On Monday, Whitney’s shocked as a frightened Debra barges past her into Pat’s house – she’s being chased by a man. Debra rushes round bolting all the doors in order to barricade herself inside. The hooded figure persists though and begins smashing through the door, prompting Whitney and Debra to hide under the stairs.

Unable to find anyone inside, the mystery man tidies the house, replaces all the furniture which Debra moved and leaves. Concerned for her mum, Whitney demands to know who she’s running away from, but she’s reluctant to say anything. Whitney goes on to ask what the key that she left in the envelope is for and Debra’s furious that she opened the package when she specifically asked her not to.

Debra then reveals that she met a guy and caught him stealing her money. When confronted, Debra claims that he hit her in the face before he ran off. She goes on to reveal that as he left, she stole the key from him. Whitney’s sympathetic to her mother’s cause and agrees to help her return the man’s property. Later, they turn up at a derelict school. Debra grabs the key off Whitney, opens a locker and takes out a bag which she claims contains the man’s mother’s jewellery. Back on the Square, Bianca’s unhappy to discover that Debra’s back while Whitney comes face to face with the man who’s been following her for the past few months…

Meanwhile, Stacey’s still obsessed with identifying Max’s new woman. Max receives a call from Stacey and tells Tanya the truth about who the caller was – she’s secretly pleased. As Jean wanders into the Slaters’ kitchen, Stacey asks her mum outright about who she thinks Max is sleeping with, before bolting out. On her return, she excitedly unpacks a hoard of merchandise for her stall – she’s reinvested all of her takings. Stacey begins to lose patience when Jean won’t accept a necklace from her so Jean soon relents, but Stacey’s mind is again consumed with thoughts of Max. Concerned for her daughter, Jean calls Dr Al.

At the Brannings’, Max and Tanya’s attempt at putting together a dressing table is put to one side when things heat up between them. Across the Square however, Stacey tells Jean that she’s going to see Tanya to let her know that she’s getting back with Max. When Tanya opens the front door, Stacey thrusts a CD at her for baby Oscar but Tanya can see how much of a fragile state she’s in and tries to dissuade her from walking into the house. Stacey, however, barges through to the lounge.

Stacey’s mood changes when she finds Max in the living room and she proceeds to tell him exactly what she thinks of him. Tanya demands that Stacey leave, but Stacey continues to rant. On hearing Lauren and Abi return home, Tanya tries to drag Stacey out of the back door, however, as Stacey tries to free herself, Tanya loses her grip and Stacey falls and cracks her head on the floor…

On Tuesday, Whitney stands staring at the man who’s been shadowing her around Walford for the last few months. She’s a little taken aback that her mother Debra knows him, revealing his name is Ryan. Debra insists that she used to work with him and maintains that he’s dangerous and shouldn’t be trusted. Whitney, however, jumps to his defence, recalling his heroic actions when the café exploded. A vicious row between Debra and Ryan breaks out over what’s best for Whitney and when Ryan pushes Debra, Whitney jumps to her mother’s defence. At that moment, Ryan exclaims, “She’s my mother too!”

Whitney’s stunned by Ryan’s revelation and is bewildered when Debra admits that Ryan is actually her son. However, she insists that she has nothing to do with him any more as he’s dangerous and has been involved with the wrong crowds. Ryan, meanwhile, explains that he wanted to get to know his half-sister a little better before revealing his connection to her. Eager to hammer her point home, Debra reveals that she has a knife of Ryan’s in her possession as he used it in a fight and needed somebody to hide it. Ryan protests that he simply used it in self-defence but now needs to destroy the evidence that could potentially be used against him in the future. As Debra and Ryan argue, Whitney’s torn between her mum and half-brother.

Meanwhile, Stacey’s sprawled on the floor with blood pouring from her head and as she stares upwards, she sees the Brannings looking back at her. As Lauren and Abi are sent to their rooms, Jean rushes in to find Stacey in a state. Max offers to take her to the hospital to get checked over and while he’s there, he apologises for all the heartache that he’s caused in the past. Emotionless, Stacey becomes agitated with waiting to be seen by a nurse. Jean insists that Stacey stay to have stitches and becoming unsettled herself, Jean tells a nurse that she suffers from bipolar and is concerned that Stacey’s suffering, too.

Stacey reluctantly agrees to talk with hospital psychiatrist Dr Simmonds, who manages to coax Stacey into chatting about her rollercoaster year. Eventually, Stacey admits her biggest fear; that she’s suffering with bipolar disorder, just like her mother. With the facts in-hand, Dr Simmonds suggests that Stacey be admitted to hospital for a few nights so she can be stabilised on a course of medication. Max returns home to his family and while Abi excitedly believes everything’s about to return to normal, Lauren has reservations…

On Thursday, while everyone’s asleep, Whitney finds Debra’s bag containing the knife under the stairs and takes a peek inside. At that moment, there’s a knock at the door but Bianca’s furious that the deliveryman had the wrong house. Finding Debra waiting by the window in the living room, Bianca asks her to leave. Concerned for her own safety, Debra tells Whitney that if she goes outside and Ryan finds her, she’s as good as dead so Whitney agrees to talk Bianca into letting her stay. Later, as Debra surveys the scene outside, Bianca accuses her of being a bad mother. Not wanting to argue, Debra’s about to leave just as Ryan walks through the door.

Bianca’s confused and asks Debra and Ryan to get out of the house, but Whitney reveals that Ryan’s her half-brother. Ryan begins searching through the house for his knife while Debra pleads ignorance as to its whereabouts. On hearing the mayhem in the kitchen, Bianca storms in and attempts to drag Debra out of the house, but Whitney convinces her that she’ll sort it. Later, in the café, Whitney reveals to Ryan and Debra that she’s hidden the knife and won’t hand it over until they sort their problems. As mother and son continue to argue, Whitney runs out. They try to convince her that they both care, but talk soon returns to the knife.

Back at the house, Bianca asks for a quiet word with Debra and Ryan and quickly accuses Debra of being a bad mother. Ryan tells her that once he has what he came for, he’ll leave. Whitney hears their discussion from behind the door before retrieving the knife and running out with it. Bianca, Debra and Ryan look for Whitney, but there’s no sign of her. As Debra does another runner from the Square, Whitney turns up at the canal and fills the bag containing the knife with stones and drops it into the water below…

Meanwhile, Jean confesses to Charlie and Big Mo that Stacey’s showing clear signs of bipolar disorder, insisting that it’s like “looking into a mirror”. Later, with loud music playing, Jean finds Stacey frantically dancing. Jean eventually calms her down while Stacey resolves to start selling flowers. After a ruckus on the flower stall, Jean drags Stacey back to the house where they argue about her condition. Stacey maintains that there’s nothing wrong with her and with that, Jean starts pouring her own medication down the sink. Stacey orders her mum to stop while Jean asks Stacey to call the doctor. Asserting that she’s fine, Stacey allows Jean to make the call to keep her quiet.

Elsewhere, Abi and Lauren decide to make Max’s plans for a special afternoon with them all the more difficult. The day results in Max being taken to hospital as he gets his finger stuck in a bowling ball.

On Friday, Debra sees Ryan on the Square and reminds him that it won’t be long before the police track him down. When Whitney turns up, Debra immediately grabs her bag and searches for the knife, but Whitney stuns them both by saying she’s thrown it away so that they can be a family. Debra’s fuming and rushes back to Pat’s house to gather her things. As Debra tries to leave, Whitney tells her mum about Tony’s upcoming trial and begs her to stay. While Whitney’s out at the shops, Ryan calls Debra an unfit mother and suggests that she leave him and Whitney alone. Whitney returns from the shop laden with bags to hear the news from Ryan that Debra’s disappeared.

After a trip to the chippy, Whitney starts asking Ryan about his past but he only reveals that his father was an alcoholic who is now dead. While walking through the Square, Ronnie catches Ryan’s eye and he soon learns from his half-sister that she owns R&R. Back at the house, Whitney offers Ryan a cup of tea and catches him trying to leave. He claims that she’ll be better off without him and promptly walks out of the door leaving Whitney alone and distraught. Outside, Ryan accidentally-on-purpose bumps into Ronnie and there’s an instant connection between them. Over at Pat’s, the bell rings and Whitney opens the front door to Ryan. Bianca says, “It looks like your brother changed his mind…”

Meanwhile, Jean tells Stacey that she really needs to see a doctor about her condition and an emotional Stacey reluctantly agrees. While speaking with the doctor, Stacey admits that her mind continuously races throughout the day and recounts stories of excessive spending and sex with strangers in public places. With that, the doctor suggests that she have a full sexual health check. Back at home, Jean gives Stacey a bath and she reassures her worried daughter that with the right medication, everything will be fine. Later, Jean gives Stacey her first dose.

Elsewhere, Lauren and Abi reveal to their parents that they were milking the situation for all it was worth and Abi urges Max to move back in. After a chat with Lauren, Tanya goes to Dot’s, hands Max a key and asks him to move back into the family home.