EastEnders' Phil to bed Tanya

EastEnders' Tanya Cross will sleep with Phil Mitchell.

The Walford matriarch, played by Jo Joyner, will find herself in bed with an unlikely lover next week as she tries to make ex-husband Max Branning (Jake Wood) jealous.

Tanya recently ended her relationship with Max after discovering he was secretly married to another woman, and with her on/off spouse now giving his relationship with wife Kirsty (Kierston Wareing) another chance, Tanya flaunts a fictitious mystery man in his face

However, when she can't introduce her new lover, Phil (Steve McFadden) steps in to help her out and the odd couple find themselves alone with a bottle of wine.

A source told Inside Soap magazine: ''Alcohol might be Phil's worst enemy in some ways but it does a lot of favours when it's Tanya who's knocking back the wine. She's tipsy and lonely - so suddenly Phil looks like an attractive option. You might not ever put them together but stranger things have happened in Walford.

''As the evening wears on, Phil begins to look a lot like Ryan Gosling through Tanya's beer goggles.''

The mum-of-three is shocked by her own behaviour the next morning when she wakes up next to the Albert Square hard man and they agree to just be friends.

However, Tanya is left conflicted and finds herself unusually drawn to Phil, suggesting the pair may become more than just pals.