MICK Carter lies to Linda next week in EastEnders after being violently assaulted – and claims he was mugged.
Mick is heading on a downward spiral in the BBC One soap as he tries to come to terms with the abuse he received at the hands of his care worker Katy Lewis when he was a child.
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Viewers knew something wasn’t right about the age gap between Mick and his estranged daughter Frankie when she arrived in the Square earlier this year.
And it soon emerged that Mick had fathered her when he was only 12.
Mick was horrified when his abuser Katy then turned up in Walford.
When he confronted her for not telling him she’d given birth to Frankie, Katy told him that Frankie wasn’t his daughter – and that he’d imagined the abuse.
Mick seemed to take Katy’s word for it, but was clearly still being haunted by the past when he lost it in the Queen Vic when Katy’s name was mentioned and announced he was leaving the Square for a while.
Next week’s episodes of EastEnders will see Linda and Max share a play date with Abi and Ollie.
But they’re surprised when they spot Mick at home, nursing a bruised eye.
When Max leaves, Linda quizzes him about his injury, and Mick claims he was mugged.
Later, Mick and Linda go out to dinner but Mick is hurt when Max talks about helping Linda with her new business venture.
Later, at home, Mick pretends he has fallen asleep to avoid Linda.
Later, Tina is pleased to see Mick and tells him she’s got a plan to make it up to him.
With Ollie dressed up in a costume made by Linda for the Lucy Beale application, Mick tries to feign being happy but just ends up upsetting Linda.
Mick later calls Katy and tells her that he’s feeling lost, confused and desperate.
The BBC soap has worked with SurvivorsUK and the NSPCCA on the abuse storyline to make sure Mick’s storyline is as accurate as possible.
Jon Sen, Executive Producer EastEnders revealed: “Viewers have always been aware that Mick spent many years in care, which has been the cause of his fractured relationship with Shirley but now the audience will discover just why Mick’s childhood has been so traumatic.
“This storyline will see Mick having to confront the demons of his past, something he has desperately tried to avoid for many years and face up to the realisation that he experienced abuse whilst he was in care.
“Our work with SurvivorsUK and NSPCC has been vital in informing and grounding Mick’s story very much in reality.”
He added: “We hope this storyline will help to challenge the perceptions, the stigma and the shame – particularly experienced by male survivors.”
