Well it was pretty much the worst kept secret in soap after THOSE Instagram pics and then Aaron Sidwell confirming he’d left the show, but fans were still pretty shocked when Steven Beale mysteriously flatlined on Friday’s episode.
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Shocked and, er, saddened was the fan reaction. Which was something we weren’t particularly expecting as one of soap’s sneakiest residents passed away.
Over the last few months we’ve seen Steven weave a web of deceit which has involved lying to his fiancee Lauren and the rest of the Beale family about a terminal brain tumour.
On the other end of the lie is Abi Branning, who has been sleeping with Steven and is now preggers with his baby.
There’s also Lauren and Abi’s dad, Max, who has known Steven has been lying for months, but hasn’t stepped forward to stop his daughter marrying a man she didn’t love.
Anyway, all that came to a rather disappointing end, when Steven died during Friday night’s show. Even though he appeared to escape the whole explosion/fire scenario unscathed, it seems a heart attack took Steven’s life.
And here’s us thinking he didn’t have one.
But it looks like you lot were in a more forgiving mood than us as it became obvious that Steven is going to be fully missed.
Um, did we miss something? We are still talking about the guy who set fire to the restaurant while his step-mum was still inside.
There’s no doubt that Steven has been a great villain in Walford over the past few months, and he’s left one heck of a mess behind him.
There’s Abi, who’s pregnant with his baby, Lauren who has been planning their wedding, Jane who is now fully aware of Max’s scheme and Ian who now faces grieving for another child, just three years after Lucy was murdered.
So, now Abi is left with the potential of being a single mother, just like Lauren, what will she do?
And how long will it take for Lauren to find out the truth – then hook up with Josh? Because that’s what we’ve all been waiting for, right?
Oh, it’s all so complicated.
Bravo Aaron Sidwell, you’ve been a great baddie. And yes, we’re going to miss you too.