EastEnders' Cindy finds unlikely ally as Max's betrayal is brutally exposed

EastEnders' Cindy Beale has been left furious by the discovery that her new husband Max Branning has been cheating on her with Priya Nandra-Hart, as the betrayed bride found an unexpected ally.

Tonight's episode kicked off right after Jean Slater's accidental revelation of Max and Priya's affair to a brokenhearted Cindy. Still in her wedding dress, Cindy had revenge on her mind and resolved to trash the Brannings' car lot before her son Peter intervened to stop her.

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Little did Cindy know that Max's dalliance with Priya – which resulted in an unplanned pregnancy – should be the least of her worries. While Cindy sobbed in Peter's arms, her husband lied in a hospital bed comforted by a loving Linda Carter.

The two exes had previously confessed their feelings to one-another the night before the wedding, confirming their terrible romantic timing.

"It's not going to be easy for us, together back on the Square," Max, who was recovering from a heart attack, told Linda.

"That's an understatement," she replied, adding that he should be focusing on resting and getting better.

Max said he didn't want to wait any longer.

"I just want to be with you," he said, suggesting they went away with the kids, but Linda was hesitant.

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The pair's first kiss in a while was interrupted by Lauren ringing her dad to let him know about Cindy vandalising the car lot. Max got up to head there, with Linda pleading with him not to tell anyone about them - particularly not Cindy.

At home, Cindy told Peter, Lauren and Oscar about Max's affair, unaware that Lauren had already found out. Unable to stay put, Cindy marched into their house, heading for the bedroom where she started ripping up Max's clothes.

As Gina rushed to support her mum, Max arrived to the house, asking to speak with Cindy.

"You're disgusting," Peter told his father-in-law, as Lauren doubled down on him: "You never learn."

Cindy demanded to know the truth about his fling with Priya. Cindy was left reeling at the idea that the affair had started the same night Max had proposed to her.

The conversation took a turn when Cindy begged Max to reconsider, saying they could move past this setback. When Max refused, Cindy resolved to crash Kim and Howie's wedding reception at The Queen Vic to have her first dance.

Max ran after Cindy just in time to see her dancing to Skunk Anansie's 'Hedonism' and exposing his affair with Priya, who was there with her family. A shocked Avani couldn't believe her mum would sleep with Max, as Priya apologised and Ravi rushed her and the kids out.

Alfie then kicked Max out, with Kim offering her support to a crying Cindy.

"Come on, he doesn't deserve a single tear," Kim said to her fellow bride and guided Cindy onto the dancefloor as the entire pub joined in.

Outside, Max and Linda reunited and snuck just behind the pub to finally kiss. Zoe Slater, who had been nursing a secret head injury, walked in on them, slamming Max for his action.

"Can you please just forget what you saw, yeah?" Max said as Zoe suffered a dizzy spell. She begged Max to help her, but he left her and insisted they should talk once she sobered up.

Unfortunately, Zoe would never wake up, her head injury proving fatal. In devastating scenes, Kat went to check on her daughter, finding her lifeless body lying on top of the covers.

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.

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