EastEnders airs implosion of Max Branning secret at Zoe Slater's wake in early BBC iPlayer release

The floor has fallen from under Max Branning's (Jake Wood) feet in EastEnders.

Estranged wife Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) has branded him "a man of many secrets", as the attendees of Zoe Slater's (Michelle Ryan) wake watched on in horror.

A lot happened in one September evening. Max had discharged himself from hospital after sustaining a heart attack during his wedding, and with his marriage in tatters, he confessed his love to Linda Carter (Kellie Bright). The two shared a heartfelt kiss in the alleyway behind The Queen Vic, and were spotted by Zoe.

She rushed off upstairs, before collapsing on her bed in agony due to a head injury. Max wanted to ensure she'd stay quiet, though couldn't make sense of what she was saying.

Presuming she was drunk, Max left her alone and ignored her cries for mum Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace). Hours later, Zoe died and the police knew, from a 999 call she'd made, that a man was present shortly before her passing.

Kat has made it her mission to find the man she thinks is responsible for allowing her eldest daughter to die, and has even expressed a desire to kill him when she finds out.

Last week, Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) made a drunken blunder and told Cindy that Max was there in those final moments. She decided to use this against him, saying that she'd sign the divorce papers and keep her mouth shut if he coughed up 50k.

In today's episode, after spending the night with Kat in a police cell for being involved in a scuffle with a police officer, Cindy was feeling guilt-ridden. She listened to Kat pour her heart out, asking how she coped after losing her own children, Lucy and Steven.

Cindy pondered what Kat was trying to achieve by avenging Zoe's death, and said that while it would provide some closure in the long term, it would achieve nothing beyond that.

For a moment, Cindy began to talk in a way that clearly implied she knew the identity of the mystery man. Kat urged her to open up, though she insisted that she knew nothing – and then the cell door swung open.

Kat raced home and made it to the church with just enough time to make an emotional tribute to Zoe alongside grandchildren Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) and Josh Goodwin (Joshua Vaughan).

The Slater family then made their way back to The Vic, where Kat announced that drinks were on the house. Max entered the pub and approached Cindy, with an argument soon breaking out.

Lee Carter (Danny Hatchard) then entered in a drunken state, and when Max tried to guide him out, he blurted out that he was a good man that was trying to help his family – including mum Linda, who he was with.

The pub's punters were stunned by the revelation.

What will Cindy do with this news?

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.