EastEnders newcomer Johnny Carter will pretend to be romantically interested in Whitney Dean when he joins Walford.

Johnny, played by Sam Strike, pursues Whitney as he doesn't want his family to find out that he is gay.

Viewers will see Johnny move into the Queen Vic with his parents Mick (Danny Dyer) and Linda (Kellie Bright) next week, as they take over the pub following Phil Mitchell's decision to put it on sale.

When Johnny first meets Whitney (Shona McGarty) they have a shaky start, but it's not long before they begin to hit it off - and the Carter clan are pleased that he already seems to be a hit with the ladies.

Whitney and Johnny hit it off.
© BBC
Whitney meets Johnny

Johnny watches as Whitney walks away.
© BBC
Whitney and Johnny have a shaky start

Johnny and Whitney talk in the Laundrette
© BBC
Johnny and Whitney start to hit it off

Shirley (Linda Henry) is first to discover that everything isn't as it seems when she spots a drunken Johnny kissing Danny Pennant (Gary Lucy).

Johnny feels sheepish about the kiss over the following days, and when Danny starts to tease him about their passionate encounter, Johnny continues to pretend that Whitney is the Walford resident he's interested in.

Shirley is concerned that Johnny seems to be stringing Whitney along, but it's his sister Nancy who throws a spanner in the works when she joins her family on Albert Square.

Already in a bad mood after Mick kidnapped her from her own wedding, Nancy reveals the truth about Johnny during a family argument at the Queen Vic, having known his secret for some time.

Losing patience with mum Linda, spiteful Nancy claims that she knows nothing about her children and Johnny is gay.

Although Nancy later regrets dropping the bombshell and tries to take it back by claiming that she was lying, Johnny is given food for thought when Nancy and Shirley both advise him to just be honest.

When Mick assures Johnny that he would love him whether he was gay or not, will Johnny reveal the truth to his dad?

EastEnders airs these scenes on Monday, December 30, Thursday, January 2 and Friday, January 3 on BBC One.


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