The plan worked, but Lauren was rushed to hospital thanks to Max (Paddy Bever) finding her.
In tonight’s episode, Dee-Dee (Channique Sterling-Brown) told Joel they should visit Lauren and the baby in hospital to show support. Joel agreed, but secretly made his own way there instead.
When Joel arrived, his first job was manipulating Lauren into deleting an email she had planned to send to DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers).
After tempting Lauren with a new phone, and telling her that he’d be around to help, Joel was taken aback when she allowed him to see their son.
Seeing the tiny baby caused Joel to become overwhelmed with emotion. Lauren revealed that she’s called their son Frances or Frankie, named after her granddad.
The name surprised Joel a lot, as he then confirmed that is the name of his granddad too.
With Joel’s comments about trust being enough for Lauren, the email was deleted and she returned to her room for some rest.
Meanwhile, Lisa was in the café, questioning Max and Bobby (Jack Carroll) after overhearing their chat about Lauren and the baby. She then arrived at the hospital and gently told Lauren about a DNA test.
The detective told the new mum that if Frankie has a DNA test, it’ll be enough to charge Nathan Curtis (Christopher Harper). Of course, this would just prove Joel is the father of Lauren’s baby, so she had to create a cover story.
Swain accepted Lauren’s choice during their conversation but back in Weatherfield, she pulled Joel aside for a chat, searching for his help.
She was aware Joel and Dee-Dee had been supporting Lauren a lot ever since she returned, and wondered if they were able to gently encourage her to take the DNA test and nail Nathan.
As Lisa admitted the case has been keeping her awake at night, a guilty Joel agreed to helping out.
Before Swain returned home, she had to pick up her troublesome daughter Betsy (Sydney Martin). She had spent the day with Mason (Luca Toolan) after stealing some sandwiches for them both from Dev’s (Jimmi Harkishin) shop.
Follow Metro Soaps on WhatsApp and get all the latest spoilers first!
Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who’s leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale?
Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro’s WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews.
Just before Betsy left, she was confronted by an angry Aadi (Adam Hussain), who wanted the money back.
Swain got out of the car and paid Aadi, but they all failed to spot Joel in the background.
Sat in the car watching the event unfold, Joel was troubled to realise Betsy – the young girl who knows what he’s really like – is the daughter of a detective sergeant.
