Five explosive BBC EastEnders theories: massive return, sinister DNA secret and organised crime rocks the Square
Many secrets could be due to come to the light. But how will they affect Walford residents?
AFTER being arrested while on her way back to Albert Square, Lauren Branning finally makes her return for her son Louie.
But while a big family secret is uncovered, fellow EastEnders characters may be faced with some revelations of their own.
1. Huge return for the Brannings
Christmas has left Linda Carter (played by Kellie Bright) in a vulnerable position as she stabbed Keanu Taylor to death before hiding the hunk’s body with the help of five other iconic Walford ladies.
Linda has been having issues with keeping schtum about the murder and she turned to boozing once again to cope.
With her addiction still going strong, fellow residents who helped her get rid of Keanu’s body are terrified she may start blabbing around Walford.
While Linda is pleaded to keep her act together, many have forgotten that she’s keeping another huge secret, all about her baby daughter Annie.
And with Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) returning to the Square, the secrecy begins to fade.
After being arrested in Paris, while she was trying to make her way to Walford, Lauren finally manages to head back home and gets the shock of her life in scenes airing on BBC One.
Coming up, a newly released Lauren arrives back in Albert Square and is desperate to be reunited with her son Louie, who managed to enter the country with her cousin Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine).
Peter Beale (Thomas Law) manages to convince her to stay longer, and Lauren goes to see Penny and check she’s okay.
Things get worse when she discovers Peter knew all about Penny’s secret and didn’t tell her, so she decides to go to Tanya’s immediately.
Meanwhile, Linda is terrified that Lauren will discover the truth about baby Annie’s paternity.
As regular viewers will remember, Linda had an affair with Lauren’s father Max Branning who left the Square in 2021.
Since then, Linda tried to fix her marriage with Mick Carter but this ended in tears as he vanished at sea on Christmas Day 2022.
Lauren has no idea Linda gave birth to a baby girl, the result of her affair with her father and Annie has been raised as part of the Carter clan.
Fortunately for the Vic landlady, Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) promises not to tell.
But while Lauren and Louie get into the taxi, Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) stops her to spill the beans and tells her that she’s got another sister in Walford.
In later scenes, Lauren bursts into The Vic and demands to know why Linda didn’t tell her that Annie is her sister.
While Linda’s reaction remains to be seen, Lauren finding out about Annie’s true parentage may prompt her to reach out to her father, Max.
This could then result in his own comeback to the Square, which fans of the London-based drama have been anticipating.
As mentioned above, nearly three years have passed since Max was last seen in Walford and he was reportedly living in Croatia, where he’d moved on from Linda… by hooking up with another one of Lauren’s best friends.
Could finding out he has another daughter be enough for him to return to Walford?
And with a single Linda in the Square, could he be tempted to make things work with her?
2. Friendship takes a dark turn
Whatever the case may be, Max could be a valuable ally in Linda’s feud with her rapist Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo).
But while many believe Dean hurt her, Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) has made it clear she’s not on Linda’s side and firmly believes the returnee didn’t do anything wrong, although she wasn’t even present at the time of the attack.
This has led multiple fans to believe Gina will meet a similar fate to Linda and Roxy Mitchell as they are convinced Dean hasn’t changed his ways.
“I think even though Gina believes him it will end up with eventually Dean raping her as he is nice to Gina like he was to Linda before he raped her”, one fan theorised, terrified for the character’s future in Walford.
But there could be someone else who is just as dangerous as Dean roaming free.
3. Newcomer has sinister link to Cindy
Viewers of the long-running drama have been introduced to George Knight’s parents last week, Gloria and Eddie, and their arrival has turned his world upside down.
George (Colin Salmon) is dealing with confusion and has been plunged in a full-blown identity crisis as he’s desperate to know everything about his true heritage.
But just as the storyline began to unfold, his father Eddie (Christopher Fairbank) clearly struggled to get along with his granddaughter Gina.
In shocking scenes, the pair bickered before Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) intervened, standing up for her daughter.
Tensions were clearly at an all-time high between Cindy, Gina and Eddie and it was enough for viewers to theorise George’s father may be keeping a VERY dark secret.
According to soap watchers, Eddie could have sexually assaulted Cindy during her marriage with George.
Viewers took the theory to another level as they are growing convinced Eddie could even be Anna Knight’s (Molly Rainford) biological father.
“Theory: Eddie is Anna’s father”, one fan speculated.
“Do we reckon George’s dad is actually Anna’s dad and did he SA Cindy? Because he’s implying very dark stuff to Gina and Anna about them being daughters of the same father yet so different”, another questioned.
Could Eddie be another villain to take down?
4. Big secrets are shared
Elsewhere in the Square, Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) are taking their relationship to the next level with a huge decision for their future.
For several months, the pair played a game of push and pull but Suki was finally comfortable enough with her sexuality to turn their affair into something more official.
This week, Eve starts moving Suki’s belongings in the Slater house, at No.31, meaning they will be under the same roof as Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner).
Both Eve and Stacey are keeping a secret about Theo Hawthorne’s attack while Stacey and Suki were involved in the murder of Keanu Taylor, unbeknownst to her best pal.
One viewer speculated that all these secrets could tumble out in the open as Suki and Stacey may struggle to keep silent.
But according to them, this could be for their benefit as Eve may be ready to help them in the case of Keanu’s death.
“I really want Suki to open up to Eve about Christmas Day as I think it’ll become more and more obvious Suki and Stacey are hiding something. But equally I want Eve, and Stacey, to tell Suki about Theo. No secrets between all three women would be good.”
How will they handle it?
5. Organised crime plot ahead
Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine) made her own comeback to our screens after 15 years of absence.
But as she did so, it became clear to viewers that she was up to no good as they were also introduced to a new villain called Juliette Dubois (Lily Catalifo) just as Penny was getting ready to leave Paris.
Since meeting her, viewers have been convinced that Juliette could be bringing considerable trouble to the Square – and Penny’s father Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) may even have to get involved.
“Also I wonder if Juliette will arrive on the Square at some point? This is what makes me think that Penny could be part of a mafia or drugs ring because there could be someone in the UK involved too”, one of them speculated.
Another soap watcher added that it could be a way to revisit Penny’s life-changing attack, which broke her spine and left her in need of a wheelchair.
“Got the feeling this isn’t just a one-off ‘big return’ plot for Penny, Juliette’s going to be back and possibly we could meet Kenny Nelson, the drugs baron Jack was on the take from. Penny is also great”, the fan commented.
Penny and Jack shared a tense conversation last week as the copper begged for her to grass on her boss Juliette.
Unfortunately for him, Penny reminded Jack that she was left in a wheelchair the last time somebody had chosen to betray a criminal.
Jack begged for his daughter to take his deal, promising he would protect her and Lauren if she turned Juliette into the authorities.
But will Penny accept the deal?
Will Jack really be able to protect her and Lauren?
How will Juliette reappear on our screens?
