This article contains spoilers for Tuesday’s (May 21) EastEnders, which has not yet aired on TV but is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) and Zack Hudson (James Farrar) have officially split following a dramatic wedding day showdown.
For several weeks, Zack has been harbouring the dark secret that he slept with Whitney’s best friend Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa), but it all came spilling out in true EastEnders style in recent dramatic scenes.
Following the birth of daughter Dolly Dean-Hudson, Zack and Lauren agreed that they should never tell Whitney about their betrayal – though the decision was soon taken out of their hands when Britney Wainwright (Lola Campbell) overheard everything.
However, it wasn’t until Zack and Whitney were stood at the altar on their wedding day that Britney decided to come clean, and it was safe to say that Whitney was horrified.
When it dawned on her that Britney wasn’t playing a prank, Whitney lashed out at her so-called best friend in a violent showdown, grabbing her by the hair to mixed reactions from the congregation.
Zack didn’t escape the violence unscathed either, receiving both a slap to the face from scorned Whit and an elbow to the gut from furious Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer).
Later, Zack headed into the lion’s den in a bid to prove how sorry he was, and it seemed as though Whitney was receptive to his apologies.
He explained how he had felt pushed out of their relationship when Whitney lied to him about fostering Britney, and explained how he fell back into his old habits because he thought their relationship was over.
Just when it seemed that Whitney was about to forgive him, Britney appeared, asking for a private word, where she dropped yet another bombshell on Whitney.
Britney explained that she wanted to move back to Milton Keynes with her real mum, because she was sure that Whitney would end up blaming her for the breakup of their family.
Though Whitney assured her that that wouldn’t happen, Britney pointed out that if she took Zack back then she clearly had no self-respect, which would make her no better than her real mum, so she may as well move back in with her.
Britney’s emotional blackmail worked wonders on Whitney, who then went back to Zack and revealed that she planned on putting her daughters first.
She explained how she knew she would grow paranoid if they stayed together, and while she’d have been prepared to risk that if it was just her, she wasn’t prepared to put Britney and Dolly through any more heartache.
As Whitney announced that they were over for good, Zack was left completely devastated.
