Six jaw-dropping BBC EastEnders theories as Christmas murder mystery finally begins

THE wait is finally over for soap fans as this Christmas is set to cause havoc throughout the Square this year.

EastEnders fans are gearing up for an explosive murder involving six of Walford's beloved women to take place in the Vic this week.

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1. Nish meets unexpected fate

Nish Panesar (portrayed by Navin Chowdhry) is at the top of the list of men potentially being killed off this week after his villainous ways have caused trouble for Kathy and Rocky Cotton as well as for his own wife Suki.

This week on BBC One, Nish Panesar has to face his wife Suki (Balvinder Sopal) as her lover Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) returns to the Square, determined for a fresh start with her.

Coming up, the pair of women find each other again, against all odds, and prepare to leave Walford once and for all, as they'd originally planned to.

However, Suki is stopped in her tracks by a surprise visitor and she finds out that Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) was released from custody after news of Eve being alive reached the authorities.

The hunky gangster returns home and it's a hint that villainous Nish, who was held in custody on suspicion of murder, will not be too far behind him.

Eve is hidden away at No.31 as Christmas fever is in full swing in Albert Square and Suki joins her once again to finish off their preparations for their departure.

But while doing so, Suki receives a panicked phone call from her son Vinny (Shiv Jalota), forcing her to return to No.41.

Suki pales when she is confronted by an incensed Nish and the Panesar clan sit down to a tense Christmas dinner before she tries to leave.

Nish has made it clear - Suki is his wife and has to stand by his side no matter what, which thus prompts him to stop her from leaving again and drag her back to the table.

Unfortunately for Nish, Ravi has had enough of his behaviour and, in a surprising turn of events, he steps in to restrain his father in the kitchen, allowing Suki to flee.

Ravi has a history of murder and already killed off his father figure Ranveer Gulati in 2022, thus saving Suki from being raped by the businessman.

In recent scenes, the gangster seems to have had a crisis of conscience as he allowed Eve to save herself despite Nish ordering him to do his dirty work.

Could history repeat itself as Ravi kills off Nish, perhaps accidentally, to save Suki once again?

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2. Suki and Eve on the run

Speaking of which, Suki Panesar is hoping to have a fresh start away from the Square this week as Eve Unwin returns.

As viewers will know, Suki is one of the six women to be involved in this year's Christmas murder mystery and she was seen in the flashforward scene alongside Sharon Watts, Kathy Beale, Stacey Slater, Linda Carter and Denise Fox.

Following the events taking place on Christmas Day, all six matriarchs embark on a massive cover-up mission.

Viewers will have to wait and see how it all plays out but with Suki eager to get a new life started with Eve, one could expect the couple to flee the Square discreetly to avoid the post-Christmas chaos.

Will they decide to leave permanently?

Is Suki ready to turn over a new leaf?

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3. Old foes reignite feud

Karen Taylor was splashing the cash all around Albert Square in recent scenes of the long-running show, after years of struggling to make ends meet.

This caused suspicions to emerge as it became clear her sudden windfall may have been hiding something sinister.

Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) was able to get to the bottom of things quickly as he realised Karen had been involved in Albie Watts' kidnapping ordeal and pocketed the ransom money asked for the boy's safe return home.

The Walford tough man was rightly convinced her son Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) was also involved but once he confronted the pair in The Vic, Karen took the fall for her son and fled the Square before it was too late.

Since then, Keanu has been able to remain by his fiancée Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) who is completely unaware of how far he went to punish her for even considering taking Albie to Abu Dhabi with her.

This week, Sharon and Keanu get ready for their wedding day at No.43 with Zack Hudson (James Farrar) and Martin Fowler (James Bye).

Unbeknownst to anybody, Sharon tries to mask her guilt as she continues to keep a massive secret about her son Albie's paternity.

Later, at the church, Sharon is a vision in white as she walks down the aisle with Albie.

Sharon and Keanu are about to say "I do" before her ex-husband Phil Mitchell arrives with a huge bombshell of his own and Keanu faces the consequences of his actions.

While many viewers have theorised that Keanu could be killed off this Christmas, one could speculate that he will actually be spared as he embarks on another feud with Phil Mitchell.

The pair have always struggled to get along and despite trying to remain civil on several occasions, drama has always managed to find both men and turn them further against one another.

But Keanu could lose another person close to him.

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4. Surprise exit

Keanu has managed to frustrate his own sister Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) following their mother Karen's departure.

While Keanu thinks his secret is safe, Bernie decides honesty is the best policy this week as she's left living in squalor following Karen's shock exit.

Coming up, Bernie Taylor tries to put on a brave face as she wakes up alone in No.23B with no electricity or heating.

But after an emotional call with her mother, she pleads with Keanu to speak to Sharon so that Karen can finally come home.

Keanu categorically refuses and uninvites Bernie to the wedding as he begins to fear that his involvement in Albie’s kidnap will come to light.

Bernie is prompted to finally expose Keanu in the hopes of saving her mother Karen from Sharon and Phil's well-known dangerous wrath.

Plucking up the courage, Bernie heads to No.55 to interrupt the Mitchell’s raucous Christmas lunch and she demands an audience with Phil.

As soap regulars will remember, Karen left Walford earlier this year with Mitch Baker and their grandkids, Mackenzie and Mia Atkins in tow.

The family went to Spain after Karen took the blame for Albie's kidnapping to protect Keanu.

Could Bernie join them as she turns on Keanu, the only family member she has left in the Square?

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5. Denise gets her revenge

Soap viewers have also been terrified for Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) as Christmas is fast approaching and they have speculated he could be killed off.

In recent scenes of the London-based program, Jack got closer to Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) as he has struggled to adapt to his role of grandfather for Charli.

This has led the pair to canoodle behind Denise's back, thus prompting the hairstylist to try and fight for her marriage.

Despite her best efforts, Denise's sister Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) reasoned that she must divorce Jack as their marriage is clearly beyond help - and she may be right.

This week, things remain tense between Stacey and Jack as she collects Charli before the Slaters enjoy a festive family lunch for Christmas.

Many fans of the long-running show have speculated that Jack could be the one to perish as Denise figures out how close he got to Stacey Slater.

Viewers have thus taken their theory a step further by suggesting that Denise could be the one to kill him in a fit of jealous rage.

Could they be right?

Will Denise be revealed as the killer this Christmas?

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6. Shock arrest

While Denise losing her cool and harming Jack could be likely, another theory emerged about the copper on X, formerly known as Twitter.

According to one soap fan, Jack is in the clear this Christmas - but he could be cuffed and carted away due to Eve's sudden reappearance in Albert Square despite Ravi and Nish being arrested for her murder.

"Reckon Jack is gonna be arrested for conspiracy - he’ll be blamed for trying to set up Ravi & Nish for Eve’s 'murder'", the viewer speculated.

They added: "He has motive (Ravi trying to sh** his wife) and is known as a crooked cop. This is also what will being Penny home. I think he’s safe on Xmas day."

Indeed, Penny Branning is due to return to Walford ahead of the New Year after getting wind of recent events in Albert Square.

But could it be to save her father Jack from prison?

EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.