'EastEnders' airs Tanya, Max affair plot climax

EastEnders has tonight aired the dramatic climax to Tanya Jessop's romantic dilemma, which saw the businesswoman make the surprise decision to reject both of the men in her life.

In this evening's explosive edition of the Walford soap, Tanya met up with ex-husband and secret lover Max Branning (Jake Wood) at their bedsit as planned after receiving the worrying news that she may have cancer. However, haunted by the memory of her late father becoming a burden to her mother when he was ill, she soon left Max stunned by announcing that she had changed her mind and they couldn't be together.

After refusing to confide in Max about the reasons for her decision, Tanya (Jo Joyner) soon returned home and tried to let husband Greg (Stefan Booth) down gently, telling him that they needed time apart.

Meanwhile, back at his own house, Max sparked an emotional showdown by telling fiancé Vanessa Gold (Zöe Lucker) that their relationship was over. As she flew into a furious rage and demanded an explanation, Vanessa's hysterics quickly caught the attention of Max's daughter Lauren - who revealed the truth about what was going on.

Addressing Vanessa, Lauren announced: "He's been sleeping with mum - for months! For months and months, and he promised that it was over - he promised."



Following the bombshell, Vanessa immediately stormed over to the Jessop household and attacked Tanya - before revealing the salon manager's cheating ways to Greg.

With relationships on Albert Square in tatters, Greg wasted no time before bidding a bitter farewell to Tanya and heading off on holiday to Mexico alone.

Meanwhile, Max was left in turmoil after Lauren and Abi ordered him to leave Walford following the destruction he had caused. When it became clear that Tanya still had no intention of reuniting with him, Max respected his family's wishes and departed the Square with no indication of when he'd be back.

In a final twist as Max made his exit, Tanya reconsidered her decision and tried to run after her ex. However, she was too late as Max had already started driving away into the night.

EastEnders airs the aftermath of the affair revelation in next week's episodes, which see Vanessa go into meltdown and find herself drawn into Michael Moon's scheming ways.

> What happens next? Read some brand new spoilers for next week's EastEnders episodes