Marshall’s future moving forward. Not seen in a month, the teenager made a surprising return on the BBC soap.

Played by Max Murray, Joel made his EastEnders debut in March. Despite being in Walford for less than a year, Joel was involved in a number of divisive storylines. Viewers saw the character assault a young woman on the tube, show Tommy Moon explicit videos online, shame multiple women over their romantic lives and film himself having sex with Avani Nandra-Hart without her knowledge.

After getting into trouble in school for showing his classmates an explicit video and hitting Amy Mitchell, Joel was furious with his dad Ross Marshall’s girlfriend Vicki Fowler for giving out to him last month. Punching Vicki to the floor, Joel filmed her on the floor as he mocked her for not being able to get up.

With Vicki having to undergo surgery after suffering a collapsed lung and a broken arm, Joel initially laid low in his friend Tommy Moon’s garage. However, Ross went on the hunt to find him after finding the video Joel filmed of Vicki lying on the floor.

Deciding to do the right thing after months of being in denial over Joel’s actions, Ross informed the police of what had happened, with the episode concluding with Joel being arrested. Joel has only been seen once since then, when he disowned his dad at the police station for not supporting him.

Earlier in the week, Vicki was stunned to learn that Joel is pleading not guilty over the assault. The reveal threw Vicki off so much that she accidentally injured Chelsea Fox’s date Damson in the laundrette upon learning he was married.

With her and Ross’ relationship seemingly finished as a result of Joel’s attack, viewers were stunned to see her kiss Zack Hudson on Tuesday (November 18). While not related themselves, both characters share a sibling in Sharon Watts.

In scenes aired on Wednesday night (November 19), Ross paid a visit to the teenager villain in the detention centre he’s been in for the past month. It soon became clear that the storyline isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

Seeking to make Joel change his plea in an attempt to stop Vicki from having to relive her ordeal in a trial, Ross was stunned to see that his son was sporting a black eye. Things looked to be going well when Ross said he’d do anything to help him.

However, things quickly took a turn for the worse when Ross suggested that Joel does the right thing and admit what he did. Trying to make things better, Ross shared what happened between Vicki and Damson with Joel.

“I suppose I always had her down as some mad feminist man-hater, the sort that Drake talks about. If she’s going out attacking innocent blokes in pubs. It’s double standards, isn’t it,” Joel worryingly replied.

With things not looking like they’re going to improve, Ross stormed out as he told Joel visiting him was a mistake. The character later informed Vicki that he was unsuccessful with his mission.

Prior to telling Harvey Monroe that he’s planning something big to try and win Vicki back, Ross was told by his partner that she doesn’t think they’re going to be getting back together. Ross is also still unaware that she may have romantic feelings for Zack.

Following the dramatic episode EastEnders fans rushed to the show’s Reddit page to have their say on what happens next with Joel. Many of them believe that Ross may have made a fatal mistake when talking to his son.

@NoTitleChamp said: “So Joel’s definitely going to use what Ross said about Vickie picking fights in his defense isn’t he?” @madcowre added: “How stupid is Ross for mentioning to him about Vicki and the guy from the bar? Obviously going to use it against her and it’ll come back to get her and Zack.”

@Imaginary_Layer_1468 wrote: “Ross also needs to get back to reality, there’s little to no chance of them being together again, even if he were to completely disown his son. But I also think Vicky needs to lay off him, he may have done wrong in the past but it was only out of love for his son, and he’s done the right thing ever since that night he turned him in.”

@Individual-Fox7752 commented: “When Ross was visiting Joel, I was half expecting him to say “be a man and own up to your mistakes” or something along those lines. Try and use Joel’s logic to get him to plead guilty.” @AffectionateWord7761 posted: “When Joel mentioned Ross getting him a solicitor, he should’ve stated he’s got ‘no money, no ambition, no sort of life.”