EastEnders‘ Peter Beale leaves his partner Lauren Branning shellshocked next week by springing a surprise wedding on her at the Queen Vic. Although Lauren had told him that she wanted more excitement in their relationship, she certainly didn’t see this one coming!

It’s been a rocky road for the childhood sweethearts this year, but Peter’s hopeful that he can create a fairytale ending by organising the entire ceremony behind Lauren’s back. After some initial doubts, will Lauren agree to say “I do”?

Thomas Law, who plays Peter, recently caught up with us for an exclusive chat about next week’s big episodes.

Why do you think Peter and Lauren have been having some troubles recently?

“I think if anyone was in the position that Peter and Lauren have been in, they’d struggle in the same way. Their relationship had issues when Lauren was put in the frame for Cindy’s attack at Christmas. They’ve also had troubles over Lauren’s drinking, Oscar’s return, and their baby son Jimmy being diagnosed with a visual impairment.

“They’ve had many ups and downs and anyone who could get through that without a complaint would be a superhero I suppose, so I think they’ve managed it quite well!

“Those sorts of trials and tribulations make people stronger or they break people apart. I think they’re doing well – and now Peter thinks that trying to force this wedding is a great idea…”

How is Peter feeling after Lauren told him that she wants more excitement in their relationship?

“Peter just thinks: ‘I know what will work. Let’s get married!’ (Laughs.) He’s also taking advice from Ian Beale, who’s had a few weddings. Peter just thinks he’s doing exactly what Lauren wants. Maybe it’s a swing and a miss, or maybe it’s not – maybe it works out perfectly? You’ll have to tune in to see!”

Surprise weddings are always a risk! Do you think it’s a good idea from Peter?

“If you’re a fan of EastEnders, you know that nothing ever goes completely smoothly! But from Peter’s point of view, he thinks it’s the best idea. He knows Lauren inside and out. He knows that this is going to surprise her and it’s going to be exciting for her.

“Peter is going into this whole situation with a ‘glass half full’ attitude and he has a big grin on his face, thinking he’s the man! Could it go wrong or could it work perfectly? I guess we’ll have to see…”

Are you still backing Peter and Lauren as a couple?

“They’ve had hurdles as a couple, but I think those make you stronger. Those issues could potentially boil over one day, but at the minute, I think they’re destined to be with each other because they haven’t got anyone else! Unless certain people come back to the show and surprise us, they’re in a good spot and they work well together.

“There’s still a lot going on. After Jimmy’s diagnosis, it’s all hands on deck trying to make a happy life for that young little lad, but I think they’re both up for the challenge. They can put their differences aside if need be, just for the comfort of their two boys.

“For me as Tom, it’s been a pleasure to play. There are a lot of ups and downs but ultimately the relationship is at the core of the Beale and Branning families and it’s a special one.”

How was it to film a big soap wedding storyline?

“It was very, very nice to get dressed up, as always! It was special for me, because I’ve grown up here at EastEnders in many ways.

“To be part of weddings in the past was really nice, but it was very special to have all eyes on us and to have the question of whether the wedding was going ahead or not. You can imagine that I was very nervous but also excited – it was an honour.”

Everyone’s involved in getting the wedding idea off the ground. Is Cindy even supporting Peter and Lauren now?

“Cindy is supporting Peter no matter what. She sees how much Peter wants to be with Lauren, and she just wants him to be happy. Cindy knows that life can be hard, so if Peter can have his one true love by his side, she knows he’ll be happy.

“It’s still exactly what you would expect, though, as Cindy throws a few snarky comments towards Peter! But he just bats it off and says that he knows what he’s doing. I think we’ll see Peter fighting for his love, and Cindy taking a step back this time.”

How is Peter’s relationship with Oscar going to develop?

“I would say that Peter’s relationship with Oscar is only going to grow and get better. I’ve been playing it so that Peter finds Oscar amusing, even though he can be quite annoying! Peter’s got him on the stall now, so he’s working and Peter doesn’t see him as lazy.

“They were butting heads a little bit at the start because of the problems that Oscar was causing, but he’s only a young lad and he’s just trying to work hard, like we all are.

“I would also say that Pierre [Moullier, who plays Oscar] has been an absolute treat to work with. He’s very, very funny, very professional, and he’s just been a breath of fresh air.”

Max returns on the wedding day! What kind of dynamic can we expect between Peter and Max?

“There’s unfinished business there, absolutely. They do have a nice first engagement when they see each other, although Max comes in at a terrible time!

“But I think that’s the first and only time that they’ll be civil with each other, because Max has done a lot of things wrong to Peter’s family, which has caused issues between the Beales and the Brannings. Long may that continue, for the drama in the show!”

It sounds like there are tense times ahead, then…

“I would say Peter, now knowing that Max is back, wants revenge for things that happened when he was a kid and for everything Max has done to Lucy. There’s a list of reasons that Peter could be annoyed at Max, so if Max pushes it to the limit, he’ll be in trouble. It was really good to play that with Jake [Wood, who plays Max].”

How was it to see Jake again, as you haven’t worked together since 2010?

“It’s been really good. He hasn’t changed a bit! I would say Jake has come back very prepared and he’s very excited. Max has got a lot of people to upset and a lot of bridges to burn. It’s quite exciting to see how he’s being so disruptive. I’m definitely interested to see the scenes we’ve got coming up.”

How did you and Jacqueline Jossa feel about taking on the Jimmy storyline?

“It goes without saying that it was a huge honour to be given this storyline. We both feel quite passionately about it – and we’re still learning a lot about it.

“When working with the young actors who are playing Jimmy, we’re learning small details along the way and we’re picking up little tips from people about how Peter and Lauren would approach this.”

How have the fans reacted?

“The fans have reached out and made us feel incredibly proud. A lot of families go through this and it’s not really been represented in many ways.

“Even if it has been addressed in other shows, on EastEnders we can tell the story in real time, so the audience will follow along with Lauren and Peter as they navigate this new parenting journey, which is the beauty of telling storylines like Jimmy’s on a show like EastEnders.”

Has your return to EastEnders been everything you’d hoped it would be?

“Everything and more! I had a fantastic time being brought back into the show by [former executive producer] Chris Clenshaw. He was a brilliant man and very, very clever. I got to work on a lot of cool stuff under his leadership.

“Now Ben Wadey has taken over and he’s absolutely brilliant. He’s got many ideas to come, which I think are going to blow the fans away. He’s got some very interesting storylines coming up and I’m involved in some of them. And the ones that I’m not involved in, I’m jealous that I’m not! (Laughs.) He’s really keeping the show on top with his ideas.

“I think that goes for the other soaps as well. I’ve seen the Soap Awards and NTAs recently and the level of acting and storylines is really, really, really good.”

It’s so rare for EastEnders to recast a role back. Did you ever imagine you’d return as Peter, or was it a shock when the call came in?

“Adam [Woodyatt, who plays Ian] was the first person to get in touch with me, asking if we were getting the band back together! I’d been asked before to come back a couple of times, but I was working on other jobs. I was working on a show called The Bay, which was brilliant.

“I couldn’t get my schedule right to come back but I think it’s honestly worked out the best way it could, because the time I returned just felt perfect. I wouldn’t change it.”

You have an active following on Spotify – do you have more music coming up?

“I do! I’ve got some more stuff coming up soon. Ben was also a big fan of my music, so he asked me to come up for a meeting and that’s when it was proposed that Peter would learn to play guitar and it would feature in the show.

“So it’s slowly creeping into the show too. It’s not going to be a musical version of EastEnders, but Ben’s definitely got excitement for it and it’s cool to have the crossover.

“When the time’s right, there’ll be some gigs for people to come and watch too, but I’m fully focused on this show going forward and my future.”