EastEnders fans delighted to see Janine back to her “wicked" best

EastEnders Janine stops Linda from driving the car
Janine is taking Linda for the drive of her life (Image credit: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

EastEnders fans were celebrating during Monday’s episode as Janine Butcher pulled a daring stunt to get Linda Carter out of Mick’s life once and for all.

Viewers were raving over Janine’s scheming, which they branded "wicked", and were delighted to see the Janine they "know and love" back in action.

Janine Butcher drives Linda Carter home

Janine and Linda drove into danger! (Image credit: BBC)

Monday night’s episode ended with a high-speed car crash.

Janine had gone to rescue a drunk Linda, whose car had broken down.

After getting the car started, Janine started to drive Linda home. But when she became distracted as the pair argued, the car ran off of the road and hit a tree.

EastEnders Janine and Linda car crash

The crash kicked off Janine's latest scheme (Image credit: BBC)

As Tuesday's episode began, Janine came around to find Linda bleeding and unconscious.

As she came to terms with what had happened, a plan quickly formed when she saw Mick ringing Linda’s phone.

After checking that baby Annie, who had been on the back seat of the car, was OK, Janine proceeded to pull Linda out of the car.

But she wasn’t trying to help her.

No, Janine’s plan was to pop Linda in the driving seat, to make it look like Linda had been drink driving with her baby daughter in the car!

EastEnders Janine and Linda crash

Janine put everything in place to frame Linda (Image credit: BBC)

Leaving nothing to chance, Janine fastened the seat belt over Linda then popped one of Linda’s hands on the steering wheel. 

She then poured some of the vodka Linda had been drinking around the car before leaving the empty bottle on the floor. Next, she wiped away any of her own fingerprints from the vehicle.

When a concerned driver stopped to help, Janine pretended that she was a passing dog walker. The driver quickly rang an ambulance, giving Janine her chance to slip away.

EastEnders Janine Linda crash

Janine hopes she's covered her tracks (Image credit: BBC)

Fans were aghast at Janine's actions.

And with many feeling Janine had been rather tame by her standards since she returned last year, they were over the moon to see her back at her evil best.

“Finally, we are getting to see the Janine we know and love,” said one. While another agreed. “This latest scheme takes some beating," they raved.

While another summed up: "Janine is the most wicked character in EastEnders".

See more
See more
See more
See more
See more

With Janine having been due to head off to visit her sister Clare that day, she slipped off from the Square with her daughter Scarlett without arousing suspicion.

Later, Mick rang from the hospital to tell her the news, and Janine feigned surprise.

But when Mick added that Linda was in a coma and might die, Janine was left shocked.

Has she gone too far this time?

EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now. 

Steven Murphy
Writer

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.