EastEnders reveals truth behind Janine Butcher return and Mick Carter discovery in early BBC iPlayer release

Linda Carter's (Kellie Bright) heart has been broken in two in EastEnders - but not everything is as it seems.

Conniving Janine Carter (Charlie Brooks) made a cryptic comeback last week, seen exchanging money for some form of documentation in an office. Following that, Linda answered a call on son Lee's (Danny Hatchard) phone, and was stunned to hear that her late husband Mick (Danny Dyer) had been found.

Given he went missing in the English Channel four years ago, there was no chance of him surviving.

When Linda enquired about funeral arrangements, she was told that the matter was in hand with his widow Janine. She was desperate for answers, and wondered whether it could just be another of her elaborate schemes.

In today's episode, Janine seemed to find much hilarity in Linda showing interest in Mick. She assumed that she'd moved on, and was quite blasé in discussing his death.

Linda eyed the documentation - a death certificate - and couldn't believe that it was just two weeks ago that Mick 'passed'. She was even more perplexed by the fact Janine had been able to identify his body.

With a smirk washed across her face, Janine said that Mick had actually been living in North London for the last few years and had suffered a fatal heart attack. She'd had him quickly cremated as she still resented him for allowing her to give birth to their son in prison.

Unable to accept what she was hearing, Linda headed home to confide in boyfriend Max Branning (Jake Wood). Linda decided to pay her respects to Mick, though upon arrival at the church, noticed Janine attending a funeral.

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She said that it was for Mick, that he was in the coffin, and that she'd lied because she didn't want Linda at the service.

Desperate for answers, Linda began to swirl the screws out of the coffin. She wanted to be sure that Mick was inside, though eventually couldn't bring herself to face his body. The job was then left to Max.

In his partner's absence, he grilled Janine for information. She confessed that the man inside wasn't who she claimed it was, and that a contact had helped her fabricate Mick's demise.

Her plot stemmed from Lee revoking Mick's death certificate, meaning she was going to have to cough up the life insurance payout that she'd received when he went missing. Max was about to call the police, though Janine offered him his own slice of the pie.

She said that Mick would forever cast a shadow over his relationship with Linda, and if he wanted a chance to forever rid him from her memory, this was it.

Walking outside to the car, Max told Linda that it was Mick's body inside the coffin...

Will she ever learn the truth?

Read more:

• EastEnders icon Rob Kazinsky teases "never-seen-before" storyline for his character Sean Slater with plot that "treads new ground"
• 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

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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.