Family drama awaits as EastEnders‘ Janine Butcher may have her web of lies untangled by her own daughter.
Soap star Charlie Brooks has hinted that her character Janine’s daughter Scarlett (Tabitha Byron) may soon disclose what she knows about the car accident.
Janine is doing all in her power to keep her fiancé Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) away from his ex Linda (Kellie Bright). Particularly, she’s fighting to prevent Mick from finding out the truth about the car crash that almost claimed Linda’s life earlier this year.
Linda is still convinced she had been day-drinking on the day of the accident, but it was actually Janine who was behind the wheel.
As Scarlett may be telling the truth, she gives her an ultimatum.
“We see a moment where she says, ‘My daughter can have whatever she wants, whenever she wants this Christmas’, so there’s an element of bribery and keeping her quiet,” Brooks explained.
“It’s so nasty when she says the ultimatum, ‘Do you want the family? Do you want to be happy? Because if you do, then keep your mouth shut!’
“There’s definitely deep-rooted fear around her, as Scarlett is a wild card, and Janine’s never really had that close bond with her. She has tried a little bit, but she’s never quite gotten there, so I don’t think she feels safe. I think Janine gets a bit weirded out by her own daughter.”
Brooks has weighed in on Janine’s motives, saying that her character may have done something terrible but she ultimately didn’t mean to crash the car.
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/05/387031-9f6066a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"\"")
“She crashed that car, but she didn’t mean to crash the car, and at the end of the day, Linda was drunk. Janine did think she was doing a good thing,” Brooks said.
“Where she would have gone with Linda if the car hadn’t crashed, I don’t know. That is a question that I do sometimes ponder. When she dragged Linda’s body into the driving seat, obviously, all that stuff was absolutely awful, but that is what Janine does when she’s under that pressure.
“She thinks she’s doing the right thing at that moment because she can’t think straight, and she gets all mumbled, and she doesn’t quite know what to do and makes the biggest mistakes, and that was one of the big mistakes.
“But in her head, I don’t think she intended to hurt Linda or crash that car on purpose. She just makes really bad decisions.”
Read more:
- EastEnders’ Shona McGarty on Whitney’s shock pregnancy: ‘It’s life-changing”
- EastEnders’ Shane Richie offers hope for Kat and Alfie Christmas reunion
EastEnders airs on BBC One on Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm. Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide.
The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.