EastEnders Christmas murder trailer: The biggest clues and reveals

With just the weeks to go until Christmas, EastEnders has dropped the full-length teaser trailer for The Six storyline, previewing the highly-anticipated festive murder which will rock Walford to its very core.

The death in question was first teased all the back in February when the BBC One soap promised viewers that one particular outing of the serial would change everything ‘in a flash’.

This particular outing saw six iconic Walford matriarchs bond during a lock-in at The Queen Vic, after what had been a tough night for them all.

Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) discussed what was on their mind and, as the night came to a close, the ladies in question raised their glasses.

Their final beverage saw them toast to all the men who hurt them over the years, hoping that they would one day get what they deserve.

A chilling flash-forward sequence saw the aforementioned women, now known as The Six, in complete and utter shock on Christmas Day 2023 as a corpse of a dead man lay on the floor of the pub, with Sharon, in a wedding dress, checking the pulse of the unfortunate resident, declaring him dead.

The unique plot twist received acclaim, with viewers left desperately trying to work out who it is that perishes, with theories and speculation aplenty ever since.

EastEnders has provided us with plenty of material to speculate over, dropping a number of short teaser trailers over the course of the past 10 months, each centring on one member of The Six.

They’re all riddled with clues relating to each respective matriarch and how they might tie into the festive killing, with fans wondering if the trailers are like individual pieces of a puzzle that, when put together, form a larger tale.

EastEnders has officially confirmed such a theory, with the BBC soap’s official social media channels dropping the full-length trailer, which sees all the individual trailers combined – and the result is truly something to behold.

But in addition to being camp, iconic and everything in-between, the trailer is also full of little clues so, if you’re desperate to know everything there is to know about the Christmas murder, why not join us for a deep dive?

The jukebox

One of the most important takeaways from the extended trailer is the inclusion of the jukebox, which had been absent from the singular teasers released throughout the year.

The scene in question at first might appear to be nothing more than just a close-up of the jukebox but, upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that a number of letters on the music machine are pressed in.

A.D.E.H.T.

What’s the relevance of this, you ask? Well, if you rearrange the letters somewhat, they spell out ‘DEATH’, which couldn’t be more appropriate given that death is exactly what transpires on the evening in question!

While the majority of the segments included in the trailer see the respective matriarchs in the bar of or just outside The Vic, Linda’s differs greatly as she’s seen upstairs in the living room of the pub.

You could argue that this is simply because she remains the landlady of the respective establishment and therefore this is merely symbolising that she’s at home when the death takes place, but we can’t help but be intrigued by the fact that she’s seen scrubbing away on the living room floor.

But what could this mean?

Well that is the question, isn’t it? We’re wondering if, in addition to the murder downstairs in the bar, there is perhaps a second death lined up – one set to take place upstairs in the living room of the Vic, forcing Linda to cover up the crime?

If this does prove to be the case, then will it be Linda’s antagonist, rapist Dean, who dies during the not-so-festive season?

During the actual flashforward sequence, each of the women’s facial expressions – with the exception of Suki (more on that later) – were deliberately hard to read, therefore making it impossible to work out which one is tied to the dead resident and who played a role in his demise.

The teaser trailers, however, are somewhat different.

Sharon, who opens the teaser, is seen holding her head high, with a look of killer revenge in her eyes. As the smoke fills the room, she becomes a little more unsure of herself, but maintains a stern look throughout.

Does this perhaps hint at her emotions on the day of the death? It’s certainly a possibility, given that her storyline as part of The Six is her relationship with Keanu Taylor, who is keeping a huge secret from her.

Keanu, as viewers know, staged Albie’s kidnap just weeks ago and, despite this, he intends to marry Sharon at Christmas time. We know EastEnders loves exploding secrets on Christmas Day so it’s only a matter of time before all is revealed, so will hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?

Will Sharon’s inevitable revenge story lead to Keanu’s death?

Denise, meanwhile, shares a similar look of contempt in her eye, which could similarly suggest that her story is one of revenge. Will Denise be out for blood this festive season?

If so, will it be Ravi Gulati that perishes? Or with her husband Jack Branning seemingly starting to fall for Stacey, could the copper meet his demise?

One of the first things fans worked out about the teasers is the fact that Denise’s section is tied to Stacey’s and, low and behold, they follow on from one another in the combined trailer, so it seems there is a connection between the two and, with a possible affair on the cards, will the women’s stories cross paths on the fateful Christmas Day?

Kathy, meanwhile, is also very angry in her segment, as she slices up a bunch of tulips with a cleaver. Given that her husband Rocky has pulled the wool over her eyes, could she also be out for revenge this coming Christmas?

In contrast to the aforementioned ladies, Linda, Stacey and Suki have looks of fear and uncertainty on their faces. With Dean, Theo and Nish all making each respective woman’s life a living hell, will their storylines perhaps be less about revenge and more about being forced to act in self-defence, killing their abuser in the process?

Suki is seen standing outside The Vic in the teaser, with a picture of her family falling to the floor and shattering as she runs away, speeding down Bridge Street market and out of sight.

Could this perhaps imply that she’s being forced to go on the run after the death takes place? During the initial flashforward sequence, Suki was the only one whose emotions were easy enough to read, with a look of shock and deflation on her face as she took a seat on a bar stool shortly after the demise takes place, which could imply that it’s directly tied to her.

If so, then the theory of her making a run for it certainly has legs.

The Six becomes The Seven?

During the full-length trailer, the bell of the Queen Vic tolls six times, each time being when the featured character’s teaser hits its dramatic peak. What’s interesting, however, is that at the end of the trailer, the bell tolls another time, taking the total number of tolls to seven.

There has been a theory among fans that a secretive seventh member will feature in the storyline, thus making The Six become The Seven, though there has never been any proof to back this theory up.

Could the seventh toll be the evidence we’ve been waiting for? If so, the question is: who will the seventh member of the storyline be?

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 730pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.