EastEnders has finally confirmed who will be taking over The Vic, as a dramatic auction unfolded in today’s double bill of episodes.

To stop Ian putting in an offer for the pub, the Slaters tricked him into thinking that Stacey had won on a scratchcard and would be entering the bidding war herself.

This didn’t work, but when Stacey found out she’d be getting £100,000 as the beneficiary of Martin’s life insurance policy, she decided to give Kat the money to try and get the pub for her and Alfie.

The Slaters were excited in today’s first episode, but when both Yolande and Ian chastised Kat for using Martin’s money for this purpose, she felt guilty. Kat tried to refuse the cash, but Stacey insisted that this is what Martin would have wanted.

Meanwhile, Jean picked up a call for Stacey from Alfie, who is still in Spain secretly looking for Zoe.

She eventually passed on the message, and when Stacey phoned him back, Alfie revealed that while he hadn’t yet found her, he urgently needed £50,000 to cover Zoe’s debts to some dangerous men.

With Kat wanting to keep the pub bid secret from her husband, Stacey couldn’t tell Alfie who she’d promised her surprise windfall to, but he pleaded that they could lose Zoe forever without the money.

In today’s second episode, Kat had a positive meeting with the bank about a mortgage – but her dream was crushed when Stacey said she could no longer give her the money.

When Jean realised that this change of heart was related to Alfie, Stacey admitted that they were helping someone – but Jean mistakenly assumed it was Hayley.

Jean said that the money wasn’t guaranteed to help ‘Hayley’, so Stacey decided to give it to Kat after all. As she rushed to tell her cousin the news, a bidding war began between the Beales and a developer looking to turn the pub into flats.

Desperate to stall the auction, Jean pressed the fire alarm and sent everyone outside, which gave Kat enough time to throw her hat into the ring.

Linda didn’t care about the money and wanted her beloved home to go to another family who would fill it with love, so at the last minute she cancelled the auction and accepted Kat’s offer.

As the Slaters planned their future in The Vic, it was decided that Linda, Elaine and the family would temporarily move into Kat and Alfie’s flat – with Linda and Johnny heading on the singles’ cruise previously booked for Priya.

Stacey texted Alfie to tell him that the money he asked for was gone. As he returns to Walford next week, what will this mean for his search for Zoe?