WARNING: The article below is packed full of spoilers for EastEnders today, which is already available to stream on BBC iPlayer, but has yet to air on terrestrial television, as Ross’s proposal ends in disaster.
Ross sets his sights on a fresh start with Vicki in EastEnders tonight. With Joel’s trial finally over, he decides the time is right to propose. But rather than the happy answer he is hoping for, Ross is left reeling when a new truth comes to light.
Eager to move on, Ross throws himself into plans for the future. He wants to launch his own handyman business, repay Sharon for the loan she gave him and, most importantly, build a life with Vicki in a place of their own.
The truth is revealed
While Ross is busy dreaming, Vicki is weighed down by guilt and hiding a secret that threatens to blow everything apart.
Still haunted by her night with Zack, Vicki is uneasy when he asks her to help with some bookkeeping at the gym. She knows it is risky, but Zack pushes ahead and soon they are working side by side.
The tension between them is impossible to ignore and they almost kiss.
Vicki pulls back, reminding Zack that she is with Ross and that whatever happened cannot continue. What she does not realise is that Mark is standing in the doorway and has heard every word.
EastEnders: Ross makes plans for the future
Later, Mark spots Ross leaving a jeweller’s and instantly puts two and two together. Realising a proposal is on the cards, Mark cannot resist getting involved.
Any truce between the pair is quickly forgotten as Mark needles Ross about proposing so soon after Joel’s trial. Ross refuses to back down, convinced he is doing the right thing, and the situation escalates until Zack is forced to step in and break them up.
As Zack separates them, he is crushed to learn that Ross is planning to ask Vicki to marry him and struggles to hide his own heartbreak.
Mark drops a bombshell
Mark later finds Vicki and tells her that Ross is about to propose. Before she can react to having the surprise ruined, he admits that he knows about her and Zack.
Vicki does not deny it, insisting that nothing is going on and that she loves Ross. After a frank conversation about her complicated love life, Mark and Vicki head out for a drink. The mood quickly sours when Vicki sees Zack stumble out of the Vic with another woman.
Determined to push his feelings aside, Zack tells himself life is too short not to move on. But his heart may not be in it.
EastEnders: Ross heartbroken when his proposal ends in disaster
Knowing what is coming, Vicki returns home to find Ross has planned a heartfelt and romantic proposal. Overwhelmed by the effort he has made, she listens as he asks her to marry him.
Unable to keep the truth to herself any longer, Vicki breaks down. As Mark appears in the doorway behind her, she tearfully admits to Ross that she slept with someone else.
Ross’s carefully planned moment collapses in an instant. But how long will it take for him to work out that Zack is who Vicki has been seeing behind his back?
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