Three shock BBC EastEnders theories: secret romance finally exposed and evil rapist rocks Walford
CHRISTMAS is fast approaching and Walford residents are clearly setting the scene for an explosive festive season.
One EastEnders fan favourite may see her secrets finally coming to light while another is set for a big shock ahead of Halloween.
1. New Christmas victim revealed
Our rundown of this week’s potential events begins with Sharon Watts who has been stuck in a dilemma in recent scenes of the BBC One soap.
The Albert Square legend portrayed by Letitia Dean has been involved in all the drama since the show’s beginnings in 1985 but after receiving a promising job offer, she is considering a big move to Abu Dhabi.
However, as viewers of the London-based soap will remember, her former fiancé Keanu Taylor (played by Danny Walters) isn’t ready to watch her leave – particularly as it would mean she’d be taking their son Albie with her.
Unable to cope with another one of his children being taken abroad and far away from him, Keanu came up with a plan with his scheming mother Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley).
This week, Keanu continues to try and seduce Sharon by organising a romantic date in The Arches.
Will it be enough for Sharon to make the decision to stay?
But while many viewers expect this to backfire on the hunk, particularly with Christmas fast approaching, another soap fan recently took to Reddit to share a theory.
Could Sharon’s new business partner and love interest Dorian Gates (Luke JI Smith) be in danger?
Boxing promoter Dorian was introduced in recent EastEnders scenes, offering Sharon a new position in Abu Dhabi – but viewers couldn’t help but spot the chemistry between both characters.
The soap fan suggested that the newcomer could be involved in more drama in weeks to come.
“I’m wondering if we see him going head to head with Phil, George and Keanu in a battle of Walford’s alpha males”, they penned.
“It would be a shame to waste this potential on a short-term character and hopefully he sticks around, potentially even being the body on the floor.”
Could Dorian be the man Sharon marries before being killed off?
To top it all off, multiple viewers have made it clear they suspect Dorian could be Keanu’s long-lost father.
Could they be on to something?
2. Suki’s secrets unravel
Meanwhile, Suki Panesar could find herself in plenty of trouble this week as Nugget Gulati returns after running away from his home.
The lad played by Juhaim Rasul Choudhury was devastated to find out his father was a murderer and vanished into the night, leaving Ravi (Aaron Thiara) beside himself.
As regular soap viewers will remember, Ravi murdered the man who raised him, Ranveer Gulati in 2022, before it was revealed Nish Panesar was his biological father.
Soon after the teen’s disappearance, the police moved heaven and earth to look for him but Nugget has yet to be found.
There is a new development this week as Ravi bumps into Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and learns Nugget has been sighted.
Ravi heads to No.41 to share the good news as Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) receives a secret call from Nugget where she agrees to meet him.
The businesswoman told Nugget that Ravi was responsible for the death of Ranveer Gulati and has been the only Albert Square resident able to get in touch with him during his absence.
Ravi grows suspicious of Suki’s behaviour and a furious row breaks out as he accuses her of knowing Nugget’s whereabouts, but she covers before later revealing all to her husband Nish (Navin Chowdhry).
Nish is notorious for his abusive and controlling attitude towards Suki, how will he react when she decides to open up to him?
Later, Ravi spots Nish and Suki making a speedy getaway and asks Jack to follow his father’s car.
Ravi arrives quickly behind the pair to rumble the meet but is shocked when Nugget’s mother Priya enters the flat where he’s been hiding.
Actress Sophie Khan Levy will make her EastEnders debut this week as Ravi’s former girlfriend Priya and the mother of Nugget… and their secret daughter Avani (Aaliyah James).
While Ravi gets reacquainted with family life, Suki is in for a rollercoaster of emotions as the guilt has clearly been eating her up last week.
But in a devastating twist, her husband Nish is set to find out about her love affair with Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) this autumn.
Eve and Suki sent fans into a frenzy when they gave their romance a shot behind Nish’s back but they had to call it quits when things appeared to be getting dangerous for them.
Nish isn’t one to shy away from murder and fans have suspected he could fatally hurt Eve once he finds out about Suki’s affair.
As mentioned above, Suki will be coming clean to Nish about knowing where Nugget has been during his disappearance – could she be led to confess her feelings for Eve in the same breath, as she grows increasingly tired of keeping secrets?
While this could be the case, one soap fan suggested online that Nish may already know more than he lets on.
“I’m thinking as well, what if he’s known about her sexuality since they first got married? That would be a massive twist”, they penned.
But what could it mean for Suki?
This remains to be seen but another viewer theorised Nish could find a way to get back at her by embarking on an affair of his own.
“Nish is going to hook up with Cindy very soon”, they commented.
Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and Nish met while her husband Ian Beale was trying to seal a deal with the Panesar clan to save his business empire.
Could it lead Nish to bed the iconic villainess?
3. Villain prepares his return
EastEnders producer Chris Clenshaw teased a massive shock for Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) – another one of the six Walford ladies to be involved in this Christmas’ murder mystery.
The nasty surprise will be rocking Linda’s Halloween, an event she was in the habit of celebrating with her husband Mick.
And with Halloween being mere days away, one could expect Linda’s life to take a devastating turn this week, despite her standing on the side-lines of all the drama.
“Poor Linda’s struggling this Halloween as it’s the first one without Mick”, Chris recently told Inside Soap.
“Obviously she wasn’t with Mick this time last year, but Halloween was very much their thing, and something they did together in the Vic.”
“So, she’s trying her best to make a go of things, but she gets one hell of a surprise that she doesn’t bargain for.”
Once Chris teased the twist, fans took to social media and immediately agreed that Linda’s rapist Dean Wicks was on his way back to Walford.
The villain was last seen in 2016 but was mentioned earlier this year when Shirley Carter was caught spending time with him after her own exit in late 2022.
Shirley left the Square in the aftermath of her son Mick’s supposed death but actress Linda Henry will reportedly reprise her role, although a date for her comeback is yet to be revealed.
Could the Walford tough woman surprise Linda by returning to the Square with her son Dean in tow?
Will this lead Linda straight towards an explosive showdown on Halloween or Christmas?
EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
