Grieving Max collared

Carla gives her toyboy lover the green light to

MICK Carter grabs grieving Max Branning and spells out why he is not welcome at Abi’s funeral. During Tuesday night’s episode viewers will see Max hit the bottle as he desperately tries to find out details of the send-off after being kept in the dark by his other daughter, Lauren.

As Max goes to get in his car, Mick sees what’s going on and throws the keys out of Max’s reach to stop him driving.

Max then kicks off and Mick – who nearly lost the Queen Vic pub because of his scheming – can’t resist giving him a piece of his mind.

In moving scenes last month the Branning family were briefly united when they switched off Abi’s life-support machine after doctors pronounced her brain-dead.

But when it comes to Abi’s funeral his ex-wife Tanya and eldest daughter Lauren don’t want Max there – leaving him in bits.

His brother Jack tries his best to smooth things over but he understands why the family want a small private funeral without Max.

An EastEnders insider said: “Lauren and Tanya both blame him for Abi’s death.

“He spent most of last year scheming against everyone around him before ending up on the roof of the Queen Vic on Christmas Day.

“His daughters both rushed up on to the roof to talk him down before a gust of wind led to them both falling to the ground.

“Lauren survived but she blames her dad for Abi’s death.

“And as she prepares to lay her sister to rest she doesn’t want him anywhere near the service.

“Whether Mick can convince him to stay calm remains to be seen.”

Viewers of the BBC One soap will be able to watch all the drama between Mick and Max this Tuesday.