Everything you need to know to watch EastEnders Christmas Day – if you’re not a regular viewer

Christmas Day in Walford is very rarely a happy occasion and this year will be no different, with at least one EastEnders resident meeting an untimely end.

EastEnders fans have been playing detective since a flashforward scene which aired earlier this year revealed a male figure lifeless on the floor of the Queen Vic while six Walford icons stand over him. ‘The Six’, as they’ve been nicknamed, include Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth), Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal).

Diehard BBC soap viewers have been predicting the outcome of the Christmas Day episode since the flashforward scene aired in February, but the drama will still be one to watch even if the last time you watched EastEnders was last Christmas. Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s festive murder ahead of the big day…

Flashforward scene

On February, 20, the six women in question were enjoying a lock-in in the Queen Vic when suddenly viewers were transported to Christmas Day 2023. In the scene, the Vic is decorated for a wedding with a stunning pink wedding cake and party food while the Christmas tree shimmers in the background.

We first see Linda walking into the bar with a shocked look on her face as she glances down to the floor, Suki is next to notice while Kathy looks over at the Panesar matriarch. By the fireplace, Stacey can be seen with blood on her hands while next to her Denise holds a broken champagne bottle in her hand.

Sharon, who’s wearing a wedding dress covering in blood, bends down to check the pulse of a mystery male figure wearing cufflinks. “He’s dead,” she says as the camera pans out to show The Six, minus Linda who is out of shot, staring down at the body.

Potential killers

All six of the women in the Vic have plenty of reason to want a man dead after a year of turmoil in Walford. But, who will deliver the killer blow this Chrismas?

Linda is dealing with her first Christmas without the love of her life Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) and was rocked when her rapist Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) turned up in Walford out of the blue. After blackmailing Linda into lying that he never raped her, Dean recently played a secret audio recording of this in public, turning the pub landlady back into alcohol abuse.

Stacey has had a year of very high highs and lows, with the birth of her first granddaughter Charli and being stalked by her daughter Lily’s tutor Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis). After months of being tormented by her stalker, who she first encountered online while on an Only Fans style platform, Theo was attacked by Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) when he walked in on his former teacher attempting to rape Stacey.

Kathy’s world has very recently fallen apart in EastEnders after she discovered her husband Rocky (Brian Conley) set fire to her beloved cafe, endangering her grandsons, to claim on the insurance money. After signing over her business to Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry), Kathy discovered the truth and ended her marriage with Rocky for good.

Suki has been pushed to her limits this year by abusive husband Nish, with the matriarch finally having enough of the evil businessman and preparing to leave him for her lover Eve Unwin (Heather Peace). Their plan was foiled at the last minute and Nish ordered his son Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) to kill his wife’s lover, but it’s now been confirmed Eve has returned to Walford.

Denise’s marriage has also hit the rocks after discovering her husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) had spent the night with Stacey. The couple have been struggling for months following Denise’s deception with Ravi, in which he pursued her for weeks before she joined him in a hotel room – although ultimately Denise was unable to go through with the affair.

Sharon is looking forward to her wedding day this Christmas after reuniting with Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters), the father of her son Albie – or not as EastEnders fans have recently discovered. When Sharon fell pregnant she was having an affair while married to Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), the real father of Albie, but she is desperate to keep the identity of her son’s paternity a secret.

Victim suspects

EastEnders confirmed seven male suspects – Dean, Phil, Keanu, Nish, Jack, Rocky and Ravi. But, with all seven having seriously angered ‘The Six’, who will meet their maker this Christmas?

Dean has ruffled a lot of feathers returning to Walford and despite humiliating Linda by sharing the recording of her fake confession, there are plenty of residents who still believe the pub landlady. He’s also recently grown close to Linda’s future step-sister Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) which may give Linda even more reason to want him dead.

Keanu is playing with fire in Walford after faking his son’s kidnapping and blaming his mother. Phil is convinced the mechanic was to blame and if Sharon realises what her groom is capable of, she could be driven to murder. He’s also made an enemy out of Dean after ensuring his relationship with daughter Jade was ruined.

Rocky’s gambling problem cost him his marriage to Kathy, but as a desperate man he may not take no for answer. The fire he set in the cafe nearly cost Kathy her grandsons and after discovering Nish’s plans to turn her cafe into a block of flats, the Walford matriarch may reach her limit.

Stalwart Phil is furious with Keanu for stealing his money in the fake kidnapping, but he will be incandescent when he realises it was his son all along that he put in danger. Will Phil make good on his previous promises in the past to kill Keanu?

EastEnders fans will know Nish has become one of Walford’s truly awful villains. As well as subjecting his wife Suki to abuse, he helped cover up Ravi murdering his supposed father, by convincing Suki that she was a murderer. Despite isolating Suki and tricking her into signing over her money, she found the strength to leave him for Eve. But, Nish ordered Ravi to kill his wife’s lover when he found out the truth. Will Suki finally take revenge on her evil husband this Christmas?

Ravi isn’t short of enemies this festive season after making Denise’s life hell when she called off their affair and covering up his involvement in his supposed father’s murder to drive Suki almost insane. In a huge twist, fellow victim suspects Jack and Nish have reason to what Ravi harmed, especially as the father-of-two disobeyed his real father by letting Eve go.

Jack became a very recent victim suspect in the past few weeks after growing close to Stacey. The detective appeared to forgive his wife Denise for her betrayal with Ravi, with the pair deciding to stay together and make their marriage work for the sake of the children. However, with Denise away from the square, sparks flew between him and Stacey leading them to spend the night together. Will Denise attack her husband in a jealous rage?

Walford’s tragic Christmas past

It’s no secret that Christmas Day brings tragedy to the door of the Walford residents. Last year, fans said goodbye to Mick Carter, who was last seen heading out into the ocean in an attempt to save Linda.

Christmas Day in Walford has become known for deaths, family fall-outs and betrayals. Over the years, some of the most memorable EastEnders episodes have taken place at Christmas.

From Dirty Den serving divorce papers to Ange in an iconic fashion to the Branning family watching in stunned silence as they viewed Max and Stacey’s affair on DVD, EastEnders has always been the one to watch at Christmas. In fact, last year the BBC soap came out on top as the most-watched of all the festive soaps.

“EastEnders has become known for its dramatic Christmas Day storylines, all the way back to when Den gave Angie those dreaded divorce papers in 1985,” says Chris Clenshaw, the show’s executive producer. “For me, what’s important is that the episode needs to be centred around family, as that’s what EastEnders does best,” he says. “It needs to have that high element of drama that viewers have come to expect, which is why big reveals – be it an affair or a murder – are always key components as the audience love to watch the drama unfold.”