Three massive BBC EastEnders theories: đť••ead body found and hard-hitting new storyline
The Five are left walking on eggshells this week.
SOAP fans are growing increasingly convinced that another character is due to make their own exit in an upcoming trip to the Square.
Things go from bad to worse for the Five in EastEnders this week and one returnee could expose them all.
1. Horrific murder rumbled
BBC One viewers are familiar with the murder that shook the Queen Vic on Christmas Day, which left six of Walford’s most iconic women with an overwhelming burden to bear.
Linda Carter (portrayed by Kellie Bright) stabbed Keanu Taylor to death in a bid to save her pal Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) from being strangled by the hunk – mere moments after Denise Fox bottled Nish, leaving him unconscious at the front of the bar.
Following the brutal murder, Denise, Linda, Sharon, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) teamed up to dispose of Keanu’s body underneath the Bridge Street cafĂ©.
But with the iconic venue set for some works after being destroyed by a fire Rocky Cotton started as part of an insurance claim scam, Keanu’s body could be discovered any minute with Denise’s necklace right beside it.
Coming up, it’s the day of the café re-opening but things get off to a rocky start when Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) and Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) discover there has been a leak and part of the floor is wet.
Kathy and Stacey then overhear Nish lamenting that the floor needs replacing and gather the women for a crisis meeting at No.31, knowing this must mean Keanu’s body could be found soon.
While the Five are thrown into a panic, things go from bad to worse as Nish berates Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) when she accidentally plays an old voice note from Keanu… just before her mother Karen (Lorraine Stanley) arrives back in Walford.
Upon her return, Karen causes an immediate stir but how will Phil react to seeing her?
Karen later continues to ruffle feathers at the café as she clashes with Nish.
Phil then arrives and demands his ÂŁ50k back – the sum he gave Sharon Watts to bring their son Albie back home safe and sound following his kidnapping ordeal.
Although Stacey and Kathy try to convince her of their version of events, Karen is hellbent on getting answers about her son Keanu’s disappearance.
Later on, worried that Karen is a threat to their freedom, Kathy decides to call the police to report Karen for Albie’s kidnapping, before Phil turns to her for advice on how to handle her return.
But one thing soon leads to another and Linda Carter, who is planning on running away with Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) this week, is confronted by Karen in The Vic.
Has she figured out what happened?
Will Keanu’s body be found this week ?
Do the Five – as Sharon escaped the Square following Keanu’s death – still have time before they have to explain themselves?
2. Resident framed
Tormented by the events of the latest festive season, Denise Fox (Diane Parish) is becoming more cumbersome as her mental health is left on a slippery slope.
Last week, the hairstylist was faced with some spine-chilling hallucinations which eventually led her straight back to her former husband, serial killer Lucas Johnson.
The criminal played by Don Gilet reappeared on our screens as Denise asked for his input, putting the Six’s secret in grave danger, and he urged her to come clean about her actions.
Coming up this week, Denise’s struggle continues but could she really appease her guilty conscience by confessing ?
As Karen returns and rumour of the wet café floor spreads, Denise reasons that she must confess.
This prompts her to seek solace at the community centre with Pastor Clayton who encourages her to unburden herself with her inner torment.
Once back home, Denise prepares to write a letter to her husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen).
Later on, however, Denise hallucinates Keanu as the events of Christmas continue to weigh heavy on her.
In other scenes, Jack wakes up at No.31 after having spent the night at Stacey’s.
He arrives home to a despondent Denise and lies by claiming he slept on the sofa which Denise willingly accepts – a hint she could be in need of some serious help.
While the likelihood of her confession increases, many viewers of the London-based program believe that the Five may actually throw Denise under the bus themselves once Keanu’s body is discovered.
Fans have been suggesting that Denise will either get sent down or could even be thrown into a mental health facility by her daughter Chelsea as her guilty conscience gnaws at her.
“Who else thinks when they find his body they will blame Denise and when she goes to blame everyone else no one will believe her and she’ll get sent down??”, one viewer penned on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Another quickly echoed : “Nah I still think Denise is gonna get sent down because she is going to have a breakdown.”
What will Denise do next?
Will she ever be able to keep it together?
Or is another exit in the works?
3. Slave trade storyline
George Knight (Colin Salmon) was reunited with his parents Gloria and Eddie earlier this year.
But fans noticed that Eddie (Christopher Fairbank) was a far cry from the devoted family man his adoptive son had grown to become as he was caught throwing several snarky comments at both The Vic landlord and his own granddaughter Gina (Francesca Henry).
Coming up, Eddie returns to Walford weeks after leaving George in a deep identity crisis as the truth about his heritage was revealed.
Eddie gets to The Vic with news that he’s won an award for championing diversity in boxing.
Although George is proud, Gina is far from convinced by her grandfather’s “nice guy” act.
Gina has made it clear she doesn’t trust Eddie and tensions have been running high between both characters.
This has prompted viewers to speculate that Eddie may have hurt Gina’s mother Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins), though the mystery remains intact.
Sensing Gina’s irritation in later scenes, George takes Eddie for a tour of the Square where the pair stumble upon Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega) training at the Boxing Den.
Eddie encourages George to get in the ring with Denzel as the pair try to improve his form.
Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James) then arrives and joins Denzel in the ring, but it’s not long before Eddie’s tough approach has consequences.
Denzel soon brutally insults Avani, leading her to flee from the Boxing Den and George berates Denzel before he heads to McClunky’s to apologise.
Later in The Vic, Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) is impressed by Denzel’s new focus but she questions his new obsession when he reveals that he wants to train twice a day.
Meanwhile, Eddie receives a call from his wife Gloria during which he tells her everything is going to plan.
What are Eddie and Gloria really up to?
While this remains to be seen, viewers have been suspicious of Eddie Knight since he first rocked up Albert Square, in early January, 2024.
“The interaction between Eddie and George in terms of the topic of hair, makes me wonder if George’s lack of hair could be because it was ingrained in him to hate his afro by the vile scum Eddie. Also hate the way he throws animalistic vocabularies toward Gina”, one viewer commented at the time.
Another echoed: “This Eddie looks like he invented racism. Proper bad vibes!”
However, one soap watcher went a step further with a huge theory about what could be in store for George as his father gets up to no good.
“I think EastEnders are going down the slave trade and racist route has anyone noticed the way Eddie talks to George?”, this viewer penned.
“Eddie constantly use of ‘boy’. He uses words when ordering him to do things for him like he’s in a power. I think George was a part slave trade.”
Could Eddie and Gloria be working out a devious plan to profit off of disoriented youngsters in the Square?
