EastEnders arson attack set to have huge consequences

Lauren Branning’s (Jacqueline Jossa) world is set to implode in EastEnders and it’s all thanks for Mark Fowler Jr (Stephen Aaron-Sipple), who has sabotaged her efforts to prove herself to dad Max (Jake Wood).

The car dealer, as viewers know, has been on a mission to show Max – who bought the car lot she had her heart set on earlier in the year – that she’s got what it takes to run the business with him.

Max decided to put her confidence to the test, setting her the goal of selling £80,000’s worth of motors. If she wins, he’ll give her half of his business.

Lauren is determined to succeed, working alongside Mark who has been fixing up old cars which she then sells. Her efforts have proven fruitful thus far and she’s confident that she’ll win the bet – so much so that Max has been left on edge!

But on the advice of Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf), Mark has taken drastic action in order to raise the money he needs to pay off gangster Russell Delaney, who doubled his debt earlier this week.

Sam reminded Mark that he’d make a lot more money doing up and selling dodgy motors as opposed to legit ones.

Mark reiterated that Lauren wants to do things above board but Sam was quick to point out that, if the legit motors vanish from the face of the earth then Lauren will have no choice but to get on board with the dodgy ones – that is, if she wants to win her bet and secure her stake in the car lot.

After giving it some thought, Mark decided to do what Sam suggested and in dark scenes towards the end of Thursday’s (May 14) edition of the BBC One soap, Mark and Sam emerged from the shadows in a remote location and set fire to the vehicle he’d spent the previous night fixing up for Lauren to sell on.

Lauren had already secured a buyer for the motor in question so Mark’s actions will leave her devastated.

Will Mark’s plan to get Lauren on board with selling dodgy cars work? And if so, will he raise the money he needs to get Russell Delaney off his back once and for all?

And even if he does, if he and Lauren do start doing up and selling on dodgy motors, will this come back to bite them?

Let’s also not forget that theory that’s been going around ever since the flashforward episode, with fans convinced that Lauren and Mark will be having an affair by New Year’s Day 2027.

Will their potential success in dodgy dealings ultimately see this theory come to pass?