EastEnders airs violent killer cliffhanger for Amy Mitchell story in early BBC iPlayer release

Has Amy Mitchell's (Ellie Dadd) grooming nightmare finally come to an end in EastEnders?

For months, former copper Craig Ingram (Matthew James-Bailey) has preyed on the teenager's vulnerabilities, and even helped to cover up an attack on Joel Marshall (Max Murray) that she committed.

When questions were raised about why he'd lost his job, Craig said it was because he was found to be withholding evidence. The truth was that a series of complaints of inappropriate behaviour had been lodged against him from colleagues.

Earlier this week, while living in a grotty bedsit and planning to leave the country together, Craig slapped Amy. He was furious that the bank account containing her inheritance had been frozen.

Sean Slater (Rob Kazinsky) devised a plan to get ailing Denise Fox (Diane Parish) to record a video, implying that she'd lost in her battle with acute myeloid leukaemia and wanted to say goodbye. Amy fell for it, while outside the hospital, Sean caught up with Craig.

However, a nurse gave Denise's game away when she questioned why she was on the cancer ward without an appointment.

In today's episode, picking up from that cliffhanger, Denise attempted to persuade Amy not to return to Craig, but she couldn't get past the fact that her step-mum had been dishonest and walked away.

Meanwhile, Sean and Craig became embroiled in a fight, though the sight of Amy meant that Sean lost his grip. They were both stunned to see one another, but before a reunion or explanation could take place, Craig quickly bundled her into his car and drove off.

Once back at the bedsit, Craig contacted Jack and demanded £100,000 in exchange for Amy’s release. She was sickened, though he insisted that he wasn't going to leave her as long as it all went to plan.

When he went out to get dinner, Amy began to understand just how dangerous Craig really was. She called Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega), who quickly passed the phone to Sean - but it was too late.

Craig attempted to force himself on her, and after dealing another slap, Amy tried to outrun him. She quickly ran to the bedroom, and upon unlocking the door, struck him across the head with a candle holder in self-defence.

He slumped to the floor, with blood pouring from his head.

Has Amy killed Craig?

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.