Who died in BBC EastEnders tonight? Keanu Taylor is surprise murder victim – after Nish Panesar starts breathing

EastEnders have been building up to a shock Christmas death and tonight it was revealed just who died in the Queen Vic this Christmas – and who was responsible for the man meeting his grisly end

EastEnders have been building up to a shock Christmas death and tonight it was revealed just who died in the Queen Vic this Christmas – and who was responsible for the man meeting his grisly end(BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron/Matt Burlem)

EastEnders have killed off Keanu Taylor in a shock twist this Christmas.

Fans of the BBC soap up and down the country have tuned in tonight to see who gets unmasked as the Christmas killer – and who finds themselves dead on the floor of the Queen Vic. Soap boss Chris Clenshaw and his team had been working on this storyline for months, which all kicked off when a special flashforward scene teased a shock Christmas death.

Back in February, The Six women – Denise (Diane Parish), Kathy (Gillian Taylforth), Linda (Kellie Bright), Sharon (Letitia Dean), Stacey (Lacey Turner) and Suki (Balvinder Sopal) – found themselves surrounding a dead body in the Queen Vic on Christmas Day.

At the time, all we knew was that The Six had something to do with the death, and that it was on Sharon’s wedding day – as she was wearing a wedding dress. Throughout the last eight months, we’ve seen the ups and downs of the women of Walford, which has given them all a motive for killing one or more of the men – and now death has finally rocked the Square.

One man died this Christmas on EastEnders(EastEnders/Youtube)

As fans tuned in for tonight’s special, they watched as revelations and secrets came to light for many of those in the Square. Sharon and Keanu prepared for their big wedding day alongside Zack and Martin – who were also seen wearing cufflinks. Sharon has been keeping a secret about the true identity of her son Albie’s father and it all came out this evening.

What happened in EastEnders tonight?

As Sharon walked down the aisle to marry Keanu, Phil arrived to tell Sharon that Keanu was behind the kidnap. Horrified and having learned the truth, Sharon called the wedding off, as Keanu tried to apologise for what he’d done. Furious, Sharon told Keanu he wasn’t Albie’s father and that it was Phil instead – but she was unaware he was listening in.

EastEnders Christmas 2023

Storming out, Sharon and Linda made a quick exit back to the Vic alongside Denise and Kathy, who were both struggling being with their husbands – Jack Branning and Rocky Cotton – after their own betrayals.

Over at the Panesars, Suki was busy preparing to leave Walford with her lover Eve. However, she was stopped in her tracks when Ravi Gulati appeared. He had been released from custody after the police discovered Eve was alive and he warned Nish wouldn’t be far behind him. Suki later left the house, planning to head off forever, but a phone call from Vinny had her make a quick return to the house – only to realise it was a false alarm and Nish was back and wanted revenge. Horrified by all that happened, Suki tried to leave but Nish stopped her and tried to drag her back to the table. Ravi stepped in and held him back, allowing Suki to escape.

Seven men were at risk of being killed in EastEnders(BBC)

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the residents of Walford as Anna and Gina headed to the Beales for Christmas lunch. Cindy invited her ex George Knight over for a drink and soon he headed round, meeting his kids and partner Elaine there. There was clear tension amongst the Knights and the Beales, as Ian and Elaine clearly feared there was a spark between George and Cindy.

Back at the Mitchells, Kat urged Phil to go make peace with Sharon – and told him he needed to see his son, whilst there was a sweet surprise for Jay from his late wife Lola, who told him he’d be running the London Marathon to raise money for charity. Phil decided to head to the Queen Vic to confront Sharon and demand to be allowed in Albie’s life, but a confrontation between Sharon and Kathy led to her dress being torn. Following Phil’s departure from the pub, Linda headed upstairs to take a swig of alcohol but the arrival of Dean Wicks – who had snuck into the Queen Vic – saw a violent confrontation between them, giving Linda her split lip.

Sharon’s dress still had blood on from when she slapped Keanu and gave him a bloody nose, whilst Kathy’s dress remained ripped from the fall out with Phil. With blood on Stacey’s dress and Denise holding a broken bottle, all was soon revealed about the shock death.

Goaded by the other women, Suki got Nish to come to the pub where they confronted him and ordered him out of Walford. In a huge confrontation, Denise smashed the bottle over Nish’s head in a bid to get him to let Suki go.

But soon, Keanu arrived and realised what had gone on. Horrified by Sharon stopping him from seeing Albie, he went to strangle her as The Six tried to stop him. Linda grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the back, leaving him dead in on the floor.

Back in the Vic, Suki tried to revive Nish Panesar and right at the end of the episode, we saw him breathing – will he live to tell the tale, and what will happen next on the BBC soap on Boxing Day?

The owner of the cufflinks have finally been revealed What happens tomorrow night on EastEnders?

EastEnders will return to our screens at 8.25pm on Boxing Day, with even more drama ahead. The soap will also air early on iPlayer as normal and will drop from 6am on Boxing Day on the online site.

Soap boss Chris Clenshaw previously teased a shock fall out in the wake of the murder, with The Six’s lives never the same again. “The events of Christmas Day lead to The Six – Stacey, Suki, Linda, Sharon, Denise and Kathy – being bound together and it’s safe to say that none of their lives will ever be the same again,” he revealed.

Soap spoilers released a couple of weeks back teased that the Six are left reeling by the death, as they try to deal with the fall out of what happened on Christmas Day, whilst Elaine plans to go back to the Vic to collect some overnight things – but George convinces her not to, as they avoid the chaos that is unfolding inside with The Six women.

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