Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) is about to get two major and life-changing shocks about his family life in EastEnders amid a crowd crush incident at Peggy’s.
A crowd crush can occur when a moving crowd is funnelled into a smaller and smaller space. When it meets an obstacle, such as a dead end or a locked door, or when an already densely packed crowd has an influx of people, a pressure wave towards those at the front of the crowd is caused.
This was touched on briefly in an episode of BBC One’s Casualty that aired back in 2022. Titled Wednesday’s Child, it showed Ollie (Harry Collett) and Rob (Noah Valentine) target their school with guns. When the ordeal began, a sea of children filed through corridors and ran down stairs, causing pupils to fall and injure themselves.
Coming up in EastEnders, Walford is abuzz after a weekend of carnival celebrations, but it’s clear Penny (Kitty Castledine) is underprepared for her night at Peggy’s as she attempts to flog some last minute tickets outside the pub.
At Peggy’s, Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) and Penny have a frosty exchange before Chelsea attempts to sabotage the night by meddling with the booking system. She changes it so more tickets are available online, despite the fact the event is almost at full capacity.
As the night unfolds, Penny remains unaware of what Chelsea has done and very quickly, Peggy’s becomes dangerously overcrowded.
In the aftermath, Jack is distraught as he arrives at the club to see the aftermath of the crush – but what state will Penny be in?
Judging by the pictures, we also know Amy (Ellie Dadd) finds herself involved too. Will they both survive?
And can Jack handle this days after the news about Denise (Diane Parish) and their divorce?
On her character’s decision to sabotage the night, Zaraah Abrahams told us: ‘Chelsea wants to rubbish the night, and she hopes that Phil will see that Penny is not all she’s talked herself up to be and give Chelsea the job back.
‘As far as Chelsea is concerned, she has worked herself up to that position – there has never been any trouble in the club, and Phil has always been happy with the way that she has been running it.’
She continued: Chelsea is just thinking, “you know what, I am going to ruin this night for you and Phil will give me my job back”.’
