Albert Square is getting ready for a whodunit this holiday season, according to a flashforward that aired in February.
The Christmas storyline on EastEnders, according to Jamie Borthwick and James Bye, will be as “massive” as the 2007 affair revelation involving Max Branning and Stacey Slater.
The actors, who play Martin Fowler and Jay Brown, respectively, have shared details about the Christmas events the BBC has in store for Albert Square.
James, 39, remarked on the Pride of Britain red carpet, “We’ve started filming the lead-up to [the Christmas special] and it’s up there with one of the best Christmasses that I’m in.”
Jamie, 29, persisted in asserting that the forthcoming plot is “Like Max and Stacey affair level.”
The latter alludes to the Christmas Day 2007 episode in which it was revealed that Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Max Branning (Jake Wood) were having an affair.
At the time, Stacey and Bradley Branning’s (Charlie Clements) wedding day was captured on DVD by Laura Branning (Madeline Duggan), which showed Stacey and Max having sex before saying “I do.”
“It’s definitely up there with all the Christmases I’ve read,” James stated to The Mirror. Christmas will be extremely grand.
“The guys who came up with this story have really outdone themselves.”
The actor further stated that the BBC has returned EastEnders to what “people want from Christmas” and that the executives wanted a “big EastEnders Christmas.”
A flashforward scene from the upcoming plot was first revealed to fans of the show in February.
Six women were gathered around a corpse in the Queen Vic at the time: Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Stacey, and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal).
Stacey had blood on her hands as the group, all decked out in traditional holiday attire, stood next to a decorated tree.
Several fans have been discussing the much-teased whodunit mystery on social media since the flashforward aired.
“Catching up on @bbceastenders and kind of hoping it’s Keanu laying on that floor at Christmas,” commented a user on X, formerly Twitter.
“Is it clear that Dean Wicks is quite certain to be the dead man on Christmas Day in The Vic, given his return this week?” another commenter asked.
One person wrote, “I call for multiple bodies this Christmas,” while another said, “At this point, I wouldn’t care if Nish, Dean, or Keanu is dead at Christmas.” These guys are wicked.
