DEAN Wicks’ comeback to Albert Square has been the bane of Linda Carter’s life as she struggles to cope with her rape trauma.
The pub landlady is scared out of her wits in EastEnders as her attacker makes an appearance in the Vic. Why does he show up?
Linda Carter (portrayed by Kellie Bright) encountered her worst fear on Halloween when Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) returned to Walford for the first time in seven years.
Regular viewers of the BBC One soap predicted Dean would return to get his revenge on Linda, whom he raped in 2014.
Since resurfacing, Dean has left Linda unsettled, anxious and too drained to resist the booze, with her addiction making a comeback and worsening following Keanu Taylor’s murder.
Dean has also tried to clear his name by forcing Linda into a false confession that she had made up the rape allegation weighing against him – which she accepted to protect George Knight.
Needless to say, Dean is unwelcome in The Vic.
But in scenes airing next week, he surprisingly makes his way to the boozer as he’s looking for his daughter Jade Green (Elizabeth Green).
It all begins with Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) picking out a venue for Jade’s fundraiser and she settles on The Queen Vic.
She is then surprised when Linda agrees to welcome Jade’s event in her pub but there’s one condition Jean needs to keep in mind – Dean isn’t allowed to attend.
Back at Dean’s place, Jean is terrified when Jade has a bad coughing fit and she calls the doctor, much to his horror.
Things only get worse when Jade takes a look at his phone.
Regular viewers of the London-based program will remember that Dean hatched a shock plan to keep Jade close to him and avoid her from leaving for Pakistan with her mother Shabnam.
But will what Jade find on his phone be in relation to his plan?
Dean has a lot of explaining to do as Jade and Jean confront him about dodging Shabnam’s calls and texts.
He manages to persuade them that he’s been putting his head in the sand and avoiding Shabnam.
Jade wonders why as she points out that her mother knows she’s still too ill to go to Pakistan.
In later scenes, Jade asks Dean if she can go to the fundraiser at The Vic, but he insists that he’ll only let her if she’s well enough.
Jade remains completely unaware that Dean is tampering with her antibiotics to keep her by his side.
Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff) taunts Dean about being banned from Jade’s fundraiser, making him determined to find a way to get there.
After resorting to his devious tricks and successfully manipulating Jean and Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman), Dean arrives at The Vic.
All hell is about to break loose when Jade begs Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) just to let him see her speech.
‘Ridiculous!’ fume EastEnders fans call out baffling problem with Queen Vic pub – and Elaine’s to blame
As they wait for her big moment, Dean begs Jade to stay with him in London, but she insists she needs to go to Pakistan and be with Shabnam.
Things go from bad to worse as Linda is furious to see Dean in her bar and she rushes upstairs, with Jean right behind her.
While there, an emotional Linda makes Jean see that Dean is playing her, prompting the cleaner to return downstairs to order him to leave.
What will Dean do?
EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
