EastEnders crash horror – is Mel Owen dead?

It was a race against time on Tuesday 12th November, as Mel left Sharon and daughter-in-law Louise Mitchell's (Tilly Keeper) joint birthday party at the E20 club on a mission to beat Sharon to the airport to greet Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) stepping off a plane.

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As revenge for the Mitchells' part in her son Hunter's death, mad Mel planned to tell Phil the baby his wife is carrying is not his, but future son-in-law Keanu's, who has also got Lou pregnant.

It was a tense battle of the blondes on the motorway as Mel and Sharon raced alongside each other. Erratic Mel (not really paying attention to the road, it has to be said) called lackey Billy Mitchell back at the club and ordered to be put on loudspeaker so the guests could hear a little announcement - anxious Keanu then rang Sharon from E20 as they realised, to their joint horror, Mel was about to blab…

What caused Mel and Sharon's car crash?

Then fate intervened - just as Mel had everyone's attention and started menacingly wittering on about 'home truths', she failed to swerve in time to avoid a broken down car up ahead and smashed into the back of it, flipping over in the air and crashing, almost causing a pile-up (told you her eyes weren't on the road…)

Driving behind, stunned Sharon narrowly avoided the carnage and screeched to safety as she observed the carnage of Mel's smashed motor upside down in the middle of the road, while the partygoers feared the worst as Mrs Owen's call was cut short to the sound of crunching metal and beeping horns…

Mel's fate was unconfirmed as the episode ended, but speculation will now be rife that the character has been killed off - Outhwaite's departure was confirmed months ago and her final scenes were shot in September, but the show has not confirmed how her alter ego would be written out, and the crash itself came as a surprise to viewers.

The action picks up on Thursday 14th November when we'll find out if Mel survived - or if her obsession with avenging Hunter has caused her own death. Does this also mean an oblivious Phil is waiting in the arrivals lounge for someone to collect him…?

And it's surely no coincidence that Mel and Sharon's car chase stunt mirrors the unforgettable demise of Mel's late husband Steve Owen in 2002, who perished in a car crash en route to the airport having kidnapped baby Louise, with Phil in hot pursuit. Will history repeat itself with the wives taking centre stage this time?

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