Joel Marshall (Max Murray) has been nothing but trouble ever since his arrival in Albert Square earlier this year, and EastEnders fans have had some very strong opinions.

Though the major fan theory that he is Zoe Slater’s (Michelle Ryan) estranged son has now been disproven, producer Ben Wadey has promised that his story will have a dramatic ending nonetheless.

Viewers will know that Joel has demonstrated some worrying behaviour, especially where his views on women are concerned.

Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) was left traumatised when he filmed them having sex without her knowledge, before discovering that she was pregnant.

Joel later tried to convince Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) of his twisted worldview that women are worth less than men, before encouraging him to steal Alfie Moon’s (Shane Richie) credit card to pay for porn.

His disgusting actions continued when he sexually assaulted a young woman on the tube, before dad Ross Marshall (Alex Walkinshaw) discovered that he had been sharing and receiving violent sexual videos.

He also found Stacey Slater’s (Lacey Turner) SecretCam account, and began sharing her content around.

Viewers may remember that this account led to Stacey gaining a stalker in the form of Theo Hawthorne, who managed to get close to the family by tutoring Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) during her pregnancy.

Now, Ben Wadey has confirmed when Joel’s story is set to come to a head, and it is sooner than you may think.

‘This week kicks off a really big autumn for us,’ he teased.

‘There’s lots of drama ahead for lots of different families. We’ll have seen a few stories really building recently. We’ve got Joel’s story that will come to a head in the next couple of months, we’ve got Lauren, Peter and Oscar, with plenty of drama to unfold there.’

It has also been confirmed that Joel’s storyline will also be the feature of a BBC Three documentary later in the year.

The special, which will debut on the channel and iPlayer, will explore the worrying growth of misogynistic attitudes among young men, and how it is spreading through online communities.

Featuring contributions from members of the EastEnders cast, it comes as themes from the critically acclaimed Netflix drama Adolescence have begun to be explored.

The climax of Joel’s story isn’t the only thing to look forward this autumn, it would seem, as Ben went on to tease even more drama from Zoe’s return storyline.

‘And of course, Zoe is now back in The Square,’ he pointed out.

‘Zoe and Kat’s relationship is really complicated. 20 years there for them to recover and try to get to know each other. Kat has been expecting one thing when Zoe would come back, but to meet your adult daughter is more complicated than Kat thinks. There’s a lot for them to get to understand about each other.