EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders’ troubled teens Lily Slater and Avani Nandra-Hart spiral out of control next week, leaving their loved ones in total despair.
As grieving Lily struggles after her dad’s funeral and Avani tries to block out her traumatic ordeal with the police, the pair turn to bad behaviour and drugs to cope.
But when their worried families intervene, will they be able to get through to their kids and support them?
“Lily and Avani are in self-destruct mode,” teases our insider. “They feel alienated from their parents, with no one to confide in. They’ve turned to drugs to rebel and numb the pain…”
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With Jean Slater unable to discipline disobedient Lily, and Stacey Slater catatonic with grief, the teen mum heads to the Square Gardens to smoke weed with Avani. But when Avani wants paying, Lily takes shocking measures that disgust the entire family…
As Harvey Moone encourages Jean to give Lily a second chance, Bex Fowler confronts her stepsister and urges her to make amends. But when more discoveries are made about Lily’s behaviour, she flees.
“Lily’s grief has made her behaviour unrecognisable,” explains our source. “The Slaters don’t know how to deal with her anymore. Martin would be heartbroken to see his little girl ruining her life.”
Related: EastEnders airs devastating Stacey funeral clash in early iPlayer release
Meanwhile, Avani is playing nice at home, all while secretly meeting up with a dealer called Declan for her latest fix. Having repaired her friendship with Amy Mitchell, Avani heads to her party at No.29, bringing weed with her.
At the party, Avani has a change of heart and bins the drugs, hoping not to get caught. But then Declan shows up and Avani panics. First, she lies that he’s her friend, but when Declan causes trouble, she tells Amy the truth, hoping she’ll call Jack Branning to get rid of him.
Elsewhere, Lily eventually returns home after Jean’s failed attempts to find her. Hanging her head in shame, Lily gets a scolding, but Jean’s tough love fills the teen with regret – and she breaks down in tears.
Related: Exclusive – Former EastEnders star Max Bowden reacts to Martin’s tragic death
The next day, Ravi Gulati and Priya Nandra-Hart are hoping for their own breakthrough, even pressurising Jack to escalate their police complaint. But when Priya takes Jack’s advice and suggests Avani makes an official complaint herself, she refuses.
“Avani can’t bear to relive that frightening and degrading day,” adds our insider. “She can’t talk to her family about it, but there’s a surprise moment of vulnerability when she confides in Yolande…”
Will Yolande Trueman’s strength in the wake of her assault encourage Avani to be brave and make her complaint? Or will these memories continue to haunt her?
EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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