Max Branning (Jake Wood) receives some attention in EastEnders next week as newcomer Bea (Ronni Ancona) takes a shine to him.
Viewers of the BBC One soap will first encounter Bea this week as Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) sets her sights on the character, a former classmate, at a school reunion.
The former Queen Vic landlady isn’t sure that she wants to attend the reunion in question and thus asks Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) to accompany her.
In a bid to get Honey access, Linda claims that the market inspector is on the guest list – and is named Bea.
However, the real Bea soon arrives, which leads to some home truths about what Linda was like in her school days, leaving the former publican in shock.
The following week, Bea is staying at Peacock Palace – and it isn’t long before she gets her feet under the table. The newcomer is especially taken with Max, who is also a guest at the boutique hotel.
Linda offers to pick up the rest of Bea’s things from her old flat but when she discovers that Ollie has an issue at school Max steps in, taking Bea out so that Linda can focus her attention on her son.
Bea is quietly thrilled at the prospect of a ‘date’ with Max. Max, however, is less so but agrees to keep up the pretence for Linda’s sake.
Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) and Oscar (Pierre Counihan-Moullier), meanwhile, discuss doing something to mark Abi’s death and Max vows to be there – but he gets waylaid by his so-called date, which inevitably leads to more conflict with his children as Max is banned from attending.
And as for Bea, the newcomer confides in Honey that she thinks Linda orchestrated the whole ‘date’ thing to humiliate her.
The question is: could this ‘date’ lead to romance with Max?
It’s safe to say that any such encounter that Max has in the coming months will be analysed by fans in great detail, given the flashforward episode that aired on New Year’s Day.
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The offering in question, which was set one year down the line, saw the resident lothario getting set to wed a mystery woman. And not only that, but he was also seen in bed with another unknown resident, who is pregnant.
Speculation has been rife about the identity of his new bride and the pregnant woman, so could Bea factor into the events of the future?
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One or stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
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