EastEnders womaniser Max Branning will embark on another surprising relationship next month as he charms the detective who is investigating Lucy Beale's murder, Digital Spy can confirm.
DC Emma Summerhayes, played by Anna Acton, will find herself succumbing to Max's advances as they grow closer in upcoming episodes.
Viewers will see Summerhayes start to spend more time with Max early next month after the Lucy murder inquiry takes some new twists.
Summerhayes initially deals with Max in a professional capacity, but they end up striking up a bond and head to bed together one evening.
An EastEnders insider told Digital Spy: "Once again Max is beginning a relationship that could have big repercussions on Albert Square.
"Summerhayes is potentially jeopardising her career by getting romantically involved with Max, as his fling with Lucy makes him a possible suspect in the murder case. Max is also playihttp://i1.cdnds.net/14/18/618x428/so...ers-4854-8.jpgng with fire by risking further upset with the Beales.
"But despite the forbidden nature of the relationship, there's clear chemistry between the new couple and fans will have to wait and see whether Max has met his match. Could Summerhayes be the one to tame him?"
Denise comforts Ian after the police update him on Lucy's murder.
© BBC
Summerhayes with Ian and Denise
Acton made her first appearance on EastEnders a month ago as Summerhayes was one of the two detectives who broke the news to Ian that Lucy was dead.
The show newcomer will feature more prominently on screen as her relationship with Max begins in June.
EastEnders' executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins had previously told fans that the detectives in the Lucy plot would feature in their own storylines.
He said last month: "We don't want the police to come across as incompetent soap police. If the police were really good, we'd have no story to tell and there'd be nothing to watch, but as time goes on, some of the police are changed and some people are taken off the case.
"We also try to characterise each police officer, so they're not just generic fact-givers. They're all characters in their own right and they've got loads of stories running through as well."
