Next week in EastEnders, Suki Panesar-Unwin’s suspicions lead to a disturbing revelation about her granddaughter Avani Nandra-Hart—plunging the Panesar family into crisis and triggering a violent confrontation that threatens to spiral out of control.

Avani has been on a downward spiral ever since she endured a traumatic strip search by the police. Pulled in with her friends Lily Slater and Amy Mitchell under suspicion of carrying drugs, Avani’s experience was more harrowing than the others’. Her reluctance to cooperate with officers led to an invasive and dehumanising procedure, the emotional impact of which has deeply affected her.

Since then, Avani has been displaying increasingly erratic behaviour, turning to alcohol and drugs, and growing distant from her family. Her loved ones have watched in concern as she isolates herself—and then begins a troubling new relationship with newcomer Joel Marshall.

Unbeknownst to Avani, Joel harbours dark tendencies. He’s obsessed with pornography and has disturbingly expressed a desire to re-enact explicit scenes with her. Their relationship quickly escalates, and in a shocking twist, they’re caught having sex by Joel’s father Ross Marshall and his girlfriend Vicki Fowler.

While this discovery already raises alarm bells for Ross and Vicki, matters take a far more sinister turn when it’s revealed that Joel secretly filmed the encounter with Avani—without her knowledge or consent—and showed the footage to his friend Tommy Moon. This breach of trust and violation is set to send shockwaves through the Square.

Ross and Vicki are left horrified by Joel’s actions. Vicki urges Ross to speak directly with Avani’s parents, Ravi Gulati and Priya Nandra-Hart, to come clean about what their son has done. But instead of doing the right thing, Ross avoids the difficult conversation and tries to handle the situation quietly by speaking directly with Avani.

This proves to be a mistake.

Suki Panesar, ever watchful and instinctively protective, spots Ross and Avani speaking from a distance. Alarmed by the sight of a grown man conversing secretly with her granddaughter, Suki confronts both Ross and Avani. But their accounts of the conversation don’t align, deepening her unease.

Determined to get to the truth, Suki questions Vicki, who finally breaks down and confesses everything. The truth horrifies Suki—Joel took advantage of Avani, recorded their intimacy, and shared it behind her back. It’s a devastating violation, and Suki knows Avani’s emotional instability makes the situation even more dangerous.

Trying to tread carefully, Suki attempts to approach Avani with the truth. But when she brings up Joel and their sexual relationship, Avani is outraged and storms off, unable to cope with the shame and anger. Suki’s attempt to support her is painfully rejected.

Still determined to protect Avani, Suki turns to Priya and decides to tell her everything. But the moment turns explosive—Ravi walks in mid-conversation and hears it all. Fury takes over. Learning that someone has hurt his daughter in such a degrading way, Ravi snaps.

Without hesitation, Ravi storms over to the Watts residence to confront Joel. Tensions escalate rapidly, and a brutal physical fight erupts between Ravi and Ross. The confrontation threatens to spiral into a full-blown war between the two families, with the Panesars on one side and the Marshalls on the other.

Suki’s worst fears have come true—Avani’s trauma has escalated into a full-blown scandal that now threatens the unity of her family. As Ravi and Priya reel from the betrayal and the violation of their daughter, and Suki scrambles to keep her loved ones safe and grounded, one thing becomes clear: this is not a situation that will resolve quietly.

With the truth about Joel’s disturbing actions now out, the fallout could have serious consequences. Will Avani find the strength to face what’s happened to her? Can Ravi and Priya hold their family together in the aftermath? And as the Panesars prepare to go to war to defend their daughter, is this just the beginning of a much darker chapter for Walford?