Two explosive Christmas Day episodes of EastEnders ended with Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) being hit over the head with a shovel.
In episodes chiefly centred around the Beales and the Knights, Cindy's affair with Junior (Micah Balfour) - son of Cindy's ex-husband George (Colin Salmon) - was exposed in front of a packed Queen Vic.
Behind the revelation was Cindy's nemesis Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa), who delivered Cindy's clueless husband Ian (Adam Woodyatt) a recording of Cindy chatting to David Wicks (Michael French) back in October.
During their discussion, which was inadvertently recorded by birdwatcher Freddie (Bobby Brazier), Cindy admitted that she had "settled" for Ian, had begun sleeping with Junior and still had feelings for George.
The tape was played out loud for the whole pub to hear, leaving multiple parties devastated and Cindy feeling ashamed, defensive and cornered.
After George ordered the customers to leave, Cindy delivered a scathing put-down of those she had betrayed - even berating her own daughters Anna (Molly Rainford) and Gina (Francesca Henry) and son Peter (Thomas Law).
"You lot - you make me sick," she said. "Look at you all, look at your faces - butter wouldn't melt."
She then accused George's wife Elaine (Harriet Thorpe) of playing "mind games", Junior of having "daddy issues" and Lauren of being "an alcoholic junkie, messed-up daughter from a messed-up family".
"And you two," she said, turning to her daughters, "moaning about mummy going to France, you are pathetic the pair of you. Well I have had it with the lot of you.
"I am not an evil bitch. I am a woman, a wife and a mother trying to find my way and getting lost again and again and again. And I don't care if I ever see any of you again."
Returning home to try to talk around Ian, Cindy soon found herself thrown out on the street as an incensed Ian declared that nobody cared if she lived or died.
Cindy walked through the Square into the garden and ordered herself a taxi to Kings Cross, but was then knocked to the ground by a mystery assailant brandishing a shovel.
EastEnders continues tonight at 8.30pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Neil Wilkes
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