Jack Branning’s (Scott Maslen) marriage is in crisis this Christmas in EastEnders and he’s set to vent his spleen at kids Ricky and Amy Mitchell (Frankie Day and Ellie Dadd).
His temper gets the better of him and rocks his relationship with Ricky Jr and fragile Amy, who was already struggling after finding out that newly returned Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) attempted to rape her late mum, Roxy.
Recently Jack has grown close to Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), after supporting her during the court case against her delusional stalker Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis), who had also tried to rape her.
Jack’s emotions get the better of him
Stacey also turned to the copper for help when her ex-wife, Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) went missing.
Jack and Stacey had also spent a lot of time together before and after Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) and Ricky Jr became parents.
He also agreed to keep quiet when Stacey confessed the truth about Theo’s attack and planting a weapon on him to try and save Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) from prison.
But wife Denise Fox (Diane Parish) came back from holiday and was furious to discover that Jack hadn’t told her that rapist Dean is back – after coming face to face with him in the square.
Finding out his ex, Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) – Ricky Jr’s mum – has been staying at the house, proved a step too far for Denise.
Although Jack and Denise do initially smooth things over, they’re uneasy around each other and there’s real tension in the air.
Soon Jack’s escaping his stresses by enjoying a Christmas shopping trip with Stacey, and helping her out financially to get presents for her kids…
So what happens that finally makes Jack snap at both Amy and Ricky Jr? After finding the unhappy pair in the square, Denise heads to no 20 to fight for her marriage – but is it too late?
