Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) has quit her job on the Bridge Street Market – and a new job offer has being handed straight to her.
Earlier this week, she excitedly told Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth) that her boss, chief market inspector Mr Lister (Nick Wilton) was retiring after many years overseeing the traders, and she was eyeing up his position.
He’d basically promised that she’d be his successor, and Honey was thrilled at the prospect of becoming top dog.
However, in today’s episode, Lister dropped a huge bombshell during their meeting.
Who is Mr Lister in EastEnders?
Mr Lister – who has appeared in 61 episodes across several stints since 2008 – is often seen ensuring the locals have a market license, disciplining the traders and being a general nuisance.
He famously clashed with Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) on a number of occasions, and more recently, developed somewhat of an inappropriate affection for Honey.
Over lunch, he asked if she was single, before asking her to consider whether the love of her life was closer than she imagined.
He even said she could drop the formalities and start calling him Bob!
At the time, she’d just split up from Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick), and he tried to suggest that she’d be better off with an older man. Luckily, Finlay Baker (Ashley Byam) came to her rescue, stepping in to announce that they were a couple.
Last year, amid Junior Knight’s (Micah Balfour) plans to redevelop the market, he announced his intentions to retire. He wouldn’t even support the residents campaign to save the institution.
However, the late Martin Fowler (James Bye) convinced him to stay in post and help fight.
Has Honey Mitchell replaced Mr Lister?
Honey was preparing for a meeting with Lister when she bumped into Zack Hudson (James Farrar) in the Minute Mart.
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He was intrigued to hear that the inspector was moving on, and that Honey’s job would be on the market (see what I did there?)
In the cafe, Mr Lister brushed around the subject, only for Honey to ask him outright when he was retiring.
Lister explained that he isn’t in a position to retire – if ever – because a family member named Keith has invested his money.
His advice was to never trust a man named Keith. Noted.
Honey was beyond miffed, and while ranting to husband Billy (Perry Fenwick), expressed concern that the reason she hasn’t been eyed up as a replacement is because she’s a woman.
Mr Lister arrived and said he’d promised his job to someone from the rival Canal Street Market, when or if that might be.
Enraged, Honey then quit her job on the spot, with Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota) swooping in to ask when she can start working at the shop. He even threw in an extra £2 per hour, and agreed she could have a week off before she started.