The legendary character was killed off 25 years ago after supposedly dying during childbirth in prison. However Cindy's true whereabouts were exposed in a huge twist. In a surprise twist that EastEnders has never done before, the episode flash forwarded to Christmas 2023 where a wedding was taking place at the Vic. It was soon revealed that Sharon was the bride as she was wearing a blood splattered wedding dress. EastEnders spoilers tease a huge bombshell for Ian Beale next week, that could leave his plan in tatters on the BBC soap. Emma made a brief appearance at Lola's emotional funeral and swiftly left the church before anyone could see her. In 1992, after serving a short stretch in prison, Wilmott-Brown returned to the square, refusing to accept that Kathy wanted nothing to do with him.

Desperate for her daughter to escape Nish's controlling ways, Suki made sure that she took the job by goading her and telling her that she wouldn't be able to cope. She knew that Ash would want to prove her wrong and go against her mother's words, so accepted the offer. Speaking of joining the show, Kitty said:“I didn’t expect to start my EastEndersjourney so soon out of drama school – I can’t believe it! My whole family are EastEndersfans, and I remember sitting on my Nanny Kay’s lap to tune in, and now they get to watch me in Albert Square. The doctor first arrived in Walford in 2019 and had been at the forefront of many storylines, mostly involving her troubled family, her sexuality and her difficult relationship with her mother, Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal). EastEndershas announced that Penny Branning is set to return to Walford alongside her cousin Lauren Branning. With Ian and Sharon having been best friends for nearly 40 years, with the odd blip that we won’t mention, he would certainly fall into this category.Given the twisted villain's lying past, it's possible that he may be lying about Shirley's current situation. With all this in mind, it makes the fact that Kathy is holding a knife in her trailer incredibly important. Could she be set to finally find the courage to use it? Knowing the history George and Cindy share and that Cindy is keen to stay in Walford for her daughters, Ian is desperate to get their family restaurant plans off the ground. He fears he could lose Cindy if he doesn't make it work and give her what she wants.

Prior to this, she made a brief return to Walford last December for the funeral of Dot Cotton ( June Brown). Ever since their turbulent split, Ravi had kept Priya away from their teenage son Nugget (Juhaim Rasul Choudhury). However, it turned out that he wasn't their only child together.EastEnders fans will know that Kathy has experienced a lot of trauma in her life, one such occasion being when she was raped by James Wilmott-Brown in 1988. They could decide that another soap death would create an explosive exit storyline and get people talking, but that’s always a risk actors have to take when deciding to leave. Shona is really looking forward to new projects and expanding her career horizon.

EastEnders favourite Shona McGarty has decided to quit the soap after 15 years of playing Whitney Dean. Despite Emma's pleas that Lexi needed her and wanted to be in her life, her furious dad Ben Mitchell ( Max Bowden) banned her from seeing Lexi. EastEnders icon Jacqueline Jossa is set to make an "explosive" return to Walford as she reprises her role of Lauren Branning after five years. However, she later revealed that he had left her feeling so scared that she had just frozen, meaning that she couldn’t bring herself to actually use the weapon against him.Finlay threatened to go to the police and after discovering that Eve was the intended target, he set out to tell her everything. EastEnderslegend Lisa Fowler (Lucy Benjamin) returned to Walford after four years with her granddaughter Peggy Taylor in tow. The role of Penny has been recast, with rising star Kitty Castledine taking on the character in her first major television role after graduating from the London Academy of Music and Drama (LAMDA) this summer. I have been trusted with some incredible storylines and have made amazing friendships — and family — which will endure.”

After overhearing at the Vic that Eve would be driving Finlay's sports car to Brighton, Vinny broke into the garage and cut the brakes. Despite his evil scheme to con Sonia out of Dot Cotton's (June Brown) inheritance money, he managed to forge meaningful relationships with the Walford residents. There's been some issues though with the funds for the business, with Cindy believing George owed her money after selling their Marbella bar. With the money seemingly sorted, Ian is on the hunt for a venue and believes he has found the perfect location to secure his and Cindy's future. For far too long, you have settled for calendars, featuring themes such as “pooping dogs” and “laughing cats” – which have served their purpose. But fear not! The king now presents to you the crème de la crème of the calendar world – the C@ca C@la. He proudly claims, “There’s something for everyone here at the Calendar King’s castle.”

We'll update this article as soon as they've announced more newcomers coming into EastEnders. Who arrived to EastEnders in 2023? Lauren was last seen on screen in June when she travelled to France to visit her ex-boyfriend Peter Beale (Thomas Law) with their son Louie. However, it all came crashing down when she discovered that Peter's mum, Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) was actually alive after 25 years. She didn't stop there however, as she returned to gate-crash his wedding to Kathy and dropped the bombshell that they were still legally married and he could be sent to prison for committing bigamy. Another factor that leads us to think that Ian may be dead is the blood on Sharon Watts’ (Letitia Dean) wedding dress during the flash forward scene. The main thing about Kathy’s trailer that stands out is that she is holding what could be the murder weapon. Obviously, this in itself is important, as she is the only person out of the five trailers so far that has been seen with a weapon.