26 December 2023 , 21:00
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Danny Walters has broken his silence after Keanu Taylor was killed on EastEnders.
The character was killed off in a dramatic showdown during the infamous Christmas Day special, eight years after he first arrived in Walford. Last night saw the storyline of The Six reach its climax, with people discovering who the murder victim was and who was responsible for his death.
But as viewers were preparing to believe that Nish Panesar was the victim, Linda Carter was seen brutally stabbing Keanu in the back with a carving knife as he tried to strangle Sharon Watts to death on the stairs of the Queen Vic. Now, Danny, 30, has spoken about his exit.
Danny Walters has broken his silence after being killed off (BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron/Matt Burlem)Discussing how he kept the news a secret, Danny said: "It's been extremely difficult! I feel like I've been very deceitful to my friends and my family and have made many excuses! But, I wanted the storyline to have as much impact as possible for the audience, so I've tried my best to keep everything a secret and hopefully, that's paid off."
On his reaction to the Christmas special after reading the script, he commented: "The Christmas Day episode is a great episode. It stands alone, and there is so much to it. The writing in the script was fantastic, and every character had such a great storyline throughout the whole episode.
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"For my character, the episode is a real rollercoaster of emotions from the highs and the lows. It was such a pleasure to be part of." Although he's turned his back on the character, Danny says that he's met friends for life on the soap since his first appearance in 2017, he explained: "It's been such a privilege to work with such a great cast over the years and to meet some fantastic colleagues, but also to have made some good friends over the years."
His character, Keanu Taylor was stabbed to death by Linda Carter (BBC)Although he was part of the biggest storyline in decades, Danny claims he was just a "small part" of the show, adding: "I'm a small part of the bigger puzzle, but hopefully my piece of this puzzle has made an impact." However, the vast majority of his family found out his character was the victim at the same time as the rest of the nation.
He said that he had been "very evasive" with the answers he'd given relatives who had been quizzing him in the lead-up to the grand reveal. But most of all, he joked he was expecting calls and messages from his loved ones, as well as tears from his nans. But Danny admits he's taken one thing from the set of EastEnders – his greasy mechanics overalls.