EastEnders solves 10-month mystery as a character is killed off
EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders has solved its 10-month mystery by killing off Keanu Taylor in an explosive Christmas Day episode – with Nish Panesar also lying injured on the floor of the Queen Vic as the credits rolled.
Viewers have known since a flashforward aired in February that one man would be killed off in Walford over the festive season, and that six women – Denise, Kathy, Linda, Sharon, Stacey and Suki – were present in the pub on the night it happened.
BBC
However, Keanu, the victim's identity – and that of Linda Carter, who was responsible for killing him – was kept firmly under wraps until transmission.
EastEnders story producer Kyri Zindillis shared a post on X/Twitter which read: "And there we have it, in a flash, everything has changed. Proud of our entire @BBCEastEnders team for managing to keep the secret under wraps for so long.
"So, who guessed the killer and victim correctly?!"
A BBC Three spin-off hosted by Joe Swash called EastEnders: The Six – Whodunnit? revealed that Chris Clenshaw told Kellie Bright that Linda would be the murderer back in September – and their conversation had been filmed.
"Oh, Jesus, why have you done this to me?" Kellie asked when he told her Linda was the murderer, before admitting that she hadn't seen it coming.
"For a long time I thought it was Phil, and actually, who I thought it was, was Keanu. But I don't know why Linda would kill Keanu," she told the showrunner when they were pondering the victim.
Chris then told her that Nish was on the floor, to which Kellie said: "I really like Nav! I don't want it to be him." Then, Chris admitted that it wasn't the full story and "in true EastEnders style, there is a twist", before explaining that Linda kills Keanu.
"I like Danny too, I don't want him to go either," Kellie said.
Tonight's hour-long special episode of EastEnders saw 'The Six' all come together in The Vic for different reasons. All were attempting to escape the various problems occurring in their personal lives, but none of them could have anticipated what was about to happen.
Before that pivotal moment in the Vic, Sharon and Keanu's wedding ceremony had fallen apart when Phil burst into the church with Bernie in tow, and revealed that Keanu was responsible for staging Albie's kidnap, along with Karen.
A distraught Bernie accused Keanu of turning his back on the family.
Disgusted, Sharon slapped Keanu in front of the congregation and later called the wedding off, telling him she felt betrayed by his lies. She also told Keanu that he isn't Albie's biological dad – Phil is.
Phil overheard their conversation and immediately realised that his fiancée Kat, who was standing behind him, knew the truth as well from her reaction.
As Keanu struggled to process the news, he accused Sharon of lying to him.
Meanwhile, Rocky admitted that he was missing Kathy after the ceremony fell to pieces, and she took the opportunity to leave with Linda and Sharon. Denise followed her shortly after, as things were still tense between her and Jack.
BBC
As Sharon headed back to The Vic with Linda, Denise and Kathy, Phil was left to contemplate what his future would now look like. Kat insisted she wouldn't stand in the way of him getting to know Albie, if he wanted that.
As Denise, Kathy, Sharon and Linda drank in the Vic, Phil came around and said that when everyone felt ready, he'd like to get to know Albie. As he and Sharon argued, Kathy tried to intervene, and she was horrified when Phil pushed her away.
Sharon reluctantly agreed that Phil could see Albie in time, and Linda escorted him out of the pub.
Suki and Stacey, meanwhile, were attempting to escape a furious Nish – who was out of prison and seeking revenge for recent events. He lured Suki back to the house by lying to her about Nugget's health, and tried to lock her in the house to prevent her from leaving.
However, Suki escaped after Ravi restrained Nish, and she and Stacey ended up in the pub while Ravi and Nish fought in the house. Suki confirmed that she and Eve were in love and wanted to be together, prompting Sharon to propose a group toast "to true love".
Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron//BBC
Linda, meanwhile, had gone upstairs for a drink in private, while Dean watched her from the stairwell.
He had turned up to the Vic earlier to drop off a present for Gina from his daughter Jade, but George had asked him to go away, insisting she wanted nothing to do with him. However, Dean had managed to hide in the pub after George left to go to the Beales' house.
As Suki shared her plans to leave Walford, the others urged her to call Nish and tell him to come round to the pub, as they believed he wouldn't dare try and hurt her with multiple witnesses present.
He tried to get the others to leave when he arrived and tried to insist Suki came home to talk.
"I know what happens when you women get together and drink too much white wine, but this doesn't have to turn into a big drama does it?" Nish said.
Suki told Nish that their marriage was over, she loves Eve, and that she wanted him out of the house. One by one, all of the women stood up for Suki and insisted that they would call the police if Nish tried anything.
A desperate Nish pleaded with Suki and insisted he still loved her, to which she said "I can't bear to look at you."
As Suki turned her back on Nish, he grabbed her and there was a physical fight. Linda ran to call the police and in the commotion, Denise hit Nish over the head with a bottle, which smashed and drew blood.
As Sharon proclaimed that Nish was dead, Keanu walked in through the pub's front doors and demanded to know what had happened.
On seeing what had happened, he demanded to take Albie, who was asleep upstairs, saying: "You just killed a man... You're going to prison, Sharon, and I'm taking my son with me."
Sharon insisted that she would not let Keanu take Albie, reiterating once again that he isn't his son and insisting he would "never lay eyes on Albie again – never".
As a furious Keanu tried to strangle Sharon on the stairs, Linda stabbed him from behind with a carving fork and he fell to the floor – all while Suki performed chest compressions and recovery breaths as she didn't believe Nish was dead.
As she rushed in to tell the others he was alive, she discovered her horrified friends standing around Keanu in shock.
EastEnders' executive producer had always said that the show's much-anticipated Christmas episode was one to watch live.
BBC
He said: "Christmas Day in Walford is always momentous and this year EastEnders viewers are in for a treat that will keep them guessing 'whodunnit' and 'who-is-it' right up until the very end.
"We're incredibly pleased with the positive reaction to the flash-forward and The Six storyline since February. It's been a long time in the making and the Christmas Day reveal really is an episode to watch live on Christmas Day. We're thrilled with the buzz around The Six.
"It's exactly what we hoped for; we hoped people would chat, we hoped people would speculate, we hoped that everyone would come up with their own theories and share those theories with one another.
"We wanted it to be a storyline that brings the viewers together too, and we're over the moon that it seems to be doing that and the audience are enjoying being a part of it."
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.
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