06 December 2023 , 10:12
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Two characters have officially been declared as not being the victim of EastEnders' Christmas Day killer storyline.
Since February this year, EastEnders fans have been counting down to Christmas after a flash forward revealed a mystery individual had been killed - with Stacey Slater, Sharon Watts, Linda Carter, Suki Panesar, Kathy Beale and Denise Fox all in the frame as they were gathered around the dead body.
The identity of the body is set to be revealed within a matter of weeks, but theories about who it could be have been rife all year. The likes of Matt di Angelo’s Dean Wicks, Brian Conley’s Tim ‘Rocky’ Cotton and Navin Chowdhry's Nish Panesar are all tipped to be the one that meets a sticky end. The unlucky deceased man will be wearing the dreaded set of cufflinks that have been passed around through Albert Square throughout the year.
The identity of the murder victim has been kept a secret (EastEnders/Youtube)However - spoiler alert - there are two characters who are officially safe. Future spoilers for the BBC soap have revealed that both Felix Baker and Denzel Danes are appearing in episodes in the New Year, meaning they can be written out of any fan theories.
Viewers will have to wait until Christmas Day to find out who ends up deceased under The Vic's Christmas tree. An hour long episode will air at 9:45pm and an extended 35-minute episode will air on Boxing Day at 8:25pm.
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There has been much secrecy around who the victim and killer are, meaning some of the cast have even been kept in the dark. EastEnders icon Natalie Cassidy recently shared her own theory on who it could be. The 40-year-old actress has been playing soap favourite Sonia Jackson on the long-running BBC show since 1993 and has seen her fair share of drama in Albert Square.
In a new interview with Heat magazine, Natalie was asked who she thinks has been killed. Initially avoiding speculation, Natalie said: “You know who you want to be talking to - my daughter [Eliza, who she shares with ex-fiancé Adam Cottrell]. Oh my goodness me, she’s got theories, she’s got screenshots, she’s got notes on her phone - she’s driving me mad!”
But pressed for an answer, Natalie confessed: “I don’t know, it could be anyone, couldn’t it? You’ve got Nish and all that stuff with Suki [ Balvinder Sopal ], but you’ve also got Rock and the Kathy [Gillian Taylforth] stuff. Rocky lives very easily - maybe she finds out what’s happened and kills him. That’s my theory.”
While fans think they saw a telling clue in the new trailer for the Christmas special. The full trailer was released showing all six characters in The Vic or outside, with possible clues to what happens in the episode. Across the past year, each character has had their own trailer released before they were combined in one big clip.
Clues in the trailer have included random numbers that may have relevance, items such as tulips which could be a symbol of particular meanings, while there is also hints of a double murder and a possible murder weapon. But eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice a chilling word appearing on the jukebox in the pub during the trailer.
The letters on the machine are pressed down to spell out the word 'death'. However, one viewer questioned whether the word being spelled out, containing the same letters, could in fact be "hated". The less obvious clue could tease the identity of the victim on the floor, and rule out the theory of it being an accidental death or an innocent person who dies.
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.