BBC’s EastEnders stars say Christmas storyline will go down in history like Stacey and Max affair

EastEnders fans have been waiting patiently to find out exactly who is set to die in the Queen Vic this Christmas – ever since the epic flashforward episode aired in February this year.

BBC soap fans know a mystery man is set to die this Christmas as Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) surround the corpse. But the identity of the Albert Square resident and how he ends up in a pool of blood on the floor of the Queen Vic remains a mystery – until Christmas Day that is.

In the lead up to Christmas, fans have been left frantically trying to put together clues and hints dropped by the soap – including the fact that the dead man is wearing a distinct pair of cufflinks. And it’s fair to say the cast are just as excited as the fans of the BBC soap as James Bye exclusively told the Mirror the scenes are “one of the best Christmases” he’s taken part in.

Speaking alongside his EastEnders co-star Jamie Borthwick on the red carpet of the Pride of Britain Awards, actor James – who plays Martin Fowler on the soap – said: “We’ve started filming the lead up to it and it’s up there with one of the best Christmasses that I’m in…”

Jay Brown actor Jamie, 29, added: “Like Max and Stacey affair level,” in reference to the 2007 Christmas Day episode which saw Max Branning (Jake Wood) and Stacey Slater’s elicit affair exposed by Max’s daughter Lauren Branning – as she played a DVD of Stacey and Bradley’s wedding day, which showed Stacey and Max in an intimate moment as she got ready to wed Max’s son.

Soap star James, 39, continued: “It is definitely up there with all the Christmasses I’ve read, it’s definitely up there. It will be a massive Christmas.” The star, who’s character has been supporting Stacey Slater amid her stalker hell with Theo Hawthorne, added of the soap’s producers and writers: “The guys behind the story who have come up with this, they’ve just walloped it.

“They know what they’re doing they’ve brought it back to what people want from Christmas. They want a big EastEnders Christmas,” he said. A number of male Albert Square residents have been tipped to be the one who dies this Christmas including Keanu Taylor, Phil Mitchell, Nish Panesar, Ravi Gulati, Theo Hawthorne and Dean Wicks – who returned to the soap during a Halloween episode which saw Linda Carter get the fright of her life.

Dean, who raped Linda in a harrowing episode in 2014, has come back to Albert Square and gone into business with the recently returned Cindy Beale. Dean’s decision to return is driven by his need to be close to the local hospital where his daughter Jade – who has cystic fibrosis – is receiving treatment and awaiting a life-saving lung transplant.

Talking about his explosive return after seven years, Matt Di Angelo, 36, said: “It feels great to be back. I started at EastEnders almost 18 years ago, which seems like a lifetime ago now. I haven’t been back for seven years, so I was thrilled to be asked again for the third time as I love the people and the show.” He added: “It felt like the right time for me, but also for Dean. When Mick was alive, Dean wouldn’t have dared to come back to the Square because there’s no way Mick would have stood for it.

“Rightly so, because what Dean did to Linda is unforgiveable and even his parents Shirley and Buster turned their backs on him. But now Mick’s dead, I think it’s opened up that door to allow Dean to return as Linda doesn’t have him there to back her up. Without Mick, Dean can twist the narrative, and he has more chance of getting away with it.”