EastEnders' Penny and Priya make dangerous pact - here's what happens next

 They have a lot to lose.

EastEnders' Penny Branning and Priya Nandra-Hart have struck a dangerous pact as both women are keeping secrets about their pregnancies.

Penny has just welcomed a baby with Vinny Panesar, though she's been harbouring doubts about the child's paternity. Before she could share the truth with Vinny, on his 30th birthday of all days, Penny went into labour and is now keen to make things official and name their son through the Sikh ceremony of Naam Karan.

In new scenes airing this evening (17 September), Lauren Branning dropped hints with her cousin to make sure the new mum had parked her plan to be honest with Vinny.

At the market, a guilt-ridden Priya had to listen to her fiancé Ravi talking enthusiastically about becoming a dad at the same time as Vinny. Priya knows that her unborn child is not Ravi's but her boss Max Branning's, though she chose to keep the truth from both.

Unable to face their family at the Naam Karan, Priya feigned a sickness with Ravi.

Meanwhile at the hospital, Suki led the ceremony, with both sides of the family coming together to pick a name for the new addition, who was named Ethan Singh Branning-Panesar.

While Penny appeared to have put the idea to speak with Vinny behind her, Priya didn't let her forget about it.

Fans know that Priya overheard Penny and Lauren discussing the baby's paternity at the hospital. Visiting Penny in tonight's scenes, Priya didn't waste time before confronting her about Ethan's paternity.

"You can't tell him, Priya, please," Penny begged her.

She admitted to having slept with "some nobody" before she and Vinny got serious.

"And I didn't wanna tell him, I didn't wanna break his heart," Penny said, insisting she didn't want to blow the family apart before they had the chance to be happy.

Priya promised she wouldn't tell anyone, raising Penny's suspicions about why she would do her such a big favour.

Penny connected the dots, realising that Priya was carrying Max's baby. Priya initially denied it, but then was forced to spill the beans.

"Oh, this is a mess," Penny said before the two women agreed to keep each other's secret.

"We've both got a lot to lose," Penny said, as Priya reassured her: "And we ain't gonna lose any of it."

Spoilers have teased that the paternity of Priya's baby won't stay under wraps for long as Cindy Beale discovers the DNA test confirming that Max is the father.

Furious, Cindy issues an ultimatum to Priya, threatening to expose her to Ravi if she doesn't leave Walford.

ITV has released the first images of its new drama Two Birds, starring Home and Away‘s Stephen Peacocke alongside Sheridan Smith and Jacki Weaver.

Set and filmed on location in Perth and Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, the mystery crime thriller centres on Constable Izzie Cornwell (Sheridan Smith), who arrives in the remote Australian mining town of Dugdale from the UK hoping for a fresh start.

However, a disastrous misstep quickly pull her into an increasingly tight web of deceit, guilt, and rising danger as she navigates a murder investigation.

She’s soon brought her toe to toe with the fierce matriarch of notorious local crime family Mrs Baxter (Jacki Weaver) who is determined to protect her family and uncover the truth.

The series also stars Home and Away’s Stephen Peacocke as Matt.

Stephen played Darryl “Brax” Braxton between 2011 and 2016, and made a return to Summer Bay earlier this year alongside Bonnie Sveen, who plays Brax’s on-screen partner Ricky Sharpe.

Other Home and Away alumni in the new production include Matthew Pearce, who played guest character Axel Boyd, and Sarah Roberts, who played Willow Harris from 2017 until 2021.

The series is a co-production with Stan Australia, and will air in the UK on ITV and STV.

Commissioned on behalf of ITV by Director of Drama Polly Hill and Drama Commissioner Callum Dziedzic, Two Birds is produced by Chapter One in a co-production with Stan Australia and in association with ITV Studios for ITV and STV with streaming on ITVX and STV Player.

Joining the previously announced cast is Colin Friels (Water Rats, Malcolm) and Jacki Weaver, who will replace Judy Davis in the production due to scheduling conflicts as the formidable Mrs Baxter.

Other members of the ensemble cast include Fiona Button (The Split, Industry), Eva Morgan (The Gathering, This City is Ours), Harry Greenwood (Klara and The Sun, Tenzing), Nic Cassim (Mr Inbetween, The Twelve S1), Victoria Fowler (Dalliance, Bump), Lila McGuire (Goolagong, The Twelve S2), Kit Jeakings-Bull (Invisible Boys) and Matt Day (Rake, Strike).

The six part series is written by Helen FitzGerald (The Cry) and Megan Palinkas (Heartbreak High), and directed by BAFTA nominated James Griffiths (The Ballad of Wallis Island) and Corrie Chen (Good Cop/Bad Cop).

Martha Coleman (Scrublands:Silver) produced Two Birds through Third Act Stories.

Two Birds is a co-production between ITV and Stan, with major production investment from Screenwest and the Western Australian Production Attraction Incentive.

Two Birds will air on ITV and STV in the UK, but an air date hasn’t yet been announced.

Next week on Home and Away in the UK, David’s new romance continues to divide his daughters.

Next week on Home and Away in the UK, 

as Zane lashes out, has some bad advice from Marilyn undone all of his hard work? Elsewhere, David’s new romance continues to divide his daughters.

After serving ten years behind bars, Zane (Angus McColl) has begun rebuilding his life with the support of former pen pal Marilyn (Emily Symons). Yet his fresh start has also left him mindful of the lasting consequences of the crime on his victim’s family.

Zane was jailed as a teen after breaking into a house, not realising the family were home at the time. When the owner confronted him, Zane caught movement out of the corner of his eye and swung a baseball bat he’d brought with him, accidentally striking the owner’s daughter, Heidi.

Heidi sustained a serious brain injury and has never fully recovered, leaving Zane burdened by guilt over the damage he caused.

Last week, he admitted to Marilyn that he’d never apologised to his victim. Despite worrying that contact could revive painful memories for her, Zane followed Marilyn’s encouragement and sent a letter through the Restorative Justice Service.

Leah (Ada Nicodemou) strongly disagreed with the decision, prompting Justin (James Stewart) to explain to Marilyn why the subject had affected her so deeply. Hearing about Zane’s letter made Leah consider how she would feel if Theo’s killer contacted her.

As Zane waits to hear whether Heidi has received or responded to his letter, he tries to concentrate on the progress he’s making in Summer Bay. He passes the test for his learner’s licence and begins helping Mali (Kyle Shilling) at the board shop, who offers to help him learn to drive.

Yet his optimism disappears the following day when he receives a response from the Restorative Justice Service. Too frightened to open the envelope himself, Zane asks Marilyn to read it for him, only for them to discover that it contains no letter from Heidi.

instead, her family has sent a collection of medical records detailing the continuing effects of her brain injury, which remain profound.

Attached to the paperwork is a Post-it note carrying a blunt message—”We will never forgive you.”

Zane immediately shuts down and returns to work, refusing Marilyn’s attempts to discuss what he has learnt. Later, when he realises that she’s been inflating his tips, he gently asks her to stop spending her own money on him.

Marilyn takes the opportunity to raise the response from Heidi’s family again, but Zane closes the conversation down. As far as he’s concerned, he permanently ruined someone’s life and her family wants nothing to do with him.

Despite trying to keep busy, Zane can’t put the paperwork aside. Marilyn finds him searching online for the meaning of the medical terminology in the reports, which reveals more about the treatment Heidi has required.

Zane explains that a ventriculostomy involves inserting a drainage tube into the brain, while anticonvulsants are used to treat post-traumatic epilepsy. Realising that learning every detail is only deepening his anguish, Marilyn urges him to stop reading and clear his head.

As Zane walks away, Marilyn quietly notes that the documents contain contact details for Heidi’s next of kin, Austin.

Zane remains withdrawn, admitting that he can’t stop thinking about Heidi still needing surgery a decade after the attack. He believes the family’s response proves that she’ll never forgive him, but Marilyn points out that Heidi’s name wasn’t on the note and there’s no way of knowing whether she even saw his letter.

When Marilyn suggests contacting the family again, Zane immediately rejects the idea and asks to be allowed to carry on with his work.

His mood worsens that evening when he plays pool alone at the surf club. David (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) attempts to be friendly as he passes, but Zane sarcastically asks if playing pool is against his parole conditions, before sharply telling the sarge that he wants to be left alone.

The following morning, David checks on Zane again at the coffee cart and receives another hostile response.

Stunned, Marilyn reprimands Zane for the way he’s speaking to people and suggests that he take the day off, causing him to finally lose his composure.

“I did everything that you asked me to do!” he tells her. “I wrote that letter, and all it’s done is made everything worse.”

Has Marilyn’s advice undone all of Zane’s hard work so far?

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Elsewhere, David’s (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) growing romance with Amelia (Nicole da Silva) continues to divide his daughters.

When Lacey (Sophea Pennington) discovered that her dad had removed his wedding ring, it prompted her to get drunk at Salt and warn Amelia to stay away from him.

Next week, their argument continues at the Beach House, where Lacey accuses David of leaving their mother behind. Jo (Maddison Brown) supports her dad and reminds Lacey that it’s unfair to expect him to remain alone simply because she’s struggling with him moving on.

Lacey admits that she doesn’t want David to be lonely—she simply misses their mum. Jo shares her grief, but believes their mother would have wanted them to support him.

David later explains to Amelia what prompted Lacey’s outburst, and assures her that it hasn’t changed what he wants.

Although Amelia remains wary of making life harder for his daughters, David asks her to stick with him. Reassured, Amelia enters her motel address into his phone and tells him that she’s staying in room 14.

She then races back to her room and hurriedly tidies it, unsure whether David will follow.

Meanwhile, Lacey apologises to her dad, who assures her that he’ll always love her mother but makes clear that the decisions he makes about his life are his own. When she offers to take him out for dinner, David reveals that he already has plans.

Sure enough, he soon arrives outside Amelia’s room.

David hesitates to knock, but with Amelia nervously standing just the other side of the closed door, she hears him and opens the door anyway.

After she can find only one mug for them to share some wine, David decides they should forget the drink and kisses her instead, before they head over to the bed.

The pair spend a passionate night together, leaving Lacey unsettled when her dad doesn’t return home.

David turns down breakfast with Amelia the following morning so he can check on his daughters, but promises that he isn’t having second thoughts.

As Lacey wakes to realise that her dad didn’t come home the previous night, how will she react to the news he spent the night at Amelia’s?

Here are the full spoilers for next week’s Home and Away episodes in the UK:

Monday 21st September (Episode 8787)

Eden wants to go home. David and Lacey lock horns. Cash is hit hard by reality.

Tuesday 22nd September (Episode 8788)

Cash and Levi hatch a plan. Amelia and David get cosy. Eden struggles with keeping her distance.

Wednesday 23rd September (Episode 8789)

Eden asks Levi for the hard truth. Sonny steers clear of Tane. Mackenzie joins the family feast.

Thursday 24th September (Episode 8790)

Levi’s bombarded. Sonny gets a new roommate. Zane spirals.

Friday 25th September (Episode 8791)

The Fowler siblings have a visitor. Zane acts out. Cash fears for Eden’s health.

Home and away Monday 21st September 8796 Promo

Home and Away 8795 Episode 18th September 2026 Part 3/3

 

Home and Away 8794 Episode 17th September 2026 Part 2/3

 

Home and Away 8793 Episode 17th September 2026 Part 1/3