The EastEnders Christmas murder mystery has frankly been all we’ve been talking about for months – and it’s not even happened yet!
Back in February, we were all gripped by the flashforward episode, that gave us a glimpse into Christmas 2023. We saw the women who have become known as The Six gathered round a body on the floor of The Vic.
Stacey, Suki, Linda, Kathy and Denise watched as Sharon – in a wedding dress – crouched down beside the unseen corpse, lifted his wrist – showing some cufflinks – and announced: “He’s dead.”
Since then we’ve all been chatting non-stop about who the victim is – especially as those very cufflinks have been making their way round the men of Albert Square.
There are all sorts of theories being bandied around about who the unfortunate dead fella could be. So we thought we’d round them all up.
Who’s dead in the EastEnders Christmas murder?
EastEnders Christmas murder mystery
Nish Panesar
He’s the obvious choice, right? Nish is pretty damn evil, he’s cold, abusive, and downright dangerous. He’s got on the wrong side of Linda, Sharon, Denise and – of course – his tormented wife, Suki. No one would be sorry to see him gone. But is he a bit too obvious? Maybe!
Ravi Gulati
Another too obvious option? Perhaps! Ravi’s also a cold-hearted villain. He’s also annoyed the women, especially Suki – whose son Kheerat is serving life for a murder Ravi committed. Could she strike out in revenge? And let’s not forget the way he’s treated Denise and her daughter Chelsea. He’s ripe for retribution! Though the news that his family will soon be arriving in Walford makes us think that perhaps he’s not the victim after all.
Jack Branning
Yes, he’s a bit shouty and annoying, he’s not always the best dad, he’s made poor Denise’s life a misery after her – ahem – indiscretion with Ravi and he’s generally just a bit rubbish. But does he deserve to die? Perhaps not. Is he likely to die? Also not. And though he did have the cufflinks for a while, he’s passed them on… to Phil Mitchell
Phil Mitchell
One of the biggest mysteries about the flash forward episode is who Sharon is marrying. Is it Keanu? From where we are right now that doesn’t seem possible – after all, the pair are barely talking! It’s definitely not Phil because he’s just tied the knot with Kat. We’re stumped. Anyway, that’s a long-winded way of saying it totally could be Phil’s body on the floor but we reckon that’s not happening. Mostly because Shaz would have been WAY more upset than she was if it was Phil. Yes, he’s got the cufflinks now – but for how long?!
Theo Hawthorne
There’s no shortage of awful men in Albert Square right now, is there? One of them is undoubtedly creepy Theo Hawthorne, who’s been stalking poor Stacey. Theo has now moved in next door to keep up his campaign of terror, leaving poor Stace in bits every time she leaves the house. He’s definitely on the list of potential victims, there’s no doubt about it. But remember Stacey was the one who killed Archie Mitchell in another legendary Enders whodunnit. Could history repeat itself?
Martin Fowler
Rumours are rife that the dead man is actually all-round nice chap and devoted dad, Martin Fowler. WHAT? No! Surely not?! But the internet is buzzing with theories that Martin and Theo come to blows over the Christmas festivities and it’s Martin who ends up dead on the floor. We’re not sure what we think about this except, we absolutely don’t want this to happen. Nope.
Dean Wicks
In the episode that included the flash forward, Linda was upset because she’d spotted her rapist Dean in a photo shared by her mother-in-law, Shirley (remember Dean is Shirley’s son, though Ms Carter had disowned him after his actions). That little moment seems too important to brush off as a coincidence. Was it the biggest clue yet as to the identity of our corpse? Could Dean Wicks return to Albert Square to be murdered? There’s even a theory that Gina Knight’s mean ex-boyfriend could actually be Deano. We like that. We like that a lot…
Ian Beale
We have to be honest, we’d not be totally distraught if Ian ended up being the dead body on the floor of The Vic. It’s actually quite a good ending for such a legendary character, who’s wronged just about everyone in Albert Square in his time in Walford. But though we totally buy Sharon having another go at bumping off her ex-husband, we’re not sure why any of the rest of The Six – including Ian’s mum, Kathy – would want him dead.
Rocky Cotton
We know Brian Conley’s waving farewell to Walford soon, but does this mean he’s more or less likely to be the body on the floor? We can’t help thinking it would all be a bit…easy? But stranger things have happened.
Jay Brown
Some viewers think that because there is a photograph of Lola on the bar in the flashforward it’s a clue that bereaved Jay will be the Christmas victim. Plus Jamie Borthwick, who plays poor Jay, dropped a big clue recently by saying he was available for work! Does that mean he’s on his way out of Walford?! We’re not convinced. Of course some characters suffer with misery heaped upon misery (hard stare at Whitney) but we think there’s different torment in Jay’s future. Watch this space.
Dorian
Sharon’s currently being wooed by boxing promoter Dorian who’s desperate to recruit her to run a gym in Abu Dhabi. We’re not convinced he’s being entirely truthful about the many fabulous opportunities open to Shaz out there, but that in itself doesn’t make him a potential murder victim. In fact, the only thing that puts him in the running in our opinion is that we really can’t see the point of him otherwise.
Unless he’s Sharon’s future groom! Could happen!
Read more: Complete EastEnders cast list for 2023 right here!
EastEnders usually airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
Who do you think the Christmas murder victim will be? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.
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