EastEnders spoilers: Is Shabnam going to leave Walford – and husband Kush?

After a heart wrenching few months, next week Shabnam Kazemi will decide to leave husband Kush behind and flee to Pakistan.

EastEnders viewers will know Shabnam has been struggling to come to terms with their son Zaair’s stillbirth – before finding out Kush had fathered best friend Stacey Branning’s son Arthur.

Next week Shabnam tells Kush to take responsibility and be there for his son, but drops the bomb that she cannot stick around while he does that.

Actress Rakhee Thakrar, who plays her, told Radio Times: “This is a classic Shabnam reflex. She’s been pushed to the edge and she can only jump or run.

“And she wants to get as far away from this mess as she can. However, who knows if she’ll give in to this impulse? She’s grown a lot in the past year and I’d like to think she has a bit more fight left in her.”

Despite the betrayal she undoubtedly feels, Shabnam still loves Kush – but she doesn’t want to be the reason he ignores his duties as a father to Arthur.

Rakhee continued: “When you truly love someone, you do what’s right for them, even if they don’t know it at the time. Shabnam needs to make something right in her life.”

Following her tragedy with Zaair, Shabnam became obsessed with winning custody of daughter Jade, the result of a one night stand with Dean Wicks.

With Jade now living with Shirley Carter, Shabnam’s dad Masood warns her not to walk out of her daughter’s life again.

Because of this, Rakhee thinks Shabnam may be tempted to stay in Walford. She added: “When Zaair died, she was faced with a harsh reality that we tend to avoid a lot of the time: things can go wrong at any moment. So her main priority is always to ask Jade what she needs. She loves seeing her around, even if it’s from afar.”