It’s impossible to arrive in EastEnders without a long-buried secret or two, and there’s no exception made to the Hawkins-Roper clan.
As the sun rises over this fictional corner of East London, Nicola Mitchell’s (Laura Doddington) world is flipped upside down with the arrival of her fearsome mother Rose (Marian McLoughlin), sisters Gemma (Patricia Potter) and Jodie Hawkins (Anna Constable), brother-in-law Ned Roper (Jamie Bamber) and his son Ryder (Felix Uff).
Despite the predicament they’re facing, she’s adamant about not having them living under her roof. Fortunately for Ned, his old mate Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) is the publican of The Queen Vic.
But how do they know one another, and when underlying tension arises with Nicola, why are they so keen to keep their connection under wraps?
Elsewhere, Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) becomes convinced that he's discovered fiancée Priya Nandra-Hart's (Sophie Khan Levy) affair with Max Branning (Jake Wood), and Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) experiences long-buried feelings resurfacing.
Here's everything you need to know about the episodes of EastEnders airing between Monday 31 August and Thursday 3 September.
4 EastEnders spoilers for next week
1. The Hawkins family arrive and cause quite the stir
Nicola's carefully controlled life is thrown into disarray when her sisters Gemma and Jodie make a dramatic return to Albert Square, this time with Gemma's Ryder in tow. Although Nicola is initially reluctant to let them into her life, the sisters eventually persuade her to give them somewhere to stay - but on the strict condition that her estranged mum, Rose, must keep her distance.
Nicola's ultimatum doesn't last long, however, when Gemma's husband Ned turns up unexpectedly with Rose. With the entire Hawkins clan now descending on Walford, Nicola is forced to confront family tensions she'd rather leave firmly in the past.
Determined not to have the family take over her home, she makes it clear that Gemma and Ned will need to find alternative accommodation.
Meanwhile, Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway) offers Ryder and Jodie somewhere to stay and encourages his mum to try and resolve her differences with his grandmother finally.
Ned attempts to calm the situation by speaking to Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) about the disruption caused by the family's arrival, but his attention is soon diverted when he gets a surprise - his old friend, Alfie.
Nicola is horrified when she later discovers that the Hawkins clan have gathered in The Vic. Her shock only grows when she learns that Alfie has agreed to give Gemma and Ned somewhere to stay.
Kat is quick to lay down the law, making it clear that their stay at The Vic will only be for one night. But over at Peacock Palace, Rose is proving just as difficult, leaving Linda and Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) longing for some peace and quiet.
Wishing to prevent the situation from spiralling further, Gemma reaches out to Nicola in the hope of repairing Nicola and Rose's relationship. Yet any chance of a reconciliation is immediately threatened when Rose enters the picture, reigniting the bitterness between mother and daughter.
With the Hawkins family desperate to bring the two back together, they come up with a risky plan designed to finally force the pair to confront their troubled past.
However, their efforts don't have the desired effect. Rather than putting old wounds to rest, the attempt appears to push Nicola and Rose even further apart, suggesting their fractured relationship may be beyond an easy fix.
With Gemma and Ned unable to remain at The Vic, they are relieved when Nicola unexpectedly has a change of heart and offers them a temporary place to stay. But Nicola's generosity soon comes with a major complication when she discovers the real reason the Hawkins family have descended on Walford.
What is it?
2. Ravi Gulati clocks an intimate moment between Priya Nandra-Hart and Max Branning
Ravi is keen for Priya to stop keeping their engagement under wraps and encourages her to finally tell the children about their plans for the future.
Later, at The Albert, Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) and Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams) are busy making arrangements for Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) and Howie Danes's (Delroy Atkinson) wedding when Priya asks if she can get involved. Before long, however, Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) manages to persuade the pair to lend a hand with her wedding preparations too.
The wedding chaos proves too much for Priya at one point when she is overcome by nausea and steps outside for some fresh air.
There, she runs into Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) and finds herself revealing that she's pregnant. Coincidentally, both have a very similar paternity predicament...
Priya immediately makes Penny promise to keep quiet, clearly not ready for the news to become public knowledge.
Her worries intensify when she catches her son Davinder 'Nugget' Gulati (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury) dealing drugs, and she's quick to give him a stern reprimand. Max steps in to support her, but nevertheless, she's impressed by the way Ravi appears to be making progress with his family life.
Feeling increasingly confident about their future, Priya decides that the time has finally come to tell the children about her engagement to Ravi. He's delighted, although his mood changes when he starts questioning Priya about the man she had previously been seeing.
That night, Max walks Priya home, and the pair share a seemingly innocent moment outside of the old brewery. Neither realises that they have an audience, with Ravi watching the exchange from a distance.
He immediately begins paying closer attention to Max, and his suspicions about what is really going on start to grow. Determined to find out whether his fears are justified, Ravi soon finds a way to confirm what he has been thinking.
3. Oscar Branning and Denzel Danes plan their dads' stag-dos
Kim is less than impressed by how much attention is being lavished on Max's stag celebrations and decides that Howie needs to make more of an effort to enjoy himself.
She puts Denzel in charge of organising his dad's big night, leaving him with the task of making sure Howie gets a stag to remember.
Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) agrees to Denzel's suggestion that their dads should celebrate together, turning the evening into a joint stag do. But Oscar isn't simply along for the fun - he also has a few plans of his own up his sleeve for Max.
Before long, the preparations are complete, and the stags gather at Harry's Barn, waiting for Max to arrive and unaware of exactly what the evening has in store.
What has Oscar done?
4. Linda Carter shares a moment with Max Branning
Linda's plans for the community bingo event are thrown into jeopardy when a power cut threatens to derail the evening. Fortunately, Clive Masters (Jason Durr) steps in at just the right moment and manages to save the day.
His efforts leave Linda flustered, and she finds herself agreeing to give him another chance by going on a second date.
Later, she shares a touching moment with Max while the pair work together to persuade Ollie Carter (Harry Farr) to take the daunting step of attending his first day at secondary school.
As Linda prepares for her date with Clive, she appears ready to put the past behind her and move forward. But just as she starts to embrace the idea of a fresh start, Kim drops a bombshell by revealing that Max played a crucial role in helping save the community centre.
Linda is left reeling as she takes in the revelation. Then, when Clive arrives with confirmation that the centre is safe, she's forced to confront some complicated feelings just as she thought she was ready to move on.
Does her heart lie with Max after all?
Read more:
Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.
Add EastEnders to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.
Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.