EastEnders fans have been left confused by the sudden disappearance of two key characters who were at risk of being killed off on Christmas Day.
Soap fans had many months to guess who would be killed in the Queen Vic on Christmas Day as the delay scene was teased back in February. And while it was clear that six women were involved in the death, show writers later led fans to believe that one of seven male characters would be the one to be killed off.
Ultimately, Keanue Taylor - played by Danny Walters - was the character to meet their maker as they were fatally stabbed by Kellie Bright’s Linda Carter. And Nish Panesar - played by Navin Chawdry - could yet die as he is unconscious in hospital after being bludgeoned over the head with a champagne bottle by Diane Parish’s Denise Fox.
EastEnders fans had, however, been led to believe that Ravi Panesar, played by Aaron Thiara, Tom ‘Rocky’ Cotton, played by Brian Conley, Dean Wicks, played by Matt Di Angelo, Jack Branning, played by Scott Maslen, or even Phil Mitchell, played by Steve McFadden, could the the one to be killed off. But two of the proposed victims have not been seen on screen since the explosive scenes of Christmas Day played out.
Phil and Jack have been nowhere to be seen while The Six - consisting of Linda, Denise,Sharon Watts, Stacey Slater, Kathy Cotton and Suki Kaur Panesar - have been sloppily trying to cover their tracks.
EastEnders' Jake Wood's snap of son has fans pointing out the pair's likenessPhil was last seen confronting Sharon in the Queen Vic after she let slip he is the true father of her son, Albie - and Jack was last seen arguing with Denise on Christmas Day. Both have been absent since - although Cathy did ask Denise to speak to Jack off-screen to pull a favour for her.
Fans have been anxious about the absence of the two men, however, and have been sharing theories about them online. One fan wrote online: "Things I've noticed: Jack and Phil have been completely AWOL since Xmas day." Another agreed: "I don’t understand why Jack & Phil featured in the promo pictures leading up to the Christmas Day episode? They were nowhere near any of it!"
Since Keanu was killed, The Six have been haplessly trying to cover up the truth - wrapping Keanu’s body in tarpaulin and stashing the body in the burnt out remains of Kathy’s cafe. Rocky, in a drunken stupor, witnessed Stacey and Denise caring the tarpaulin across Albert Square and also say Sharon enter the cafe.
He feared Sharon was somehow aiding Keanu - as The Six told police he had held them all at knifepoint, beaten Nish unconscious, and then fled the scene on foot. But Rocky’s hazy memories proved to be a threat to the women and their web of lies, so The Six reported him to the police for arson - as he was the one who set Kathy’s cafe on fire in scenes that aired weeks earlier.
Kathy had then asked Denise to get Jack to pull some strings at the police station so she could speak to Rocky - where she convinced him to confess his crimes, ensuring he would go to jail and be too preoccupied with his new life behind bars to continue his own investigation into what he saw on the night of the murder.