Incel attacker Joel’s EastEnders return sparks fury as Vicki and Ross are consumed

Not since low-rise jeans has there been a return as unwelcome as Joel Marshall (Max Murray) in EastEnders.

And it’s not without reason, is it? His behaviour was truly sickening.

Arriving from Australia alongside dad, Ross Marshall (Alex Walkinshaw), and step mum, Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig), the family had moved continents after Joel had disgracefully ‘upskirted’ a school mate, resulting in her parents agreeing to forego pressing charges on the proviso that Ross paid them $50,000, took his vile son and disappeared.

The change of scenery didn’t improve things – in fact, his behaviour continued to get more and more repulsive.

He filmed himself and Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) having sex without her consent, before uploading it to the internet and using the footage to shame her, made it his mission to terrorise Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), with his behaviour eventually escalating to full scale sexual assault, when he attacked a commuter on the tube.

It was clear that he was on a very dark path and the escalation was going to end in a horrifying crescendo.

And crescendo it did, when he subjected Vicki to a stomach-turning attack, knocking her to the floor, half-conscious, before pulling out his phone and recording her as he spat insults at her.

He continued to play cruel games after his arrest by pleading innocent and ensuring a trial, in turn forcing Vicki and Avani to relive the trauma he’d subjected them to, though his dad eventually managed to connect to the tiny shred of humanity he had left, and he eventually changed his plea to guilty.

In the immediate aftermath of the assault, Ross and Vicki’s relationship crumbled, though they eventually reunited and got engaged, but the news of Joel’s sentencing revealed deep cracks in their relationship.

When Vicki realised that Ross intended for Joel to return home and live with them upon his release, she was sickened.

Vicki made it incredibly clear that she’d never feel safe under the same roof as him and a choice needed to be made: either remain loyal to Joel or promise her that he’d play no part in their lives.

Ross eventually agreed that Joel would go and live with his mum when he got out of the young offenders unit, and the wedding went ahead…

…after the small wrinkle of Vicki’s affair with Zack Hudson (James Farrar) was ironed out.

Vicki and Ross return home next week from honeymoon.

First, they’re forced to deal with the reality of living with Zack, though he agrees to move out of their house and not stand in the way of their relationship. Problem solved, right?

Wrong. Because just as quickly as that’s sorted, Joel rocks up on their doorstep with his mum who doesn’t want him living with her, point blank period.

Cleo is adamant that she won’t keep Joel, and Vicki is forced to flee, followed by her sister, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), to whom she explains that she can’t bare the thought of having Joel under her roof.

Avani, having heard about Joel’s release and having failed to be placated by mum Priya Nandra-Hart’s (Sophie Khan-Levy) assertations that he’d stay away, heads to confront Vicki alongside Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd).

Having only been back on the Square for a few hours, the carnage Joel causes continues to pile up – but what will the lasting ramifications of his presence be?