COPPING OUT
EastEnders viewers all have the same complaint as Jack Branning issues stern warning to pregnant teen Lily Slater
JACK Branning is not ready for his son Ricky Mitchell to step up as a father for Lily Slater's child.
But EastEnders viewers deemed he went too far after he seemingly bullied the girl into going over her life choices.
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Despite her adoptive father Martin Fowler's wishes, Lily Slater (portrayed by Lillia Turner) is adamant on being a mother to her unborn child.
And in a shocking turn of events, Ricky Mitchell (Frankie Day) is just as willing to support her throughout motherhood, much like her mother, Stacey.
However, and similarly to market trader Martin, Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) is furious to know his son could be putting his whole future in jeopardy because of Lily's pregnancy.
During last night's trip to Albert Square, the copper bumped into Lily, worryingly staring down at her phone.
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After finding out she was skipping school due to news of her pregnancy spreading in Walford, Jack was keen to push Lily to change her mind about her baby.
He started off by giving the twelve-year-old a stern reality check, warning her that her life "won't be easy."
"This ain't right, you should probably get used to it. It seems to me a lot of people are sugar-coating things for you. It won't be easy, but you're telling me you're a grown up, that you're ready to be a mum. You can't let any of this bother you", Jack first said.
This led to him giving her a small glimpse into the life of a teen mum.
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"Teenage mums get a lot of stick and it gets even worse when the baby comes. It's not right, but it's reality. The world isn't set up that way. It's why teenage mums drop out of school. Getting a decent job becomes even more impossible."
Panicked, Lily questioned Jack about what he meant but he swiftly left her to her thoughts before answering any of her questions.
BBC One viewers were unimpressed by his behaviour, which was compared to emotional manipulation over on Twitter.
"Jack is literally emotionally manipulating Lily", one of them penned.
Another seemed to agree and admitted Jack seemed to be bullying the girl: "Does he know how patronising that sounds? He really is bullying Lily here."
"This is literally stereotyping from Jack though", a third fan complained.
One soap fan argued: "Jack was right about what he said to lily in a certain way but it also wasn’t his place and now she’s just going to be petrified and confused even more and that’s not how to do it."
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Jack's downward spiral clearly continues this week but how far will he go to stop Ricky from being a father to Lily's baby?
As viewers will also remember, Jack's inner turmoil actually all began before Lily was ever said to be pregnant.
In recent months, Jack has had to keep a close eye on his daughter Amy as she suffered through a heart-breaking self-harming ordeal.
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But his family issues are slowly having an impact on his marriage with Denise Fox and another resident could be making the most of it.
EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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