EastEnders reveals first look at Phil attack aftermath as Ben arrives on the scene

After much hype and speculation as to who would lash out at the Mitchell hard man and leave him for dead, Stace was confirmed as the surprise culprit on Tuesday 30th July when she interrupted Phil beating her husband Martin Fowler (James Bye) who had come to the rescue of Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) after she clashed with the bald-headed bloke over the money she stole from him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KukNewjsD-g&list=PLbs-Pk9dtKb_AHidLDNHpYffZ9LS2A6CR

Resourceful Stacey whacked Phil over the back of the bonce with a spanner, sending him falling to the bottom of the Arches pit where he lay unconscious as the doof-doofs sounded for the end of the episode.

The next instalment picks up directly after the assault, with Stacey, Martin and Kat all in total shock following the fight and subsequent clobbering. Ben then arrives at the garage and is stunned at what he finds - but how will he react when he discovers what's happened?

Will Kat or Martin try to take the blame for their relative? Ben's beef with his father for cutting him out of the will means there's no love lost between father and soon - could he choose to conspire with the trio and do a runner hoping Phil rots? Or is the all-important code of protecting the faaaaaamily set to spark a blackmail plot for ruthless Ben to the others for what they've done to his dad?

Phil is rushed to hospital and in the coming week arrests are made and truths emerge… With Lacey Turner set to go on maternity leave soon (the actress and husband Matt Kay recently welcomed a baby girl, Dusty Violet) Phil's attack looks set to be the beginning of something big for the Mitchell and the Slater clans. But it all hinges on what Ben does in these all-important moments…