Linda Carter rocked by Janine Butcher bombshell in EastEnders

JANINE Butcher was last seen sobbing in the back of a police car in December, 2022.

However, next week in EastEnders, the villain makes another return when Linda Carter gets wind of her fate behind bars.

The pub landlady portrayed by Kellie Bright has been trying to move on from Mick’s sudden disappearance at sea.

Following the tragedy, his last wife Janine (Charlie Brooks) was cuffed and carted away for perverting the course of justice.

Coming up on BBC One, Linda is down in the dumps as Janine is being sentenced next week.

Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) notices the drop in Linda’s mood and tries to cheer her up with Coronation party talk, but she doesn’t want hear any of it.

He then confides in Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) and tells her about Linda struggling.

The Walford cleaner immediately understands Linda’s pain and explains to Alfie that, while Janine may be locked up and away from everything she holds dear, Linda is serving a life sentence of her own without Mick.

Soon after, Linda is told Janine has been sentenced and she’s shaken by the verdict.

Alfie tries to console her but she’s consumed by her loss and breaks the bad news that she can’t face throwing the Coronation party without Mick.

Determined to cheer her up and help her think of something other than than Mick and Janine, Alfie makes it his mission to convince her to host The Vic party.

He comes up with the idea of a “Royal Walkabout” for the kids of Albert Square – could his efforts be vain?

Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) soon gets involved and pulls at Linda’s heartstrings by making a beautiful gesture to include Mick in the coronation celebrations.

Will it be enough to convince her to change her mind about the Coronation party?

EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.