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EastEnders: 17/05/2016

eastenders_ross-kemp-barbara-windsor-paul-mcfadden_170516_rob-francis.jpg

17/05/2016

BBC One - EastEnders, 17/05/2016

Albert Square changes forever as Peggy takes her last breath.

Albert Square changes forever as Peggy takes her last breath, but not without a nod to the past that is truly fitting for one of EastEnders' best-loved matriarchs.

Peggy asks Phil to set another place at the table for Grant. Grant wants Peggy to return to Portugal with him. Phil encourages Peggy to tell Grant about her cancer. Grant jumps into action asking what treatment she is receiving but she snaps; she doesn’t want any. She was going to write letters to him and Sam explaining everything. Grant is hurt and leaves; overwhelmed by all this information. He bumps into Sharon on the Square and goes with her to Ronnie’s. 



They talk about Peggy and Sharon tells Grant that Phil has cirrhosis. Grant feels no sympathy for him and Sharon places a hand on his cheek pleading with him to care. There is electricity between them. At No.55, Phil pleads with Peggy to tell Grant about her plan. Instead she decides to go to the Vic and toast Stacey and Martin’s wedding. Phil cannot deal with the ease with which she talks about taking her own life and goes to the Arches. He sits in the dark and can hear children with their mother playing on the swings outside. 



Peggy heads towards the Vic and is struck with a sudden pain. Once it subsides she carries on walking. The sound of the karaoke can be heard from the Square. She takes a deep breath and enters. She approaches the bar where Shirley greets her. She orders champagne and enough glasses for everyone. At Ronnie’s, Sharon sees Grant to the door and he admits he regrets how things panned out between them. He kisses her on the cheek and the sexual tension is palpable. Grant returns to Phil’s. Phil gets agitated by Grant’s sudden appearance on the Square and they fight. Grant hits Phil in the stomach and states that he knows about Phil’s cirrhosis. He asks Phil where his money is; the money Phil lent to Kathy. Grant needs it and is in trouble. Phil tells Grant what Peggy is intending to do. 



Meanwhile, Peggy goes into the Vic toilets to take a pill and Whitney enters. Whitney is taken aback when Peggy asks her twice whether Martin and Stacey have arrived. Peggy can smell cigarette smoke. As Peggy returns to the bar she is confronted by her sons. Mick allows her to take them to the barrel store to talk. She is hurt that they won’t support her decision. Grant promises to be there for her once he is back from Portugal. They are interrupted by Tracey who needs to change a barrel. They leave and Peggy stays in the Vic hallway for a moment. Linda comes out with a crate of champagne glasses and Peggy asks her to make the ‘champagne toast’ to Stacey and Martin on her behalf. That particular toast is Elaine’s favourite. Peggy smells cigarette smoke again and Linda assumes it is Shirley. 



Once alone Peggy says a fond farewell to the pub. She heads outside and walks home with her sons. They tell her they have settled their differences. Once home she heads to bed and Grant pointedly asks her to give Phil her pills. Grant hugs her and says goodbye before heading to the Vic with Phil before his flight home. Peggy removes the clips from her hair and wipes the last of her makeup away. She goes down to the kitchen to get a glass of water. A voice asks her if she’s ok but she’s frightened. She hears something on the Square and steps outside. She focuses on a blackbird singing in a tree. Sharon spots her and offers to walk her home. Peggy warmly tells Sharon she has grown fond of her and makes her way back inside. 



She notices smoke coming from the staircase. The ghost of Pat Butcher is sat there in her finery beaming at her; fag in hand. Peggy asks her to move over so she can get upstairs. In the Vic, Grant makes it clear to Phil that despite what they told Peggy things haven’t changed between them. Phil isn’t fazed when Grant threatens him. Grant grabs his bag and leaves. Meanwhile, Peggy sits at her dressing table having done her hair and applies the finishing touches to her makeup. Pat’s ghost sits watching her. They reminisce and Peggy opens the window the way her Granny used to; to let her soul fly out. Peggy talks to Pat about her decision and takes comfort in her friend being with her. Pat promises not to leave her side. In Peggy’s final moments a clock ticks as we see a letter left for Phil on the dressing table. The clock stops ticking…



Martin breaks through the door to No. 5 as Kyle, Belinda, Kush and Stacey help move the toilets back into the flat.

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