pain caused from the crush. Maybe whatever the pain is she dies from it at Xmas, and it will come back on to Chelsea. I don’t think the crush storyline in the club is finished with yet.”

Another fan theorised: “Could be a pulmonary embolism. It’s common in pregnancy and she was holding her chest.” Another fan wrote: “She could have broken ribs or a punctured lung to cause pain or possibly internal bleeding,” while a fourth said: “Spleen problem.”

Others pointed out that her pain was more likely down to her withdrawing from painkillers as advised by her doctor. One viewer said: “I would of thought the pain would be from the withdrawal to codeine as they have been cutting her dose down.”

A second fan said: “She’s got withdrawals, the doctor took her off the meds,” as a third added: “Definitely withdrawal symptoms. I’m a recovering alcoholic. Can spot it a mile off.” A fourth fan wrote: “Could it be withdrawals because she’s become addicted to the pain meds? Not sure if that can happen.”