all the clues to the Christmas story

EastEnders spoilers follow.

Over the years EastEnders has become synonymous with the holidays, especially that all-important Christmas Day episode. Nothing says Christmas like death, divorce, failure and betrayal, right? While some people tune in once a year to watch the soap’s latest seasonal offering, many loyal viewers look forward to seeing their favorite storylines from the past twelve months come to a dramatic climax.

The best example of this is last year’s The Six storyline, which teased Christmas 2023 ten months in advance. Viewers found out through a flash forward in February that one of the Square’s men would die in the Queen Vic, and Sharon, Denise, Linda, Suki, Stacey and Kathy were all involved.

Millions of people watched the big reveal on Christmas Day and found out during the breathtaking episode Linda killed Keanu.

Christmas 2024 has a lot to offer and this year’s plans have been kept tightly under wraps in comparison. It hasn’t yet been revealed what the soap’s big Christmas storyline will entail this year, but there are some clues that will keep fans on edge in the run-up to December. Here’s everything we know so far.

Current storylines

The most obvious example of a current storyline that could explode at Christmas concerns: Cindy Beale and Junior Knight. The pair began having an affair earlier this year, despite Junior being the son of Cindy’s ex-wife George. While Cindy was drawn to the danger of an affair, it became clear that Junior was developing very real feelings for her.

Things came to a head earlier this month when Ian decided to propose to Cindy, unaware of her massive betrayal. But outside of their engagement party, Cindy and Junior were caught kissing by her ex. David Wicks, who briefly visited Walford. In a candid conversation with David, Cindy admitted that it was George she truly loved, and even thought about him while in bed with Junior.

Shortly afterwards, Cindy ended her affair with Junior for good. But in a twist, that was revealed Freddie’s birdwatching microphone had captured Cindy and David’s revealing discussion.

It seems inevitable that these devastating images will one day come to light, and why not on Christmas Day? We could be about to see a repeat of the infamous 2007 Christmas episode Stacey and Max’s affair was revealed to the Brannings and the Slaters via a wedding DVD.

Of course, the iconic storyline surrounding The Six has yet to be fully resolved, almost a year after the spectacular Christmas reveal. It feels like half the square knows that Linda has killed Keanu by now, but the women are still trying to keep the big secret under wraps. They could be in serious danger next week Nish discovers the truthbut Christmas might be the perfect time to bring this epic story to a close.

Queen Vic drama

While the soaps film a few months in advance, the EastEnders cast recently filmed the exciting Christmas episodes, and we have the biggest clue yet that the Albert Square festive season could be must-watch television for fans.

Speak with Radio timesShane Richie – who plays Alfie Moon – has revealed he was sitting in the front row dramatic events that will unfold in the Queen Vic on Christmas Day. He even commented that he kept getting his sentence confused because he was so caught up in the exciting story being told.

He said: “There were a few things that happened at Christmas, which I purposely didn’t read (the script) because I knew Kat and Alfie would be involved, and I didn’t really want to know what would happen in the film.” the Queen Vic on Christmas Day.

“But oh my God! I was sitting there watching this story that was set in the Queen Vic and it’s set on Christmas Day, and as a fan of the show I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this ! Stop!’ “

While Richie said fans are in for a treat this Christmas Day, he also teased that this year’s festive story will involve “cheating” and be “tragic and sad.” We don’t know whether to be excited or scared…

Filming a funeral

Speaking of tragic, fans worried earlier this month that a shocking death could soon take place in Walford, with paparazzi photos showing an emotional funeral is filmed at a church.

The big news is that actors Maddy Hill and Danny Hatchard reprized their roles as siblings Nancy and Lee Carter in the mysterious funeral scenes. The likes of Elaine, Callum and Johnny also featured in these scenes, leading to the devastating theory that Linda is about to lose her life.

Linda has had a difficult time in recent years, from the presumed death of her husband Mick to the guilt over Keanu’s death, which has sent her into a downward spiral. As a former alcoholic, Linda relapsed this year and… was eventually rushed to hospital after her drinking spiraled out of control again.

EastEnders is known for its red herrings, and chances are things aren’t what they seem. But could Linda’s death be the tragic event to hit Walford?

New Year’s stunt

Looking a little further than Christmas Day, director earlier this month Christopher McGill posted on X which he was filming EastEnders for a “whopper of a week” of New Year’s episodes. Filming for this “epic” block of episodes has been underway for several weeks, and McGill has been sharing teaser photos online daily that have us very intrigued.

The director promises that he’s filming in a room “full (PACKED) of East End icons”, possibly teasing that there could be some returns on the cards. There have also been ominous mentions of both trains and planes, suggesting a huge stunt may be taking place.

It looks like there’s an explosive New Year on the horizon in Albert Square, but will the events surrounding Christmas make for a dramatic series of episodes?

40th anniversary built

After all, Christmas isn’t everything EastEnders fans will be looking forward to in the coming months as February marks the show’s big 40th anniversary. The soap is celebrating setting up another fully live episode that month, which is the first time EastEnders has been doing this since 2015.

But this time there’s a twist: the soap is introducing an interactive element to the live episode. Viewers are invited to vote on the desired outcome of a love story, although it has not yet been revealed which characters will be involved. The viewers’ choice is played out as part of the live episode, with the cast rehearsing a number of outcomes in advance.

Now that plans for the live episode are clearly in place, will Christmas reveal any clues as to what the mysterious love story could be?

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show is also streaming on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes start early at 6am, ahead of their TV broadcast.

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