Max Branning (Jake Wood) is a man on a mission in EastEnders next week as he tries to woo Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) – and it looks like they’re well on their way to a full-blown reunion.

The former lovers have been getting close in recent weeks, with Linda having taken Max in at Peacock Palace following his return to Walford at the end of last year.

While he’s been building a relationship with their daughter Annie Carter (Lois Hawkins), Linda has also been fighting her attraction to the notorious Walford lothario.

And while passion ignites when she moves in for a kiss later this week, Linda and her mum Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) are later angered when they learn Max’s grandson Louie Beale (Jake McNally) has been bullying Linda’s son Ollie Carter (Harry Farr) and Max had known all about it.

Next Monday, the atmosphere between Max, Linda and Elaine remains frosty following this week’s developments.

However, Max tries to make amends by promising to put a stop to Ian Beale’s (Adam Woodyatt) vendetta against Elaine, which has seen him threaten to get her ‘boutique hotel’ shut down.

During a conversation with Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa), Max confesses that he’s got real feelings for Linda and wants a serious relationship with her – an admission that will no doubt spark plenty of eyerolls from his long-suffering daughter.

Determined to win the former Queen Vic landlady over, Max brings Louie over to apologise to Ollie.

Clearly touched, Linda invites him for a drink to get their co-parenting relationship back on track – but will it lead to anything more?

As we know, Linda is one of four women who were linked to Max in last month’s flash-forward episode, which was centred around his New Year’s wedding.

While the identity of his bride remains a mystery, actress Kellie Bright isn’t buying the idea it could be her character supposedly walking down the aisle with Max.

‘At the moment, where I’m at with her, I can’t imagine it,’ she recently told Radio Times. ‘But who knows what will happen this year?’