Get ready, EastEnders fans — next week in Walford is set to explode with tension, fear, and shocking secrets that refuse to stay buried. The walls are closing in on Kojo, and Okie’s sinister control reaches new heights, leaving everyone questioning who can be trusted. From forced drugs and family betrayal to hidden pasts and a chilling Halloween revelation, it’s going to be one of the most unsettling weeks the Square has seen in a long time.

Kojo’s desperate attempt to escape Okie’s clutches goes horribly wrong. After vanishing without warning, George grows increasingly panicked over Kojo’s disappearance. Meanwhile, Okie — always several steps ahead — orders Harry to “handle” the situation. But Harry, torn between fear and guilt, secretly calls Kojo, urging him to run while he still can. Unfortunately, that act of compassion becomes the spark that ignites Okie’s fury.

Okie seizes Harry’s phone and uses it as bait, setting a trap for Kojo. When Kojo takes the risk and returns to the flat, he finds Harry drugged and barely conscious — a chilling warning of what might happen if he disobeys. Okie tries to reassert control by forcing Kojo to take drugs himself. In a moment of quick thinking, Kojo pretends to swallow them but secretly spits them out. Still, his every move is watched, and Okie’s paranoia grows.

As the tension escalates, Kojo makes another attempt to sneak out for help, but fate is cruel — Okie catches him again before he can reach safety. The stakes have never been higher, and it’s clear that one wrong move could cost him everything.

Elsewhere, Ravi returns from his time away, unaware of the nightmare brewing behind closed doors. When he asks Okie how things are going, Okie lies through his teeth, claiming both Kojo and Harry have been released. Ravi, feeling the weight of his own secrets and guilt, decides to step back from the business — unknowingly giving Okie total control. With full authority now in his hands, what will Okie do next? And how far is he willing to go to keep the truth from surfacing?

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Jasmine seems to be hiding something of her own. Though she claims her mother sent her a care hamper, a cryptic note suggests someone else is invested in her recovery. Even stranger, her earlier curiosity about Cindy before her accident hints at a mysterious connection between them. Lauren encourages Oscar to press Jasmine for answers, but when he corners her at The Albert, will she finally confess what — or who — she’s really running from?

Back in Walford, Cat and Zoe’s relationship takes a devastating turn. Zoe’s guilt and desperation drive her to hire a private investigator to find the baby she gave up back in 2006. Sharon, believing Dennis Rickman was the child’s father, even agrees to help pay the costs. But when Zoe runs out of money, she secretly steals cash from The Vic — a move that doesn’t go unnoticed. Cat, already suspicious, follows her daughter and overhears her spinning another lie. This time, Zoe denies Dennis was the father, completely contradicting her earlier story.

After a tense confrontation — and a brief, emotional moment of connection while rescuing a stray cat — Zoe finally admits she lied. But Cat is left shattered by the revelation, unsure whether to protect her daughter or expose her deceit. That moment of indecision doesn’t last long. During a lively pub quiz night, Cat overhears Vicki trying to defend Zoe and, in a burst of anger and hurt, blurts out the whole truth in front of everyone.

The fallout is immediate. Sharon and Vicki are both furious and heartbroken by Zoe’s betrayal, while the Vic descends into chaos. Harvey tries to calm things down, comforting Ross, who’s still reeling from his own heartbreak after being forced to choose between Vicki and his son Joel. Meanwhile, Cat and Zoe’s fractured relationship takes another brutal hit. When Zoe later accuses Cat of smashing a sentimental photo of them together, Cat denies it — leaving Zoe terrified that someone else is targeting her.

As Halloween draws closer, paranoia begins to consume Zoe. Alfie, ever the peacemaker, tries to restore calm, but the tension at the Vic is palpable. When a burst pipe floods the barrel room, Alfie uncovers an old VHS tape from the 1980s — a discovery that will soon unleash even more chaos. Ross brings in a VCR during the Halloween bash, hoping for some lighthearted fun, but Cat panics and forbids anyone from playing the tape, warning it could dredge up painful memories for Zoe.

Still, the night takes a dark turn. Zoe, growing increasingly unstable, lashes out at everyone around her — blaming Cat, then Vicki, then Anthony — convinced that someone is trying to destroy her. Later, when the VHS mysteriously starts playing on its own, Zoe loses control, throwing everyone out of the pub in fear and fury. Cat insists she had nothing to do with it, but Anthony, deeply concerned, isn’t sure who to believe.

Elsewhere, Suki and Eve take a big step forward in their adoption journey. Despite pushback from Priya and Vinnie, who question Suki’s parenting history, the pair attend a meeting with potential adoptive parents. It seems like things might finally be looking up — until Eve learns she needs a character reference from her estranged mother, the same woman who rejected her years ago for being gay. The question now is: can Eve’s mother put aside her prejudice to help her daughter build the family she’s always wanted?

Back at The Vic, Zoe’s paranoia spirals out of control. Convinced she’s being watched, she throws Anthony out and isolates herself. Anthony turns to Cat for help, but even she struggles to understand what’s real anymore. By week’s end, in a moment of uneasy truce, Cat, Zoe, and Tommy gather to finally watch the mysterious 1988 VHS together.

As the screen flickers to life, decades of buried secrets begin to resurface — the kind of truth that could destroy families, friendships, and reputations across Walford. What happened back then? Who recorded the tape? And how will the past collide with the present in a way no one saw coming?

One thing’s for sure — EastEnders fans won’t want to miss what happens next. With Okie’s chilling manipulation of Kojo, Zoe’s unraveling mental state, and a decades-old mystery about to blow the lid off the Square, next week promises to deliver a haunting mix of fear, guilt, and shocking revelations that could change everything forever.

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.