Serial killer Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) has woken from his coma after his violent showdown with Kheerat Panesar (Jaz Singh Deol) in tonight’s EastEnders (3rd March).
It’s been quite an eventful time in Walford during his absence, as the body of one of his victims, Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) was unearthed at the abandoned Argee Bhajee. This surely means it is only a matter of time before Gray’s murderous actions are discovered.
Meanwhile, his wife Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams) seems to be slowly regaining her sense of self after being controlled by Gray since their Christmas wedding. So now that her husband is getting back on his feet, what’s next for the vulnerable new mum?
Prior to the attack that rendered him out of action, Gray physically abused Chelsea for the first time by slamming her hand in a kitchen drawer. But he had already began to abuse her psychologically, holding power over every aspect of her life.
In recent episodes, Chelsea realised she was free and, no longer watched by her husband, she began to come out of her shell and avoided visiting him earlier this week. But now that Gray is on the road to recovery, is she in danger?
Chelsea previously learned of Gray’s part in Chantelle’s death and pledged to help Kheerat and Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) bring him down, but when she gave birth to their premature son Jordan her resolve weakened. We’re now left wondering if this breathing space has given her time to think back over this plan – but it might just prove too much of a risk for Chelsea to get involved again.
Will she decide it’s safer to stand by the man she married for fear of what Gray might do to her otherwise? Or will her newfound confidence allow Chelsea to break free and do all she can to protect herself and her child? Either way, her life is at stake for as long as he is around.
Upon his return home, Gray will of course be distracted by the reveal of Tina’s remains, hoping he can continue to conceal his involvement alongside the murders of Chantelle and Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami). He’ll also want to secure the dispatching of Kheerat, who is currently on the run despite attacking Gray in self-defence.
But with most of Walford still convinced he’s a charming member of the community, Gray is still at large and therefore free to torment and abuse Chelsea, repeating the harrowing cycle all over again.
Will somebody be able to stop Gray in his tracks and save Chelsea? Time is running out.
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