8 EastEnders spoilers next week: Cindy Beale's revenge, Ash Panesar is back, and Lauren Beale shocked by Mark Fowler return

There are two huge returns in EastEnders next week – and both are bound to cause nightmares for the residents of Walford.

The first of these is Ash Panesar, now played by Sakira Vel, and mum Suki Panesar-Unwin (Balvinder Sopal) is less than impressed by her arrival.

Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) is also back, and it quickly becomes apparent that Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa) is still harbouring feelings for him.

Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) is meddling – and after finding out the truth about Priya Nandra-Hart's (Sophie Khan Levy) baby's paternity, she deals a troubling ultimatum.

There's also trauma for Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace), worrying times for Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) and an update for Denise Fox (Diane Parish) amid her search for a stem cell donor.

Here's everything happening in EastEnders between Monday 21 and Thursday 24 September.

1. Ash Panesar returns after 3 years

Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) and Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota) arrive home with their baby, but there’s little time to settle in before he's called away to deal with a family crisis. Suki has been arrested and is being held at the police station, leaving him with no choice but to head there.

However, Vinny gets quite the surprise when he discovers that sister Ash is actually the one in custody, after being arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour. Ash explains that she has returned to Walford because she wants to see their baby – leaving the family stunned by her intention to stick around.

Suki is unwilling to make contact with her daughter, despite wife Eve (Heather Peace) attempting to persuade her otherwise. Eventually, she agrees to speak to Ash, not realising that she'd already overheard everything that had been said.

Tensions soon flare when Ash makes a pointed comment about her mum's parenting. With Eve acting as peacemaker, mother and daughter eventually manage to put their differences aside, but Suki then delivers another blow by making it clear that Ash can't stay, as she and Eve need to concentrate on foster daughter Ria Virdi (Aaria Sharma).

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Later in the week, Ash is left hurt by yet another rejection. Vinny has an honest conversation with her, and although Suki makes an effort to repair their relationship, she doesn't realise that Ash is still carrying resentment over everything that has happened.

2. Cindy Beale deals an ultimatum to Priya Nandra-Hart

Priya and Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) return from their latest baby scan and discuss how they will break the news to Davinder "Nugget" Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) and Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) - but they're oblivious to the fact that Cindy is travelling on the same tube and has heard their conversation.

Cindy's suspicions are immediately raised, prompting her to start digging for answers. Her search eventually leads her to the paternity test, where she discovers the truth about the baby's father.

As viewers know, it's Max Branning (Jake Wood)!

Armed with potentially explosive information, Cindy gives Priya an ultimatum – to leave Walford, or risk having her secret exposed.

Priya refuses to be intimidated and tells Cindy that she's staying put. However, an encounter with Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) later leaves her wondering whether remaining in Walford is really the right decision.

Cindy then turns her attention to Ravi, warning him that the truth about the baby won't remain hidden indefinitely. Does he now know that Max is the father?

3. Kat Moon struggles with Zoe Slater's death

The Slater family prepares to mark Zoe Slater's (Michelle Collins) memory by planting a tree, but Kat is far more interested in uncovering the truth surrounding recent events.

Desperate for answers, she turns to Max to learn what he knows.

After talking things through with Alfie (Shane Richie), Denise decides that she needs to have a word with Kat herself. She hopes she can finally get through to her and persuade her to see things differently.

When the family gathers for the memorial tree planting, however, one person is conspicuously missing. Kat's absence speaks volumes as she continues her search for answers.

4. Amy Mitchell grows closer to Craig Ingram

Amy's attempts to contact Craig finally pay off when he agrees to meet her, claiming that his lack of communication has simply been down to work.

But while Amy is out, dad Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) makes a worrying revelation to Denise – Craig has recently been suspended.

Despite this, Amy and Craig begin to form a closer bond. Amy opens up about the impact of mum Roxy's death and admits how worried she is about Denise. Their conversation takes an uncomfortable turn when Craig notices Amy's self harm scars.

Amy is immediately overwhelmed and flees.

Later in the week, Amy appears increasingly drawn towards him, even brushing Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega) aside in the process.

5. Max Branning wars with Cindy – again!

Cindy arrives home to find Max there, after Lauren and Peter have invited him over in the hope of repairing some bridges.

The attempted reconciliation quickly goes off the rails, with old grievances resurfacing and Cindy and Max soon locked in another bitter confrontation.

Their feud spills into The Vic, where Cindy makes her position crystal clear. She declares war on Max and demands that he hand over everything he owns.

Later, Peter manages to persuade Cindy to reconsider her position. She eventually agrees not to go after Lauren's share of the car lot, but the battle with Max is far from settled.

6. Lauren Beale struggles with her feelings for Mark Fowler upon his return

Lauren is stunned when she spots Mark crossing the Square and heading towards No.43.

Inside the house, Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) is initially thrilled by her brother's return, only for her excitement to be short-lived when he explains that he's merely back to say goodbye before heading to Florida.

Mark's unexpected appearance leaves Lauren struggling to cope, particularly as she and husband Peter (Thomas Law) clash over what she knows about Max's affair.

Lauren becomes convinced that Mark has returned because of her. She seeks him out, only to discover that he's still planning to leave Walford. Later, she admits to Peter that she should have told him the truth about Max's affair sooner and apologises for keeping him in the dark.

Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) subsequently throws a birthday party at The Prince Albert, but Mark's presence leaves Lauren increasingly unsettled.

The situation takes another dramatic turn when Cindy learns from Louie Beale (Jake McNally) that Lauren knew about the affair. Cindy wastes little time in confronting her and exposes Lauren's secret.

The fallout leaves Lauren and Peter's relationship under serious strain. Determined to win his wife back and bring some excitement into their lives, he promises to become more spontaneous.

Lauren, meanwhile, tells Mark that whatever happened between them cannot happen again. Yet as he prepares to leave Walford once more, she finds herself struggling with her feelings and the prospect of saying goodbye.

7. Darnell Larson breaks some bad news to Denise Fox

Jack becomes increasingly frustrated when Denise reveals that a potential donor has still not come forward to undergo testing. Suspecting that Darnell Larson (Christopher Colquhoun) could be the person they're waiting for, Jack confronts him and demands to know what is going on.

Darnell finally admits that he has discovered he could potentially be a match, but he also explains that he's frightened by what that might mean.

Denise accepts that the decision ultimately belongs to her half-brother, but Jack isn't prepared to let the matter drop so easily.

8. Ned Hawkins turns to Phil Mitchell for support

Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) agrees to lend Ned Hawkins (Jamie Bamber) a hand as he attempts to track down a former business associate.

Ned is hoping that finding the man could provide a crucial breakthrough and help unravel the Hawkins family's financial problems.

Will he be successful?

Read more:

• EastEnders favourite Balvinder Sopal teases Ash return is "grenade" to the Panesar family unit this autumn
• EastEnders announces hard-hitting Amy Mitchell storyline as BBC soap works with charities

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