EastEnders airs major affair development as character reverses exit plan in early BBC iPlayer release

Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) has completely backtracked on his decision to leave Walford in EastEnders.

Earlier this week, he made a spontaneous return to sister Vicki's (Alice Haig) house, and although she was thrilled to see him again, he explained that it was only a short trip before he went to live in Florida with their mum Michelle.

Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa) was stunned to see him, especially since he departed just a number of weeks ago after their affair and dodgy business partnership began to unravel. She'd told him that, if he truly loved her, he would leave the area.

The two agreed to stay out the way of one another until he boarded a flight, though crossed paths again at Harvey Monroe's (Ross Boatman) birthday party. He couldn't resist complimenting her, and with her relationship with husband Peter (Thomas Law) in tatters once again, they slipped off for some alone time.

Lauren was sick of Peter taking his mum Cindy's (Michelle Collins) side during their arguments, and he was angry that she'd chosen to keep her dad Max Branning's (Jake Wood) affair with Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy) a secret.

Behind closed doors at The Boxing Den, the pair began to tear one another's clothes off...

Tensions remained high between the Beales in today's episode. Mark text Lauren asking her to meet him at the gym that morning, and Peter almost scuppered their plan when he picked up her phone.

Fortunately for her, he didn't notice. Lauren then expressed her desire for more spontaneity in their marriage, prompting Peter to make an attempt to surprise her.

While she made her way to the gym to meet Mark, he presented her with a small bouquet of flowers. She forced a smile, but once he was out of sight, she dumped them in a bin at the end of Bridge Street.

Lauren then asserted that what happened between her and Mark could never happen again. He promised her that he was still intending to leave, though their earlier encounter had left him wondering whether they could pursue something seriously.

She said that it wasn't going to happen and that she couldn't hurt Peter and her children, though soon fell into one another's arms again. Lauren finally admitted her feelings, saying that they should continue seeing each other casually.

That night, in The Queen Vic, Mark announced to Vicki and Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) that he was sticking around. They were over the moon, and he soon joined Lauren and Peter at the bar.

Will their affair be exposed? This is EastEnders, so probably.

Read more:

• EastEnders legend Jo Joyner returns to Walford set for Branning 'family reunion' - 8 years after last Tanya appearance
• EastEnders star teases "fire and carnage" when Penny Branning's baby paternity secret is revealed
• 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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Authors

Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.