EASTENDERS viewers were shocked to see a rare softer side to Shirley Carter as she comforted Frankie Lewis whose mum was sentenced to a decade in prison.
Shirley had viewers fighting back tears as we saw an emotional side to her character in Monday’s episode of the BBC soap.
The newest addition to the Carter family Frankie was coming to terms with her paedophile mother Katy being sentenced as she read about her in the newspaper.
Shirley asked: “Why are you putting yourself through this?”
Frankie replied: “They’re all going to think that she’s a monster, but I want to show them that she’s not. She’s still my mum. She’s still family.”
Shirley responded: “After everything she’s done?”- but then she offered to take Frankie on a driving lesson to a neighbourhood nearby her mum.
She said: “Hell will freeze over before I go in there, but I want to go with you. I don’t want you to go on your own.”
Frankie asked: “Where’s all this coming from?”
Shirley continued: “You. What you said was right.
“We can’t keep running around in these vicious circles.”
Shirley pulled at the viewers’ heartstrings leaving them in tears.
One fan said: “I love seeing the softer side to Shirley!”
A second wrote: “Awww Shirley you’re really a pussycat!”
Another penned: “Shirley supporting Frankie!”
On sentencing Katy for her abuse of Mick and another underage boy, he sent her to prison for a decade.
As she was being taken out of court, she turned to Mick to say: “I’m sorry.” But it didn’t matter to him.
Having missed reading out his own statement to save Nancy from her seizure, Mick said: “Don’t worry, it’s OK. Our family is OK and that’s all that matters.”
EastEnders continues on Tuesday at 7:30pm on BBC One.
