EastEnders airs major return for dark Amy Mitchell story in early iPlayer release

EastEnders spoilers follow for Thursday’s episode (29 October), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC iPlayer and hasn’t yet aired on TV.

EastEnders has aired the return of a major character, as Amy Mitchell’s harrowing grooming story takes another dark turn. This week, vulnerable teenager Amy fled Walford with disgraced detective Craig Ingram, who she is in an inappropriate relationship with.

Furious Jack is desperate to track down his daughter, especially after Amy got Max to give her access to her trust fund money. Jack was forced to tell Denise about Amy’s grooming ordeal – but while they were talking, the pair missed a call from the missing teen, who was calling on her burner phone from the car while Craig looked at potential bedsits.

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During this difficult chat, Denise suffered a nosebleed, and in today’s episode, Ash called round to check on her health. While caring for his partner, Jack accidentally missed another call from Amy, who was devastated that his dad wasn’t picking up the phone.

After Ash left, Jack discovered the missed calls and phoned back. However, Craig returned to the car at that moment and was furious that she was trying to contact home.

In a disturbing scene, Craig snapped at Amy for potentially jeopardising their escape plan, urging her to stick with him and throwing away her phone. He declared that he's the only person she needs to contact.

Jack told his boss about the missed calls and the team began trying to trace the phone signal to find Amy and Craig’s location.

DCI Ludgrove later returned with the news that the police had traced Amy’s phone and found the device in a gutter next to some abandoned number plates that belong to Craig.

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The police also showed Jack and Denise a teddy bear they had recovered. Denise tearfully identified it as a toy that she had recently given Amy.

With Jack running out of options, he got a surprise when he spotted a mysterious figure getting out of a taxi. Jack asked them what they were doing in Walford.

"He knew how vulnerable she was," Jack said, as he told the person about Amy and Craig. "Twisted her head, made her believe he was some sort of boyfriend. And now they’re on the run, with her inheritance. I just need someone to help me track him down, and I’d do whatever it takes to make him pay. You in?"

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As the stranger was revealed to be Sean Slater, whose return in this episode was unannounced, he confirmed to Jack that he would team up with him to find Amy and take down Craig.

Will Sean and Jack succeed in their mission?

EastEnders has been working on Amy's grooming storyline with support from Barnardo's and End Violence Against Women, with support and information available via their websites.

EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.