Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) is at the centre of a new mystery in EastEnders this week, as her cagey behaviour raises suspicions.

Upcoming episodes see the teenager hanging out with Barney Mitchell (Lewis Bridgeman), having formed somewhat of an unlikely friendship with the bookish newcomer.

As they spend time together, Barney is fed up when Avani ignores him to focus on texting someone, and he asks who she is messaging.

Correctly guessing it is a boy, Avani then snaps at him and tells him to shut up.

However, it is clear that Barney has touched a nerve – just what is Avani hiding, and should her contact with this mystery man be cause for concern for her friends and family?

Fans of the BBC soap have previously seen Avani used by her duplicitous grandfather Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) to do some of his dirty work – often not realising the consequences for her family, who dying Nish is desperate to wreak revenge on. 

Nish previously got Avani to track down a former flame of ex-wife Suki Panesar’s (Balvinder Sopal) in an attempt to sabotage her blossoming romance with Eve Unwin (Heather Peace). 

Could Nish have something to do with Avani’s behaviour?

EastEnders airs these scenes on Thursday 12 September at 7.30pm on BBC One and from 6am on iPlayer.