EastEnders viewers get their first sight of Les Coker as Christine

Scenes just broadcast on the BBC1 soap saw the Cokers' grandson Paul witness Les in his female mode, with the showdown proving to be too much for Pam, who walked out on her marriage.

Speaking about what lies ahead for the Cokers in the wake of this latest drama, actor Roger Sloman - who plays Les - said this week to RadioTimes.com: "The way I see it is that there isn’t a relationship out there that doesn’t have its difficult areas, but this is going to be a huge challenge to theirs.

"If you marry somebody of a certain gender and then they announce that they like to dress up in the opposite gender, then that is a huge thing to try and accommodate."

As to weather the Cokers will reconcile following Pam's decision to flee the family home this evening, Sloman added: "It’s a bumpy road that they’re on. And it’s not going to be easy, I can say that much."

Lin Blakley, who plays Pam, added to RT: "I didn't see Roger as Christine before we shot that moment. As the audience sees it, that's when I saw it for the first time.

"Roger actually knew about the storyline ten days before I did. Our executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told him not to tell me because he wanted to do it.

"But how are the Cokers going to get through this? A secret that Les has had for decades! How could anyone do it? But it does happen more than you might think. And, I have to say, the scripts and dialogue have been so beautiful for these episodes."

You can watch a 60-second rundown of next week's episodes of EastEnders below.

And visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.