Ian’s horror in EastEnders as he is faced with killer Gray – and a nightmare unfolds

It seems the next phase of EastEnders killer Gray Atkins’ (Toby-Alexander Smith) plot has been revealed after he laid eyes on Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), who was sent to prison in expected scenes this week.

Ian, as viewers will recall, was declared over the limit when his car reversed into Jordan Fox (Jahsiah Williams) earlier in the year.

The local councillor was devastated when he learned that he might face prison over what transpired but learning that Jordan has shown signs of improvement was a relief as he hoped this would bode well for him at sentencing.

Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams), meanwhile, couldn’t shake the feeling guilt over shouting at Jordan on the night of the incident, telling him to leave her alone just moments before Ian knocked him over.

In a bid to help Ian, Chelsea resolved to speak at the court and explain the situation – but she failed to make it to proceedings in time and thus Ian was jailed for eight months.

The longtime show legend was devastated and prepared for life behind bars – but things could be set to get much worse for him as serial killer Gray spotted him from afar and the cogs evidently started to whir in his mind.

As fans will know, Gray is on a mission to get closer to son Jordan, using his nan Sheila (Sheila Ruskin) in order to do so.

Sheila has built a close bond with Chelsea and has secretly been sharing little bits about Jordan’s life with her sinister grandson.

But their plan was somewhat scuppered after Denise Fox (Diane Parish) – who is battling cancer – got wind of Sheila’s presence in Chelsea’s life and asked her to stay away.

Gray, meanwhile, wasn’t pleased to hear that Ian only got eight months and at the close of Tuesday’s (July 28) edition of the soap, he spotted the local councilman in jail.

In upcoming scenes, Ian is targeted by his fellow inmates. But that soon proves to be the least of his concern when he crosses paths with Gray.

The question is: just what does the evil murderer have in store for Ian?

Will he use the businessman to get closer to Chelsea? Or will Ian face danger given that Gray will likely hold him responsible for what happened with Jordan?

If so, can Ian secure his freedom before Gray strikes once more? We know that Ian is back on our screens and out of prison by New Year’s Day given that he featured in the Max Branning flashforward episode but just how much trouble will Gray cause before then?