EastEnders has made a huge change to the harrowing Joel Marshall storyline, as the Walford community discovers his terrifying act of violence against Vicki Fowler.

In last Thursday’s special episode, an incident at school led to some tough conversations between parents and teens about misogynistic attitudes. But when Vicki stood up to her stepson, Joel snapped and hit her, before continuing to brutally attack her.

Joel left Vicki barely conscious in the kitchen and fled the scene, and today’s episode began that same night.

Ross, who had gone for a walk to calm down before the attack, spotted Joel in the Square and apologised for their earlier argument – remaining oblivious to what his son had done.

Joel found Tommy, who pledged to help him with a problem. When Joel revealed that he’d hit Vicki, Tommy became cautious, but he agreed to help his mate hide out in the garage for a while.

Meanwhile, injured Vicki managed to make her way to The Vic to seek help, where to the horror of the punters, she collapsed into the pub.

As Vicki was rushed to the hospital, Ross was devastated to learn what had happened but refused to believe Joel was responsible.

Zoe confronted Tommy about the situation and, in a poignant conversation, explained that the Slater women acted as they did because men had mistreated them for years — but she didn’t tell him about the abuse his mum suffered.

Tommy refused to disclose any information about Joel, but when he went back to see his friend, it was clear that he was no longer on board with his friend’s behaviour.

At the hospital, doctors performed surgery on Vicki and revealed she had a collapsed lung and a broken arm, but they assured Ross she would recover.

Ross had no alibi for the time of Vicki’s attack and therefore became the prime suspect. He went home, opened Joel’s laptop, and was horrified to find footage of his son filming and attacking Vicki.

Unable to cover for Joel any longer, Tommy told desperate Ross where he was. Police soon raided the garage and arrested Joel as the community looked on.

Will Joel face consequences for his actions?