Weirdly enough, Max Branning being found guilty of Lucy Beale’s murder (the one that was actually committed by her little brother Bobby, remember) wasn’t the most ludicrous thing in EastEnders on Monday night.

No – that was Max’s Usain Bolt-style sprint out of the courtroom as soon as his guilty verdict was announced.

In the run-up to the verdict, viewers had seen Jane Beale falsely confess to a fling with the businessman to give him an alibi for Lucy’s murder.

Phil Mitchell used his best tactics – namely bribery – to try to convince the jury foreman to influence deliberations. But it wasn’t to be, as Max was found guilty by at least 10 of the jurors.

After the shock verdict was given, viewers watched in horror/awe as Max (Jake Wood) leap-frogged over the dock and made a mad dash from the courtroom, with DS Bryant hot on his heels.

(BBC)
Max Branning (Jake Wood) awaits his verdict for Lucy Beale’s murder (BBC)

A quick punch-up with DS Bryant followed and then Max made his break for freedom out of a conveniently located fire exit (anyone else think this courtroom has worryingly lax security?)

According to the EastEnders team, this was based on real-life events. Although Perspex screens are now common in the dock, this wasn’t always the case.

“These screens started to be introduced about 20 years ago precisely to stop offenders fleeing the courts,” revealed Ray McBride, of the EastEnders research team. “Indeed, prior to these measures such incidents were not infrequent”.

The Perspex screens are a hindrance to filming because of reflections from the studio lights, which is why they weren’t used in this scene.

Hetti Bywater as Lucy Beale
Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) was murdered by her little brother Bobby in April 2014 (Nicky Johnston/BBC)

Ray revealed that in 2014, a defendant scaled a Perspex partition, leapt from the 12ft high dock, ran through the courtroom, fended off security guards, and finally escaped through the judge’s quarters! Which, we can all agree, makes Max’s little adventure look pretty tame in comparison.

Jake went on the Radio 1 Breakfast show and admitted he’d thought the same as fans.

“Insane! When I got the script and I read it, I thought, ‘That’s a little bit far-fetched’. But apparently it happens!” he said of the plot.

Jake will be taking a year-long break from the show, so the question is: will the authorities catch up with Max?

The dock unusually is not protected by a Perspex screen (BBC/Jack Barnes)
Max’s escape was aided by the lack of Perspex screen – but this wasn’t a problem for one real-life criminal (Jack Barnes/BBC)

Jake was elusive on the matter. “He’s either going to get caught and put away, or he’ll escape. We’ve got a couple more episodes this week. It’s a really good story. People are really into it. My Twitter feed went mad last night, so people are really enjoying it,” he said.

So, was Max brave or reckless? Let’s take a look at Twitter.

But the flaws in the plot were just too much for some.