CHAS HAS NO FAITH IN MOTHER

THIS is the first picture of Shirley Carter behind bars after taking the rap for her son Mick.

Landlord Mick was furious when he discovered that evil Aunt Babe had been selling booze illegally.

Mick was arrested and fined £20,000 but with son Lee’s debts, repairs to the Queen Vic and his mother-in-law’s care bills following her stroke in Spain, he was unable to pay. Having resigned himself to a stint in jail, Mick appeared in court during Thursday night’s episode.

But it was his mum Shirley who took the blame for Babe’s dodgy dealings.

As our picture shows, she gets a less than warm welcome from her new cellmate.

The scenes are a far cry from “Faith has been desperate to make it up to her two kids – Cain and Chas – ever since she returned to the village last month after spending 13 years out of their lives.

“She does a great job of turning things around at the pub and loves being the centre of attention. Everyone is having a knees-up to celebrate St Patrick’s Day when Chas walks in. The last person she wants running things is her mum.”

Fans of the ITV soap can watch all the drama on Friday. actress Linda Henry’s days in cult ITV prison drama Bad Girls where she played top dog Yvonne Atkins. An EastEnders insider told us: “Shirley couldn’t stand back and let Mick go to prison over this, so she stood up and took the blame for him.

“She couldn’t be a mum to Mick when he was young, so this is her way of showing him that she’s always there for him.

“But she will struggle to adapt to life behind bars.”

The reality hits her when her cellmate turns out to be a nasty piece of work. But our source said: “Shirley is tough and will do everything she can to cope with the situation because she’s doing it for Mick.”

You can watch her prison ordeal on Tuesday on BBC One.