EastEnders fans were left speechless at a blunder Linda and Mick Carter made to Frankie Lewis during the latest instalment of the BBC soap.
The former flames, played by Kellie Bright and Danny Dyer, have been desperate to find evidence to prevent Linda landing behind bars for a drunk driving charge – when Janine Butcher was actually driving the car with baby Annie inside.
The storyline continued on Tuesday evening, when Linda started to piece together what happened that night, with Mick helping her along the way as they poured over her phone bill for that day.
Janine was left panicking when she discovered that Linda made a 40 second call to the Vic – but they didn't yet know Janine answered.
She said: “It was me, it wasn’t Shirley and it certainly wasn’t Tracy – no-one ever rings her. Sorry, you know what I mean, it’s Tracy, isn’t it?”
However Linda then asked Frankie if she had picked up the phone, saying: “Frankie, day of the crash, did I speak to you on the phone?”
Mick added: “She rang the Vic, did you answer it?” But a bemused Frankie, who is a deaf character on the BBC soap, then pointed out the obvious, saying: “I wouldn’t hear it.”
EastEnders viewers took to Twitter in the moments after the blunder aired on the BBC soap, with one speechless fan writing: “We appreciate that the Carter's are desperately grasping at straws but did they really just ask Frankie if she 'heard the phone'?!”
Another added: “Made me giggle,” as a fellow soap watched chipped in: “It was so funny.”
This comes after actress Rose Ayling-Ellis announced she is set to depart her role as Frankie in EastEnders later this year, after first joining the show back in 2020.
The 27-year-old is the first deaf actor to play a regular deaf character on the BBC soap and has been part of a number of big storylines, including the discovery that she is Mick’s daughter after he was abused as a child.
BBC soap bosses have confirmed that Rose will bow out of Walford in a storyline set to air this autumn, which she has already filmed her final scenes for.
Speaking of leaving, Rose said: “It’s been incredibly special to be EastEnders’ first regular deaf actor.
"I have loved my time on the show and Frankie has been such an awesome character to play, however now feels like the right time for me to move on and I am excited and ready for new challenges.
"I will always treasure my time on the show and all the incredible people I have worked with, who have supported my growth as an actor these last two years and given me so many amazing memories.
"I am excited for viewers to see Frankie’s exit storyline; I think it’s a really important one that will hit home for lots of people.”
