EastEnders fans are sure Vicki Fowler attacked her stepson Joel Marshall with a hammer and predict that this is the real reason she has decided to be so nice to him19:37, 03 Aug 2026Updated 19:37, 03 Aug 2026EastEnders fans think they know who whacked Joel Marshall over the head and it's not any of the teens. Since Joel (Max Murray) was attacked, the running theory both on the Square and among audiences has been that he was hit by one of the teens in revenge for sharing sexual images of Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) online. But now, fans are sure it was his own stepmother, Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) instead.‌Vicki and Joel's relationship is strained. Before he was locked up, Joel was sucked into believing red pill ideology and lashed out at Vicki, beating her to within an inch of her life, filming it and posting it online. He showed no remorse until the final moments of his trial when he finally changed his plea to guilty.‌‌When he first returned, Vicki was distraught and didn't want to be around Joel. But after he was attacked with a hammer and left lying in the street, she seemed more sympathetic towards him. Fans think they know why."I hope it was Vicki that hit joel. It’s the only way her behaviour would make sense," one fan wrote. Another agreed: "OMG that really would make sense. She's doing this all out of guilt."‌A third agreed that Vicki's behaviour had changed, pointing out that she "didn't care" about what happened to Joel as long as he was away from her, but now does: "I totally get that, she didn't care about Joel and now suddenly she does??? There must be a reason!"A fourth added: "I’m convinced Vicki did it just by her casualness with Joel. I think they both know that he knows it was her and they have some kind of understanding that she’ll let him stay if he keeps his mouth shut. Also with how guilty she looked with him in hospital too."‌Joel has been allowed to stay on the Square as Avani agreed to it. If she had said no, as she originally wanted to, he would have been out on his ear. But, Joel threatened to tell the police it was Avani who hit him.Her friend Barney Mitchell (Lewis Bridgeman) also thought Avani had done it, and took the hammer that Joel was hit with to protect her.Barney told Avani about what he did in tonight's episode, and Avani was not happy. She was angered that he thought she could've done it and stormed off.Article continues belowMeanwhile, Joel's dad Ross (Alex Walkinshaw) finally found out about what the teens did to his son. Before he was attacked, the teens had locked him to a fence with a bike lock and poured beer over him.They left him chained to the fence but when they returned, he had been unchained and they saw him lying on the floor, bleeding from his head.Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.