EastEnders spoilers: New relationship teased for depressed Lauren Branning – but she’s not into it

There may be a new romance on the cards for Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) in EastEnders, though she isn’t exactly thrilled by the prospect.

Since her return to Albert Square, Lauren has faced plenty of drama.

First of all, she was arrested for smuggling drugs into the UK, but was thankfully released when cousin Penny (Kitty Castledine) came clean about her involvement.

Then, she discovered that Linda Carter’s (Kellie Bright) daughter Annie was actually her half sister, and more recently, her best friend’s boyfriend Zack Hudson (James Farrar) tried it on with her.

Amid all of that, her relationship with Peter Beale (Thomas Law) has been complicated, to say the least.

Though Peter was keen to make a go of things, Lauren insisted that they should be friends for the sake of son Louis, leaving Peter disappointed.

However, in upcoming scenes, it is Lauren who is left disappointed when Peter reveals that he can’t make it to the 30th birthday party Penny encourages her to host because he has a date night.

Lauren isn’t keen on the idea of celebrating her birthday, and is even more put off by the idea that Peter won’t be there.

With Lauren feeling down about her upcoming birthday, Penny tries her best to cheer her up.

She decides that the best way forward is to make Peter jealous, and sets about making a dating profile for Lauren.How will Lauren react, and will it work?

EastEnders has revealed brand new details about Ben Mitchell’s exit story.

Fans already know that Ben will be leaving Walford this spring, as show bosses decided to write him out.

EastEnders‘ newly-released short spoilers cover episodes airing on Monday, March 25, Tuesday, March 26, Wednesday, March 27 and Thursday, March 28.

They tease more trouble for Ben, whose husband Callum is left desperately trying to pick up the pieces.

Check out the full billings below.

Monday, March 25

Zack makes a grand gesture, but things don’t go to plan, Ben fixes one issue before another arises, and Jean uncovers a worrying truth.

Tuesday, March 26

Ben finds himself in hot water, Yolande continues to struggle with Denzel’s behaviour, and Avani’s antics test Priya’s patience.

Wednesday, March 27

Kathy grows suspicious of Phil, Yolande gets advice from an unlikely source, and Ravi grows jealous of a situation.

Thursday, March 28

Callum uses his job to his advantage, Lauren issues a stern warning, and Denzel tries a new tactic.

Max Bowden, who has played the role of Ben since 2019, filmed his final scenes earlier in the year.

When confirming the news, an EastEnders spokesperson told Digital Spy: “Max will be leaving EastEnders [in 2024]. We wish him all the best for the future.”

EastEnders dropped a joke about the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charge leaving viewers amused during Thursday’s instalment of the BBC soap (March 14). The scene kicked off with Ian and Cindy Beale, Priya Nandra-Hart, Vinny Panesar, and Stacey Slater enjoying a drink in The Queen Vic as Eve Unwin excitedly waited for her girlfriend Suki to arrive.

Eve and Suki have decided to take their relationship one step further and move in together at the Panesar’s after Nish was thrown out of the family home for attacking his estranged wife. As the pair planned to celebrate with friends in the pub, Eve and Priya got their wires crossed.

Ian started the conversation and said: “I’m going to get an electric car. My French one doesn’t meet emission standards”. Suki then walks in and interrupts the conversation by and asking: “What we talking about here, then?”

Priya replied: “Ian’s banging on about ULEZ”. Offended, Eve hastily remarks: “What did you just call her?”, as Stacey immediately tries to diffuse the situation.

“No”, Eve states, “I’m not having anyone shame Suki any more, you get me?”. Suki burst out laughing before confirming: “ULEZ – Ultra Low Emission Zone”.

Realising her mistake that Priya wasn’t throwing around homophobic slurs, Eve apologised to the group while they looked on amused. “But thank you for defending my honour”, Suki added as the pair shared a sweet kiss in front of punters at the pub.