EastEnders is lining up a dark new storyline for newcomer Joel Marshall.

Vicki Fowler recently returned to the Square with her boyfriend Ross and his son Joel, who has been growing closer to Avani Nandra-Hart but secretly degraded her in front of his friends in worrying scenes.

According to The Sun, a disturbing new storyline will see Joel secretly film himself having sex with Avani, before showing the footage to his best friend Tommy in an attempt to impress him and encourage the teen to move towards Joel’s toxic way of thinking.

“There is a huge rise in this type of behaviour amongst teenage boys and bosses are aware that the show is hugely popular with younger age groups so they’re hoping this storyline will reach those who need it,” an EastEnders insider told the publication.

The storyline will reportedly “build over the coming weeks and months” to highlight the influence that social media and toxic friendships can have on impressionable teens, as well as the “consequences of such actions”.

It comes after the success of Netflix’s one-shot drama Adolescence, which explored similar behaviour among teenage boys.

However, EastEnders storylines are planned six months in advance, so while similar topics will be explored, it’s not inspired by the show.

In recent scenes, Avani invited Amy Mitchell, Denzel Danes and Nugget Gulati over to No. 41 – before Joel and Tommy turned up with a bottle of vodka.

Tommy’s male peers soon made him feel embarrassed about his lack of experience with girls, and Joel offered some troubling advice.

The newcomer later made some degrading comments about Avani to the boys, and while Barney Mitchell made a stand, Joel convinced Avani that Barney was the one who turned up the heat.