EastEnders fans applaud 'evil' new partnership

The Albert Square sign on the set of EastEnders

The Square has a new dynamic duo (Image credit: BBC)

EastEnders fans were delighted during Thursday night's episodes to see two characters team up for some dodgy antics.

Shirley has been upset after scheming Sam Mitchell slept with Zack, the boyfriend of her granddaughter Nancy.

The romp has broken Nancy's heart and caused her to leave the Square, leaving Shirley upset.

Meanwhile, Shirley's also furious that the revelation blew up at an event to celebrate her late sister, Tina, ruining the whole thing.

Shirley landed a punch on Zack – but it's not him she's gunning for now.

EastEnders Shirley punches Zack — (Image credit: BBC)

Shirley is sick of the Mitchells hurting her family – she also still has a long-standing grudge over Phil and Sharon letting Tina take the blame for the attack on Ian in 2020.

So, she's decided to get her revenge by targeting the club.

With the club already under attack from rival gangster Jonah, Shirley's planning a way cash in on that.

EastEnders Shirley and Dotty — Dotty makes a deal with the devil (Image credit: BBC)

So, we saw her meet up with Dotty, offering her an envelope of cash.

"I need to take advantage of that this Jonas bloke is doing," said Shirley about her plan. "All I'm asking you to do is turn the CCTV camera off behind the bar tomorrow and then you let me know when the coast is clear."

Dotty agreed, and EastEnders fans were excited about what Shirley was up to.

"Shirley and Dotty working together," said one, following it with a series of applause emojis. "Shirley vs The Mitchells is happening - hell, yeah!" exclaimed another.

Shirley and Dotty working together 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼#EastEndersJune 23, 2022

Shirley and Dotty being evil #EastEndersJune 23, 2022

Shirley vs the mitchell is happening hell yess!! Team Shirley Carter all the damn way🙌🙌 #EastEndersJune 23, 2022

All-in-all, viewers were delighted to see Shirley back at the heart of the action.

Earlier, the show had screened scenes where Shirley was upset at Nancy's departure from the Square.

EastEnders Shirley — Shirley is back in business (Image credit: BBC)

Many fans think the character has been rather on the back burner in recent times, so they were delighted that Shirley – and actress Linda Henry – were finally getting the chance to show their range.

"Linda Henry can really hold a scene," said one admirer.

"It's about time Shirley had a good storyline," commented another.

Linda Henry can certainly hold a scene #EastEnders love ya ShirleyJune 23, 2022

#EastEnders It's about time Shirley had a good storyline 👍June 23, 2022

Shirley sees Nancy like a daughter I feel for her as well. First Tina and now Nancy's going 😭💔#EastEndersJune 23, 2022

Spoilers for next week reveal that Sam, Sharon and Kat will discover the club has be trashed.

Meanwhile, it will also be attacked by armed robbers.

How far has Shirley gone to get her revenge on the Mitchells?

EastEnders screens Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.

Steven is a writer, editor, and commentator with a passion for popular TV and soap operas. He spent 20 years as the editor of Inside Soap magazine, documenting every punch-up and pucker-up in the Street, the Square and the village. As a feature writer, he’s covered TV crime dramas, period dramas and even some real-life star dramas. He’s been seen as a talking head on more TV clip shows than he cares to remember, has a life-long passion for TV sci-fi – the older and creakier the better – and is a slight obsessive about any reality show featuring hotels.