EastEnders spoilers follow for Monday’s (March 2) episode which is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) was left yelling Max Branning’s (Jake Wood) name in disbelief as she chased after her ex-lover, who drove off with unsuspecting Tim Walton (Tom Ratcliffe) in the back seat, hellbent on revenge.

Less than two weeks after woefully mishandling Ollie’s bullying ordeal, Max was determined to get himself back into Linda’s good books – and he soon found a way to play the hero.

Linda had discovered that son Johnny (Charlie Suff) was blackmailed into sleeping with investor Tim, who had video evidence of Callum Highway (Tony Clay) breaking into his apartment.

Tim had wanted detective Callum to do some digging on a business rival for him but when Callum refused, he instead decided to set him up, claiming that ex Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) was in danger of an extended prison sentence if a USB wasn’t retrieved from an address.

The address in question was Tim’s property, which he wired with CCTV cameras to capture Callum breaking and entering. The footage was then used by scheming Tim to blackmail Callum into doing his bidding.

Johnny was horrified to learn that Callum had broken the law for Ben but when Cal explained that Lexi was the reason why he took such a risk, the lawyer understood his motives. But with Tim determined to destroy Callum’s reputation, Johnny was determined to do whatever it took to save his partner.

When Tim blackmailed Johnny into sleeping with him – in exchange for the video footage of Callum – he refused but, realising that Callum could face jail time, he felt he had no choice.

Elaine Knight (Harriet Thorpe), who Johnny confided in previously, ultimately told Linda about Johnny’s ordeal, which left the former Vic landlady feeling guilty.

As viewers will recall, Linda knew that Tim had planned to test Callum’s loyalty to Ben and, given that Johnny shared the same fears over his beau’s commitment to his ex, she refrained from warning Cal in advance.

Riddled with regret, Linda told Johnny the truth on Monday, saying that she could have stopped it all. Johnny was livid with his mum, claiming she was interfering in his relationship once more. Elaine urged them to stop worrying about Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), who was unexpectedly caught up in the break-in, and instead focus on Johnny’s sexual assault.

Linda, who was raped in 2014, argued that Johnny did have a choice in sleeping with Tim, but Johnny reiterated that he did not – and that was thanks to her.

The revelation left Linda in tears and, after learning what led to her devastation, Max resolved to teach vile Tim a lesson.

When Tim reneged on the financial element of the deal, refusing to do any more business with Johnny, he called a cab from the pub. Max overheard such a thing and drove up to the building in his own car, claiming to be the cab driver in question.

Horrified Linda watched from afar and raced towards the vehicle but it was too late. Max had taken off.

The question is: just how far will Max go in order to play the hero? Dark scenes await later this week in a showdown between Max and Tim – but will the scheming businessman make it out alive?