26 December 2023 , 09:38
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The EastEnders Christmas special left fans shocked and stunned as a character was killed off in the middle of a violent argument.
Since February, fans of the long-running BBC soap have been waiting to find out who died after a flash forward had shown Linda Carter, played by Kellie Bright, Suki Panesar, played by Balvinder Sopal, Kathy Beale, played by Gillian Taylforth, Stacey Slater, played by Lacey Turner, Denise Fox, played by Diane Parish and Sharon Watts, played by Letitia Dean, gathered over a dead body. And on Christmas Day, the identity of who died in the festive double length episode was revealed - leaving fans gobsmacked.
However, there were red herrings and false starts in the episode which included a disastrous wedding, paternity revelations, and one character being released from prison. And while many fans thought they had worked out who would meet their maker and why, many were left in shock when the true victim was unveiled.
As is effectively a soap tradition, the EastEnders Christmas episode included a wedding - with Sharon walking down the aisle to swap vows with Keanu Taylor - played by Danny Walters. And she was walked down the aisle by their son, Albie. But at the alter, Keanu was betrayed by his own sister Bernadette, played by Clair Norris, who revealed that Keanu had previously orchestrated a kidnapping of Albie in order to keep him in his life.
Sharon had been due to marry Keanu Taylor (BBC)Bernadette had told Phil Mitchell, played by Steve McFadden, this fact and he dragged her to church to expose the truth. This provoked Sharon to punch Keanu, leaving him with a bloody nose, and blood on her dress.
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Sharon stormed off to a room at the back of the church, but Keanu gave chase and begged her not to believe what Bernadette had said. However, in a blindsiding move, Sharon declared that Albie wasn’t Keanu’s and that Phil was his true father. Sharon didn’t realise Phil was standing in the doorway and he confronted her to know if this was true - with Sharon caught by her own version of events.
As the wedding fell apart, Kathy was seen bickering with her own husband-to-be Tom ‘Rocky’ Cotton, played by Brian Conley, and she ominously wished death upon him - and Denise was frosty to Jack Branning, played by Scott Maslen, as their romance was also under strain. Meanwhile, Dean Wicks, played by Matt Di Angelo, was acting mysteriously over a Christmas gift.
Nish was smashed over the head with a bottleDown at the Watford police station, Nish Panesar, played by Navin Chowdhry, was released from custody and was set on getting home to Suki to confront her over his time behind bars. He had previously killed a man believing he was having an affair with Suki.
In tense scenes, Nish locked Suki and their family in their home - and was growing increasingly threatening as the night progressed. Suki tried to escape, but couldn’t open the door, but with the help of her son, Ravi - played by Aaron Thiara - she was able to escape and seek safety. She was looking for her lover, Eve Unwin, played by Heather Peace, as she planned to escape Albert Square with her.
Suki ran into Stacey while looking for Eve and the two women ended up in the Queen Vic where the other women had gathered after Sharon and Keanu’s wedding was cancelled. As the women gathered around, Phil arrived demanding to be part of Albie’s life, leaving Sharon unsettled - however, he soon left.
As the women spoke amongst themselves, they decided they had all had enough of men ruining their lives. Suki also revealed that she was lesbian and was in love with Eve and planned to leave town with her. But the other women convinced her she should stay, and she should confront Nish and demand that he be the one to leave.
Keanu Taylor tried to strangle Sharon (BBC)Empowered by the talk, Suki contacted Nish to tell him to come to the Queen Vic to talk. In a brief scene where she sought relief, Linda headed upstairs to secretly drink vodka - unaware that Dean had broken into the pub and was watching her. He also left the Christmas gift on a table - which Linda found and was immediately unsettled by.
Linda raced back downstairs and closed an open door. Nish then arrived and the women banded together to tell him to leave Suki alone - while Suki herself confessed her love for Eve and her plans to leave Nish for good.
An enraged Nish then attacked Suki, but the other women raced to her aid - with Denise smashing a bottle of champagne over his head. Sharon checked his pulse when he collapsed to the floor and declared he was dead.
Keanu was stabbed in the back by Linda (BBC)Many fans of EastEnders then felt slightly deflated as the death seemed so obvious - but then Keanu arrived and witnessed the women standing over the body. He then began to accuse Sharon of killing Nish and said the police would arrest her and take her away from Albie.
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Sharon then declared that Albie was indeed Phil’s son and she wouldn’t let Keanu near him. She also threatened to tell the police that Keanu had orchestrated Albie’s kidnapping to ensure he could never get close to him again. Keanu then flew into a rage and started to strangle Sharon. Again, the other women leapt into action - all except Suki who was desperately trying to revive Nish.
The women were horrified by the scenesLinda reached for a carving fork - and plunged the kitchen item into the back of Keanu. Just as Suki succeeded in reviving Nish, and he took his first breaths again, Keanu wheezed as the carving fork was embedded deep in his rib cage, and he collapsed and died.
Fans were overjoyed by the twists and turns - with many declaring the episode one of the best ever. One X/Twitter user commented: “Probably the best ever episode! It was that good. But the highlight has been the comments on X from people saying it was predictable and obvious... the same people who have been guessing the outcome wrong for months. Just admit they pulled off a classic EastEnders twist!”