EastEnders: Heartbreak for Shirley
Heartbreaking scenes lie ahead as Shirley Carter is left devastated by the death of her best friend Heather Trott.
As first reported some time ago, Heather meets a tragic end later this month as Ben Mitchell kills her during a furious showdown at her flat.
The drama begins when DCI Marsden is given cause to question Ben’s statement regarding Stella’s death, which leads to the troubled teen being charged with perverting the course of justice. Phil’s release is then immediately ordered as the case against him has fallen apart.
As Ben wonders who informed Marsden of his deceit, Heather is at the top of his suspect list – so he storms round to her flat to furiously confront her. Jay soon arrives to calm things, but the situation escalates as Ben starts ransacking Heather’s home – looking for the money that Dot gave to her so that he can use it to run away before Phil arrives back.
When Heather tries to stop Ben, he lashes out in a moment of fear and desperation – grabbing a picture frame and hitting her hard over the back of the head with it. As Heather falls backwards, she hits her head on the kitchen worktop – and Ben and Jay are horrified to see that she is dead.
![Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) comforts Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) over Heather's death](http://i1.cdnds.net/12/10/618x914/soaps_eastenders_soap_blog_1103_1.jpg)
A sickened Phil (Steve McFadden) later helps Ben to cover up the crime, faking a burglary at Heather’s flat, destroying evidence and leaving the scene.
Later, when Shirley (Linda Henry) finds Heather dead at the flat, she’s distraught – and it’s Phil who’s left to comfort her, feeling torn by what he knows. Can Phil, Jay and Ben maintain their momentous lie?
EastEnders airs these scenes on Wednesday, March 21 at 7.30pm on BBC One.