Ian Beale is kidnapped! (VIDEO)

Ian Beale is understandably petrified as he prepares to go to court and give a false statement against Max Branning in EastEnders next week.

Carl has bullied and threatened Ian into lying that he saw Max tamper with the car that Carl and Phil crashed in. Max could be facing a long stretch in prison, but when Ian is a no-show at court he's freed due to a lack of evidence.

So where did Ian disappear to? An Essex wasteland, bound and gagged in the back of a van!

Get the scoop on EastEnders:

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.