Penny’s EastEnders horror as Harry is drawn in to her baby prep with Vinny

Can she handle the guilt? (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) is in quite the predicament in EastEnders.

Discovering she was pregnant brought utter chaos into her life – after all, she and Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota) was only really supposed to be a cheeky New Years bunk up.

When people began to find out about the baby, she instantly clashed with her dad, Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), before finding herself on the receiving end of Vinny’s mum Suki Panesar-Unwin’s (Balvinder Sopal) vitriol.

Things got even more complicated at the first scan, though.

It turned out that Penny was actually further along in her pregnancy than she’d though, meaning Vinny, who she’d only slept with once, couldn’t possibly be the dad.

It also meant that her best friend Gina Knight’s (Francesca Henry) boyfriend Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway) is the father of her baby.

Penny and Vinny made a big decision (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

This is something that Harry’s mum Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) came dangerously close to discovering when he told his mum that he’d previously slept with Penny, while lamenting the fact that Gina had confessed that she didn’t ever want children.

Nicola demanded Penny take a DNA test, but her own premature labour bought Penny some time – time enough for her cousin, Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) to forge a set of results, which she handed over to Nicola, successfully throwing her off the scent.

For now, anyway.

Penny and Vinny attend an antenatal class… (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron) Penny is struggling with Vinny (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)

This week, Penny is in the process of setting up her shop, something a smitten Vinny has ensured happens, though he’s been worried that she’s focussing too hard on the shop preparation and not enough on the upcoming birth of the baby.

Realising that he’s concerned, Penny agrees to go along to an antenatal class with Vinny, though later in the week, she and Vinny argue again.

Penny banishes him from her shop opening before ultimately being rushed to hospital when she struggles to breathe.

Next week sees Penny’s conscience pricked after she finally decides she’s ready to accept Vinny’s support and not handle everything alone.

The only problem? Vinny enlists the help of Harry in his efforts to support Penny, leaving her utterly wracked with guilt with neither man knowing the true paternity of the baby.

How long can Penny keep the secret buried? And what’ll be the fallout when it inevitably explodes?

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