Eve Unwin-Panesar (Heather Peace) is victim of a homophobic attack in EastEnders next week – and estranged wife Suki (Balvinder Sopal) is on hand to support her.
It all kicks off when Eve is innocently enjoying a drink at The Prince Albert when Callum Highway (Tony Clay) spots her on the receiving end of a verbal and physical attack.
The man directing the vile, homophobic abuse is none other than his dad Jonno (Richard Graham).
We’ve anticipated Jonno’s return to Walford for quite some time, but who exactly is he, and what’s his history with Callum?
Who is Jonno Highway?
Jonno appeared in just four episodes in 2019.
Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) – then engaged to Callum – reached out to him, unaware that he has abused both Callum and Stuart in their childhood.
Making himself out to be a changed man, his true colours soon shone through when he fought with Ben and used homophobic language, and then pinned Callum up against a wall.
Jonno was subsequently thrown out of Walford, and upon his return two months later, was surprised to hear that Callum’s wedding to Whit’ hadn’t gone ahead.
Callum came out as gay, and a disgusted Jonno accused Ben of turning his son ‘into one of them’.
Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) dealt a menacing punch, and Jonno threatened to go to the police. The punters in the Queen Vic, including Whitney, all decided to deny seeing Phil attack him.
He then left, disowning Callum as he departed.
But why has he targeted Eve, and how does Suki help?
Suki extends an olive branch
It seems that Jonno’s behaviour comes completely out of the blue. Callum is so appalled that he arrests him, but his dad protests his innocence and pins the blame on a mate instead.
Callum is left torn, wondering whether Jonno is being truthful, or whether he’s back to his old ways.
Eve knows that he’s to blame, and is glad when Suki reaches out to offer a shoulder to cry on.
It seems that the frosty atmosphere between the two is finally starting to thaw out.
What happened between Suki and Eve?
Last month, Suki was disowned by the entire Panesar-Gulati clan.
Avani (Aaliyah James) got a positive pregnancy test and confided in best mate Barney Mitchell (Lewis Bridgeman) about her desire to have an abortion.
She was terrified by the prospect of raising twisted Joel Marshall’s (Max Murray) child, but her attempts at researching a clinic were spotted by Suki.
Suki proposed raising the child as her own, and when Eve found out, she was furious. Eventually she warmed to the idea of being a parent, something she hadn’t considered before.
However, Eve could also see how deeply troubled Avani was, clearly only going through with the deal to make Suki happy.
After a heart to heart, she had an abortion. The two then revealed all to an enraged Ravi (Aaron Thiara) and Priya (Sophie Khan Levy) – just as Suki walked in.
Suki desperately tried to build bridges with her family, telling Ravi that she was prepared to remortgage the Slaters’ house to pay off the debts he owed at Walford East.
But for once, Ravi was speechless. He had absolutely nothing to say to his step-mother, other than comparing her to his wicked, late father Nish (Navin Chowdhry).
Everyone then moved out, with Eve admitting that she didn’t have the words to be able to express her hurt.
Suki had opened her up to the hurt of believing that she could one day be a mother, and she didn’t know what they have left in their marriage.
What happens with Jonno?
In the wake of the incident, Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff) – who has been engaging in an affair with Callum – goes against his grandmother Elaine Peacock’s (Harriet Thorpe) advice and offers Jonno some legal advice.
He also uses it as an opportunity to see whether he wants to rebuild his relationship with Callum.
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Jonno doesn’t want to open up, but when he discovers that Johnny is a Carter, they head to The Vic for a drink.
He agrees to meet up with Callum, and things get off to a promising start between father and son. That is, until, he discovers that he’s only returned to try and get his hands on some cash.
Callum refuses to help Jonno, and his true colours soon shine through. This isn’t how Johnny wanted it to go.
A huge row breaks out, and suddenly, Jonno collapses to the ground. He’s suffered a heart attack.
