EastEnders star Thomas Law, who portrays new dad Peter Beale on the hit soap, revealed that his character is finding it tough to come to terms with his son's diagnosis, admitting that "emotions are running high".
New parents Lauren Branning (played by Jacqueline Jossa) and her fiancé (Thomas Law) are heartbroken after learning that their baby son, Jimmy, is partially sighted.
As they come to terms with the diagnosis, the strain on their relationship deepens, especially with Lauren's ongoing battle with addiction creating further distance between them.
Asked how Peter is coping following Jimmy's diagnosis, Law said what his character is going through "would be difficult for anyone to handle".
"Peter is finding it very hard to get past the fact that Lauren was taking drugs while she was pregnant with Jimmy, and he can’t help but blame her for this – even though there is absolutely no proof," he said.
Discussing the impact the situation is having on Peter and Lauren's relationship, he explained how "it's really stressful for them both".
"Tempers and emotions are running high! There’s a lot of water under the bridge between them after so many years of being together, but Peter is just so angry with Lauren right now that he can’t hide it," he said.
Law admitted he's unsure whether the on-screen couple will have the strength to stay together, saying, "It’s such a difficult situation."
"It would take a lot of compromising from both of them," he said. "Lauren would need to forgive Peter for what he said to her during their row and Peter needs to stop blaming Lauren for what’s happened. What’s sad is that they really need each other and if they stuck together, it would be worth it because they’ve been through so much. All Peter wants is a simple, happy family life with Lauren but who knows if that’ll ever happen!"
EastEnders airs on RTÉ One and BBC One Monday to Thursday.
