One of the biggest things that shaped EastEnders’ Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota) into the kind-hearted and warm man he is today was his relationship with his dad, Nish (Navin Chowdhry) – and now he looks set to become a dad.

Desperate to feel loved and valued by Nish, Vinny often allowed himself to be manipulated and used as a pawn in his dad’s personal and criminal schemes.

As he witnessed his family cannibalise itself with their feuds, betrayals and mistrust and, finally, after Nish’s demise, he emerged from the carnage caused by his family, seemingly finding peace with his vulnerability.

Sharing a close bond with mum, Suki (Balvinder Sopal), who’s finally found happiness in wife Eve (Heather Peace), Vinny is happily divorced from the trauma caused by his dad, and currently, looking forward to a potential future with Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine).

A future that looks set to include a baby…

Vinny and Penny hooked up on New Years Eve and, despite her insistence that it was a one-time thing, she found herself more and more drawn to Vinny. With some gentle prodding from Gina Knight (Francesca Henry), Penny exposed her feelings to Vinny, and they decided to test the waters.

Next week sees the discovery of a mystery pregnancy test by Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) at the Branning Sunday dinner. While he initially believes it belongs to Lily Slater (Lillia Turner), he’s utterly floored when Penny admits that its hers.

‘Jack immediately can’t believe what he is hearing and wants to talk it through, but Denise wants to protect Penny’s privacy, given that they are at a family dinner and it’s an intense and private conversation to have,’ Kitty said, regarding the twist.

‘Penny and Jack’s relationship is always rocky -one small move can offset the harmony, and, in this instance, Penny perceives Jack to be reacting negatively.’

When Penny and Jack end up in a full-scale row, Penny turns to her cousins. First, Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa).

‘Penny looks up to Lauren a lot, even though she would never say it to her face. She sees what an amazing mum Lauren is, and out of everyone, she knows she can talk to Lauren about her worries and concerns,’ Kitty said.

Later, she also spills the tea to Oscar (Pierre Counihan-Moullier).

‘Oscar is brutally honest and brings light to stressful situations – something Penny really needs,’ she adds.

Although his brutal honesty isn’t reserved for Penny, and Oscar later slips up by telling Vinny of her pregnancy scare.

Vinny immediately rushes over to see Penny, but with her dad also there and getting on her nerves, will he receive a favourable response?

When the two head to the doctors later in the week to discuss their options regarding the pregnancy, Penny is fuming when the doctor bypasses her completely and speaks directly to Vinny. With so many obstacles cropping up, can their fledgling romance survive?

Kitty sure hopes so, as she spoke of how well Penny and Vinny complement each other.

‘Vinny’s everything Penny has never had in a relationship. She has always gone for a bad boy, and the beauty of Penny and Vinny is that they are honest with each other. He brings out a soft, warm side of Penny, something we’ve never seen from her before.

‘They can learn a lot from each other; they both have qualities the other could benefit from. Penny is feisty, dominant, and always says what she thinks, and Vinny needs to stand up for himself against his mum and family.

‘Penny could learn from Vinny’s kind‑natured heart and his good values, qualities she believes she doesn’t naturally possess.’