Episode 6848 (31 January 2024)

==Summary==
==Script==
A distraught Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) is sitting in her bed whilst staring at the ceiling in floods of tears, struggling to process that she has been raped by Dean Wicks (Matt di Angelo) (Scene should last 20 seconds)
In the Vic kitchen, Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe), George Knight (Colin Salmon), Anna Knight (Molly Rainford) and George Knight Jr (Aaron Fontaine) are all eating breakfast together and are laughing and having a good time
Elaine
“So, what do you think George Jr, is my cooking up to your Dubai standards? (Elaine laughs)”
George Jr
“It’s great, thanks”
George
“Laney’s a great cook, never judged her once”
They all eat until Anna gets confused due to Gina’s absence
Anna
“Where’s Gina? She’s usually up by now”
George
“Erm.. sometimes she does this, I’ll go and check on her”
George leaves the scene and goes to Gina’s bedroom, Gina hears footsteps and pretends to be asleep.
George
“Gina, you up?”
Gina doesn’t respond to George, so he opens the door and notices she is ‘sleeping’
Gina holds back tears as George is in her bedroom
George
“Sorry”
George exits and Gina refocuses on the situation, getting upset
Gina sits up and hears Dean’s voice in her head, from what he said before raping her
Dean (flashback)
“Rapist huh? You think I’m a rapist? I’ll show you what kind of a man I am!”
“Shut up you tart, you know you want it!”
Gina gets angry and storms downstairs, although her family don’t notice this as they are loudly giggling and focusing on their breakfast
Gina sneaks into the barrel store and is greeted by a drunken Linda Peacock (Kellie Bright)
Drunk Linda
“Oh, you! Can’t believe you’re even 6 feet close to me”
Gina clenches her fists and holds back anger as Linda moves towards her
Drunk Linda
“You assault me like that again in my own pub, and you’ll be 6 feet under, you hear me?!”
Gina (under her breath)
“Get out, Linda”
Drunk Linda
“What was that?”
Gina
“I said GET OUT!!”
Linda is shocked by Gina’s outburst
Drunk Linda
“You’re walking on ice! Thin ice!”
Linda walks out and trips into the door, hurting her head. Gina scoffs at Linda, Linda then exits
Gina pulls out her phone and scrolls down to Ravi Gulati’s (Aaron Thiara) contact, she then gets emotional again
Scene switches to Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) and Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) walking across the square and towards the Bridge Street market, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins)
Jean
“Oh Shirley! It’s so lovely to have you back!”
Jean happily looks at Shirley
Shirley
“It is home at the end of the day Jean, I’ve missed having friends around”
Jean
“You’re always welcome at mine! When that café reopens we’ll go for a proper coffee and a catch up!”
Jean giggles whilst Shirley struggles to crack a smile
Ian and Cindy watch from a distance
Ian
“See? Look at that woman, can’t even smile for 2 minutes around her best mate”
Cindy
“You’re not kidding..”
Cindy
“So how do you know her then Ian?”
Ian
“Oh god, I don’t wanna bore you with details. She’s just a vicious old cow who’s always got a vendetta against everyone and everything. Trust me love, you’re not her first or last target”
Cindy
“Oh.. my kind of mate”
Ian nudges Cindy to get her to look at him
“Hang on? You’re not really befriending and siding with Shirley Carter are you?”
Cindy
“Uhh”
Shirley and Jean walk past, with Shirley dirty looking Ian and Cindy. Jean is unaware of their presence and smiles at Shirley.
Shirley
“Beale.”
Ian sighs as they walk off
Dean, on a run, approaches Cindy and Ian
Dean
“What’s wiped the smile off of your faces?”
Cindy
“Some moody woman called Shirley, she’s a proper delight”
Dean
“Shirley, Shirley Carter?”
Cindy
“Yeah, do you know her?”
Dean
“She’s my mum!”
Cindy looks at Ian in shock
Cindy (to herself)
“Like mother, like son”
Dean
“What was that!”
Cindy
“Just make sure that your mum keeps her beady eyes off me!”
Cindy walks away towards 45 Albert Square and Ian goes with her
Dean
“For God’s sake”
Scene switches back to Gina in the Vic barrel store on the phone to Ravi
Gina
“Ravi. I need some of the… you know”
Ravi (phone)
“Gina, come on, you know I don’t do that anymore”
Gina
“Please Ravi! I’m begging you, I’ll give you all the money you want!”
Ravi (phone)
“Gina, I’ve got two kids and a family, I can’t get myself back in that business”
Gina
“200 quid”
Ravi (phone)
“I’ll see what I can do, no guarantees”
Ravi ends the phone call and Gina sneaks to the main area in the Vic, taking £200 out of the till (scene should last about 20 seconds)
Gina leaves the Vic and walks to the park as she is haunted by Dean’s voice
Dean (flashback)
“Tart! Rapist?”
Gina (murmuring to self)
“No, no, get out of my head..”
Gina struggles to walk in a straight line towards the park
Dean (flashback)
“You know you want it!”
Gina breathes erratically and her vision goes blurry, she struggles to hear properly and clutches onto a wall, Gina trips into a nearby alley and falls over, whilst crying (scene should last 30 seconds)
Gina (crying)
“Dean! Leave. Me. Alone!”
Gina shakes and grabs onto her hair whilst on the floor in an alleyway, suffering in silence
Scene switches to Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine), Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) and Louie Beale (Jake McNally) sitting in their lounge in 29A, they are drinking some hot drinks at the table
Penny
“It’s not so bad here after all”
Lauren
“I like it. Louie, what do you think?”
Louie
“I’d rather be at dad’s.”
Lauren sighs, looking at Penny
Penny
“You hear anything from that lad from the Vic the other day?”
Lauren
“No… (smirks at Penny)”
Penny giggles at Lauren, presuming that Lauren slept with George Jr, there is an awkward silence for a few seconds
Lauren
“Well… come on then you, let’s go down to the park for a bit like we said earlier, yeah?”
Louie smiles and stands up with Lauren
Lauren feels a funny feeling and clutches her stomach, but she dismisses it and leaves with Louie and Penny
Scene switches as Lauren, Louie and Penny walk out of 29A to Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) walking into 31 Albert Square, Stacey is greeted by Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal)
Stacey
“Suki… alright?”
Suki
“Stacey, I need a word”
Stacey
“Go on then”
Suki
“Denise has absolutely lost the plot and I’m honestly concerned that she’ll spill everything to someone.. that woman cannot keep it together”
Stacey
“Suki, we’re all each others worst nightmare at the minute!”
Suki
“No this is different! We’re still here, living our lives as usual but Denise on the other hand is just… wow”
Stacey
“There is something up with her, you ain’t wrong, she looks worse and worse everyday”
Suki
“One of us needs to have a word with her, get her to speak to us rather than the wrong person, like Jack”
Stacey
“There’s no way she’ll speak to me after what I did”
Scene switches to Gina slowly standing up in the alleyway and still feeling slightly dizzy (Should last 10 seconds)
Gina
“What.. ha- oh-“
Gina hears Lauren, Penny and Louie approaching the park and her phone vibrates with the following message:
Ravi (message)
“Meet me at the back of Walford East. I’ve got what you need so long as you have that £200”
Gina stumbles out of the alley and walks towards Walford East
Lauren and Penny notice Gina
Penny
“Ain’t that the barmaid at the Vic who goes out with that rapist?”
Lauren
“Yeah, Dean.”
Gina’s hallucinates and her eyes play tricks on her as she sees Dean standing in front of her, although he isn’t really there (scene should last 15 seconds)
Ravi (whispering)
“Psst. Gina, come here”
Gina hears Dean’s voice instead of Ravi’s and stares at him
Ravi (whispering)
“Gina. I’ve got what you need”
Gina walks to Ravi and hands him a few scrunched up notes
Ravi hands Gina the requested drugs
Ravi
“You ok, Gina?”
Gina
“Oh, does it matter?!” (aggressive tone)
Gina storms off with the drugs, Ravi is stunned and dismisses the situation, walking back into the restaurant
Gina
“Thank god, finally!”
Gina avoids Lauren and Penny and heads towards Turpin Road
Scene switches to Ian and Cindy sitting in the Vic and drinking their drinks
Cindy
“Where’s Gina today? I see Anna, Elaine, George, Tracey… no Gina though”
Cindy walks up to the bar and speaks to Tracey (Jane Slaughter)
Cindy
“Seen Gina today?”
Tracey shakes her head
Tracey
“No, she’s just gone awol today and none of us have seen her, not even George”
Cindy
“That’s strange, tell her that I could do with a word when you see her”
Tracey
“Sure”
Cindy
“Thanks, Trace”
Cindy goes to sit down but Shirley storms in
Shirley has an angry face and her fists are clenched
Elaine
“Oh, who have you battered now?”
Shirley
“Shut it, you!”
Shirley pushes a beer bottle off of a table, smashing it
Ian
“See what I mean? Everyone and everything!”
Cindy
“You’re not wrong Ian”
Shirley
“LINDA!”
Shirley searches rooms for Linda, in rage
A drunken Linda walks unevenly out of her bedroom
Drunk Linda
“Shirl?”
Shirley
“Don’t ‘Shirl’ me! You’ve been drinking again!!”
Drunken Linda walks down the stairs
Drunk Linda
“And what, who bloody cares?!”
Shirley follows
Shirley
“I DO! It’s your first day looking after Mick Jr but you’ve already blown it!!”
Drunk Linda
“All I see in that thing is Janine! That bitch!”
Shirley
“Yeah and so do I but I’m not finding the answer in 10 bottles of vodka!”
Gina walks in, high,
Drunken Linda and Shirley stop arguing and look at Gina
Drunk Linda
“Where you been?”
Gina
“Why d.. do you care?! Drunk!”
Gina quickly walks up the Vic stairs but trips at the top
Drunk Linda
“(Starts crying) everyone hates me!!”
Elaine
“Linda darling, what’s wrong?”
Shirley
“Don’t play the good mum now Elaine! From what I hear, you’ve been here almost 9 months now and you still can’t support your daughter properly!”
Elaine
“Shirley, you do not, NOT, get to storm into my home and boss me around like that!”
Shirley
“Oh whatever, you two are welcome to one another!”
Shirley walks away as Drunken Linda cries
Scene switches to Lauren, Penny and Louie leaving the park and Lauren sees George Jr walking through the Square
Penny chuckles
Penny
“Cuz, have you spoke to him since that night?”
Lauren
“Yeah, a few times.. let’s go and get some dinner, Louie, McKlunkey’s?”
Louie
“Yes!!”
Louie excitedly walks towards McKlunkeys and Lauren can’t take her eyes off of George Jr
Scene switches to Dean sitting in his flat smiling to himself as he thinks about the previous night with Gina (should last about 15 seconds)
Dean (to himself)
“Oh Gina, you took me for a fool but you know now that I’m not”
Dean opens his phone and scrolls to Gina’s contact, preparing to call her
Dean calls Gina but she doesn’t answer
Dean
“God sake, answer”
Dean calls Gina again and waits for an answer
Scene switches to Gina in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror, although she doesn’t check who is calling her
Gina
“Oh GIVE OVER!”
Dean keeps calling her
Gina gets angry and chucks her phone on the floor, smashing it
George, being upstairs, hears it and heads to the bathroom.
George
“Everything alright in there?”
Gina quickly lowers her tone for George
Gina
“Yeah… I… I’m. Fine!”
George
“Okay, well come and speak to me later on Gina yeah? I’ve not seen your face once today”
Gina
“Alright, dad”
George walks off
Gina stares at herself in the mirror as tears roll down her face whilst she is angry, Gina then paces back and forth in the bathroom (should last about 15 seconds)
Scene switches to Suki knocking on 27 Albert Square, Denise Fox (Diane Parish) opens the door.
Denise looks visibly distressed and not herself
Denise
“Suki?”
Suki
“Denise, you got time for a chat?”
Denise
“Yeah… yeah, come on in”
Suki walks in and go into the living room
Denise
“So… what’s up?”
Suki
“I think I should be asking you that.”
Denise
“Me? No (chuckles) I’m fine”
Suki
“Oh come on Denise, it’s not rocket science, everyone round here can tell your stressed out, so what is it?”
Denise
“Suki, I’m fine, of course I’m gonna be a bit off coz’ of Christmas but, you just live and move on!”
Suki disappointedly looks at Denise
Suki
“Denise, us six all have so much on our shoulders, Sharon’s ran off and god knows if she’ll be back, we don’t need you doing the same”
Denise
“Oh you know what then! (Raises voice and tone)”
Denise
“Yes, I am struggling Suki. I’ve lost my necklace. I’ve lost all the trust I had in my husband! I’m worried that the police will come and lock me up! I can’t walk through the streets without feeling like I want to roll up into a ball and cry! It’s not nice, Suki!!”
Denise sits down and Suki sits next to her, reassuring her
Suki
“Denise, it’s okay. Of course you’re gonna feel like that, you have every right to!”
Denise puts her head into her hands and takes a deep breath
Denise
“I can’t sleep properly, I don’t like eating, I can’t stand going to work”
There is a silence for a few seconds
“Suki… what do I do?”
Suki
“I- well-“
Suki fumbles with her words
Suki
“I don’t think you being here is helping, like you’ve just said you’ve got no trust in Jack..”
Denise
“What.. so I’m just.. just supposed to leave like that?”
Suki nods
Denise
“Oh god. What has happened to me? I just wish I could turn back the clock 2 months ago to when I was actually happy!”
Suki
“You’re not the only one that thinks that, trust me. We all do”
Denise looks at Suki in a thankful way
Scene switches to Gina staring out of living room window of the Vic, it is night time and Gina watches the world go by, feeling isolated and lonely. Anna walks in with Tyson (uncredited)
Anna
“Hey Gee, you ok?”
Gina breathes in deeply
Gina
“Yeah… ye.. yeah”
Gina walks and Anna notices she seems off
Anna
“You sure? You don’t seem yourself”
Gina
“No, yeah.. I’m”
Gina forcefully sits on the sofa, Anna sits with her
Anna
“Oh no. Don’t tell me your..”
Gina
“Oh so what, I know what you’re gonna say, but it’s not true!”
Anna
“Gina. Be honest with me”
Gina
“No, it’s not what you and everyone else thinks”
Anna
“Who’s everyone else?”
Tyson walks onto Gina’s knee
Gina
“Doesn’t matter”
Anna
“You’re definitely-“
Gina stands up and passes Tyson to Anna
Gina
“Just leave me alone”
Gina storms off downstairs and heads out of the barrel store (should last about 20 seconds)
Gina walks onto Bridge Street in the dark. She hears people laughing and feels jealous, Gina puts her hood up
Gina
“Idiots. (Sighs)”
Cindy walks towards 45 Albert Square and sees a dark figure (Gina) walking, although Cindy can’t tell who it is.
Gina walks into the darkness towards Turpin Road
Scene switches to the Vic
Elaine
“Johnny, Georgie! Barrel needs changing.”
George Jr and Johnny go into the barrel store and begin changing the barrels.
George Jr
“So, we not talking.”
Johnny
“What’s to say? I really liked you, you’re straight that’s fine but your also a homophobic bully.”
George Jr
“That is not true, I’m not a bully.”
Johnny
“Just a bigot?”
George Jr
“No, I (brief pause) I don’t hate gay people, but it’s just why do some of you have to parade it around like it’s something to be proud of”
Johnny
“I ain’t gotta listen to this.”
George Jr
“Wait.”
George Jr grabs Johnny’s arm, George Jr and Johnny look into each others eyes as the scene switches to 29A Albert Square’s living room where Lauren is looking at a pregnancy test, that confirms she’s pregnant.
Penny enters the scene.
Penny
“Oh.. is that what I think it is?”
Lauren
“Yeah..”
Penny
“With George Jr..”
Lauren
“Well of course, I’m not a slag.”
Penny
“What are you going to do?”
Lauren
“I mean.. can we really afford another mouth under this roof?”
Penny
“Woah, woah, woah our living arrangement doesn’t come into it, if you want this baby we'll make it work.”
Lauren
“I mean I’ve always wanted a little brother or sister for Louie, but I always imagined it would be with Peter, but Georgie is a nice guy he’ll be delighted.”
Penny
“Well, looks like you’ve made your mind up, you better go and tell him.”
Tracking shot of Lauren leaving 29A and going into the Vic (scene should last 40 seconds).
Lauren
“Elaine, I need to speak to George Jr.”
Elaine
“He’s in the barrel store.”
Lauren goes into the barrel store and hears laughing behind some barrel’s as a topless Johnny and George Jr poke their heads up after having sex.
Lauren gets the Doof-Doof with a shocked face.
==Credits==
===Main cast=== 
*Lauren Branning - Jacqueline Jossa
*George Knight Jr - Aaron Fontaine
*Johnny Carter - Charlie Suff
*Penny Branning - Kitty Castledine
*Gina Knight - Francesca Henry
*Cindy Williams - Michelle Collins
*Anna Knight - Molly Rainford
*Denise Fox - Diane Parish
*Suki Panesar - Balvinder Sopal
*George Knight - Colin Salmon
*Dean Wicks - Matt Di Angelo
*Shirley Carter - Linda Henry
*Linda Peacock - Kellie Bright
*Elaine Peacock - Harriet Thorpe
*Ian Beale - Adam Woodyatt
*Ravi Gulati - Aaron Thiara
*Stacey Slater - Lacey Turner
*Louie Beale - Jack McNally
*Jean Slater - Gillian Wright (uncredited)
===Recurring cast=== 
*Tracey - Jane Slaughter (uncredited)
===Pets===
*Tyson
==Notes==
*The episode aired on 1st February 2024, instead of 31st January 2024 due to production issues.
*First episode written by Harley.
*Jean Slater and Tracey were accidentally uncredited for this episode.
Category:Episodes
Category:2024 Episodes