Elaine Peacock faced some drama tonight as EastEnders‘ bullying storyline exploded. As her feud with Ian Beale reached new heights, could the involvement of the police calm things down in East London?

In recent weeks, Elaine’s grandson Ollie Carter has been getting bullied at school, and it was eventually revealed that Max Branning’s own grandson, Louie Beale, was behind the abuse. Matters were complicated further after Max became romantically involved with Ollie’s mother, Linda, but he has refrained from telling her the truth in case it jeopardises their connection.

Tonight’s (12 February) episode of the BBC soap began with Linda offering to walk Ollie all the way into school in order to protect him, with the youngster sporting a bruise on his face following the latest incident.

Elaine, meanwhile, continued her frosty words with newcomer Bea Pollard, but crucially gained some information. Bea shared that she had overheard Max and Lauren confronting Louie over the situation, and Elaine soon informed Linda.

Linda was understandably gutted by the revelation, with Elaine describing Max as a “gutter rat” given he didn’t disclose this information with Linda. They headed to The Vic, with Elaine remarking that she would knock Max’s “block off”.

As soon as Linda arrived in front of Max, she called herself a “mug” for ever trusting him. After she spoke to Lauren, Peter and Ian outside, she said that Max ultimately “made [her] sick”.

Max attempted to apologise later, reasoning that he wanted to “protect” his family while keeping “everybody happy”. Linda, however, wasn’t buying his excuses, and remarked that he was a compulsive liar.

As Elaine took Ollie to get a milkshake, she spotted Louie and grilled him over his actions. After she grabbed him, the Beales all arrived, with Ollie also being upset that his grandmother had caused a scene.

After an argument erupted in the pub between the two families, Ian sensed an opportunity to get one over on his rival. He called the police, who took Elaine away to discuss a matter of “child cruelty” – how will the storyline unfold?