EastEnders airs dramatic aftermath of affair bombshell in early iPlayer release

Martin cheerfully arrived back in Walford, only to walk in on Stacey and Jack sharing a farewell smooch after calling a halt to their affair. As Jack tried to downplay it, Stacey ended up admitting to Martin that she and Jack had been sleeping together for quite some time, but it was now over.

A disgusted Martin left, seeking support from godmother Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth), who tried to persuade Martin to keep quiet about Stacey and Jack.

When Kathy explained that she wanted to keep the peace between Stacey and Denise, an angry Martin was baffled, and Kathy brushed it off. However, viewers know she was aiming to stop the murderous pact between the woman from exploding!

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Trying to stay cool and collected, Kathy quizzed Martin on Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), who remains in Australia. Calming down, Martin explained that Sharon had been the one who urged Martin to return home early to surprise his loved ones.

Kathy advised Martin to stop concerning himself with Stacey’s actions. Meanwhile, Jack panicked that his marriage was about to be destroyed, and Stacey assured him that it wouldn’t be as Jack hoped to minimise the fallout of Martin’s fury.

Jack later broke down to Denise, revealing how scared he had been during her recent illness, and the pair shared a tender moment.

But amid this breakthrough, a riled up Martin stormed back to the Fox-Branning residence, where his attitude towards Jack was witnessed by Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams). Chelsea let rip at Martin for his aggression towards Jack, but her praise for her stepfather led Martin to expose Jack’s infidelity to her.

Chelsea announced Jack and Stacey’s cheating to the rest of the family, but Denise revealed she knew about the fling and wanted to move on. As Jack latched onto this lifeline, Martin told Denise that he had only just seen Jack and Stacey kissing!

Realisation dawned on Denise that the affair had continued, but still the selfish Jack claimed there was nothing going on.

As he looked to Stacey to back him up, there was a huge throwback to the moment Jack’s brother Max (Jake Wood) shamelessly tried to persuade Stacey to go along with his fib that the now-famous footage of them smooching was a wind-up.

Just as she had done during EastEnders’ epic 2007 Christmas special, Stacey confirmed the truth as she tearfully uttered the words: “I’m sorry.”

Jack made excuses as he claimed that Denise had pushed him away and this was, apparently, why he felt the need to cheat. A raging Chelsea lunged at Stacey, while Martin and Jack came to blows in a violent showdown which spilled out onto the street.

Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) arrived and intervened, and Stacey tried to justify her behaviour, but confessed she had caught real feelings for Jack.

Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) disowned mum Stacey as Chelsea took Denise away from the house, and Martin asked why Stacey had gone anywhere near Jack. Stacey had the nerve to claim that Jack wouldn’t have looked her way if he had been happy with Denise, and Martin walked away in disgust.

As Jack and Stacey were left out in the cold, can their families ever forgive them or have they pushed them all away for good?

EastEnders spoilers follow from Tuesday’s episode (March 19), which is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer. This article contains storyline details that some viewers may prefer to avoid, as this episode hasn’t yet aired on TV.

EastEnders aired the huge fallout of Stacey and Jack’s affair storyline in the show’s latest episode.

Stacey and Jack were caught in a compromising position by Martin in Monday’s cliffhanger (March 18), just as they had finally accepted that their relationship had to come to an end.

Viewers last saw Martin in January when he headed off to Australia to support his sister Michelle, who was recovering from an operation.

BBC

Martin’s early return threw Stacey into a spin, as she begged him not to tell Denise about what he saw.

Stacey admitted that she was seeing Jack but isn’t anymore, before reminding Martin that it’s none of his business anyway.

Torn over what to do, Martin decided to confide in Kathy about what he knows.

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However, Kathy also tried to persuade Martin to keep the secret, fearing the consequences for the rest of The Six women if the truth does come out.

As Martin pondered his decision, the guilt began to overwhelm Jack and he ended up breaking down to Denise in the kitchen.

This led to them having a heartfelt conversation, where they vowed to stick together no matter what.

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The moment was eventually interrupted by Martin, who later told Jack that he wasn’t going to tell Denise the truth as she’d been through enough.

Sticking to his word, Martin was keen to move on from what he saw, until a confrontation with Chelsea changed everything.

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Unhappy with Martin, Chelsea fiercely defended Jack and accused Martin of causing unnecessary trouble.

Chelsea’s accusations caused Martin to finally snap, and he told Chelsea that he had walked in on Stacey and Jack kissing outside.

Furious, Chelsea wasted no time in confronting Jack and Stacey publicly in front of their horrified families.

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Denise initially responded by insisting she knew all about it, until Martin stepped in and explained that he’d seen them kissing earlier that evening.

A huge physical fight ensued between Jack and Martin, which Harvey ended up having to break up outside.

Emotional, Stacey tried to explain herself but faced a major backlash, especially from her daughter Lily who decided to go and stay with Martin.

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Denise also walked away from Jack, despite his repeated insistence that it was her he loved and that it was over with Stacey.

With their families in tatters, Stacey and Jack were left to reflect on their actions, but what does the future hold for them all now?