EastEnders fans were left worried on Monday night after Ian Beale announced he was leaving the Square “for good”.
It all comes as Max upped his revenge plot against the Beales and threatened Jane to keep quiet – or else.
A terrified Jane knows Max has tried to kill her once and despite her bravado, deep down she believes he’s capable of doing so again.
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So when he told her to say the fire was Steven’s fault and he was behind it all, Jane realised in order to stay safe she needed to do as Max said.
He was quite vicious as he grabbed her hand hard and told her what he was capable of.
Dutifully, she lied to the police and to a horrified Ian who bought every word, immediately feeling guilty at the things his children have done to her – Bobby attacked her with a hockey stick, Steven shooting her, leaving her unable to have kids to name but two.
A broken Jane has had enough though and ended up telling her husband she wanted to leave Walford. She practically begged him to move away.
She insisted she couldn’t go back: “This is what I want, I can’t go back there Ian, don’t make me,” she told him.
Walford is in Ian’s blood, it’s a big ask, but he reluctantly told her: “If that’s the way you feel, then you don’t have to go back there, okay?
“We’ll leave Walford for good.”
WHAT? Wait just a cotton-picking minute, Ian Beale cannot leave Walford. What is Albert Square without the blundering idiot?
Fans felt exactly the same, with some threatening to not watch any more if Ian doesn’t stick around, and others tweeting actor Adam Woodyatt himself to beg him not to go.
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Whether Ian will be able to go through with his promise remains to be seen. And will Jane really let Max win?
She’s come through worse than this, she’s bested many a bullying bloke before now. Has she truly got no fight left?
Or will she realise Max needs to be beaten before he can destroy any more of their beloved corner of the East End?