It appears that one of our most likely suspects will survive to tell the story. For the past nine months, we have been attempting to figure out who in EastEnders will die on the floor on Christmas Day.
We’ve had a few possible victims in mind ever since the flash forward episode that aired in February and showed The Six congregating around a dead body.
Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) is one name that has come up time and time again since that fateful episode, but it appears that we may have been ringing the wrong tree.
Recently discovered photos have revealed the cast members filming the services for Aunt Sal. We know that this funeral is scheduled for the new year, which implies that the murder will have already occurred because the Christmas episodes have already been filmed.
Imagine our surprise, then, when we learned that Phil Mitchell was at the funeral!
The fact that Phil is the character in the show currently in possession of the dreaded cufflinks doesn’t bode well, as he has been at the center of countless fan theories about who the body could be.
But since we’ve already witnessed the cufflinks being passed around a few times, we already know that they will be passed around a great deal more before the big day.
The fact that he is the character with the most ties to The Six—having been married to Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) and Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), having a child with Denise Fox (Diane Parish), having been attacked by Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), doing business with Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), and selling the Queen Vic to Linda Carter (Kellie Bright)—was another hint that he might pass away.
When you combine this with the statement made by his wife Kat Slater, “Who knows what will be this time next year?” and the news that actor Steve is leaving to perform in a pantomime this Christmas, the signs pointed to his departure.
However, since Phil is no longer in the running, it appears that we will need to look elsewhere.
Even though it’s still possible that EastEnders will bring back Steve McFadden while filming on location in an attempt to confuse us, there are still a ton of people who could be discovered dead on Christmas Day.
With Matt Di Angelo as the rapist Dean Wicks, who has returned to the Square and is stirring up trouble for everyone, things aren’t looking good for him. Kathy had assured Linda that she would have a “wall of friends” to keep her safe from him.
In other scenes, Danny Walters’ character Keanu Taylor has been playing with fire by pretending to be Albie’s father. Given that Sharon recently found out that he isn’t the real father, it is only a matter of time until chaos breaks out.
Another character who has been playing with fire is Rocky Cotton (Brian Conley), but in this instance, quite literally. We can’t imagine Kathy would take this well if she ever found out, having burned down her cherished café and admitted both of her grandsons. Not to add, Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) is currently searching through the ashes in an attempt to purchase the location for a minimal sum.
Speaking of Nish, after his harsh treatment of Suki, he is another character that many believe will perish. Producer Chris Clenshaw has stated that Suki and Eve’s affair will be revealed; will he strike again to guarantee his place on the Queen Vic floor?
Plus, since all of them were seen sporting the infamous cufflinks during a National Television Awards stunt, there are still Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis), Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara), Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), Alfie Moon (Shane Richie), and Martin Fowler (James Bye) to take into account.
I mean, anybody could still be the culprit!