Three massive BBC EastEnders theories: shocking split and Christmas murder victim confirmed
KAT Slater and Phil Mitchell postponed their wedding last year – but will they ever go through with tying the knot?
Elsewhere in EastEnders this week, two residents continue to ruffle feathers – and one of them puts his life on the line.
1. Devastating breakup
After leaving Walford to see her sister Little Mo, Kat Slater (portrayed by Jessie Wallace) is back in the Square.
However, her return leads to some tense scenes on BBC One as she finds out that not only her son Tommy Moon has been acting out again but her former husband Alfie Moon could be suffering from prostate cancer.
Kat is angry when Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) tells her that their son Tommy has lashed out at him.
He explains that both him and Phil Mitchell have had to deal with the lad’s erratic behaviour without her by taking him to The Boxing Den.
The beloved character soon confronts her fiancé Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) over keeping secrets which prompts him to share the news of Alfie’s cancer scare.
Kat is horrified when Phil reveals Alfie should be getting prostate cancer results that same day, and she drops everything to be with him at the hospital.
The pair go on to have a row about Phil’s deception but could it lead to irreparable damage in their relationship?
Whatever the case may be, Phil later tries to make amends with Kat, who has frozen him out.
Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) soon gets involved and, after sharing a pep talk with her, Phil arrives at the cab office with chocolates for Kat.
Sadly, his attempts to make up are unsuccessful.
In a state, Phil storms over to Peggy’s to be alone, but Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit) barges in and demands a G&T.
At the Vic, Sharon talks sense into Kat, who goes looking for Phil.
Later on, Phil sheepishly returns home to Kat, who is angry he stayed out all night.
Over lunch, he promises to be straight with her from now on but after a coy Emma passes, he rushes off.
After Alfie lets the boys down, Kat makes a decision and books the registry office, which has a cancellation for the following week, so she can marry Phil.
Later on in the Vic, Kat announces she and Phil will marry next week.
Viewers are growing doubtful the couple will really walk down the aisle, particularly as it seems Phil is set to betray Kat with another woman.
One soap fan took to X, formerly known as Twitter, speculating Kat and Phil will be calling time on their relationship soon.
“I feel Kat’s definitely going to split from Phil soon so hopefully there is much more scenes with her and the Slaters again”, they penned, commenting on snaps from Kat’s first meeting with baby Charli.
“It is great to see her sharing scenes with her family.”
2. Creepy stalker has surprise ally
Speaking of the Slater family, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) is starting life as a grandmother after the birth of her granddaughter Charli.
But while her daughter Lily (Lillia Turner) tries her best at parenting, Stacey makes a shocking discovery about her stalker Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis).
Coming up, everyone at No.31 is exhausted after a sleepless night courtesy of baby Charli.
Stacey is taking charge, but Lily convinces her and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) to go to work and let her take care of her baby daughter.
Reluctantly, Stacey agrees but disaster strikes later on when Lily and Ricky Branning (Frankie Day) go out and Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) is horrified to find them clowning about with baby Charli.
Marching over to Stacey, Jack throws accusations about and, mortified, she drags Lily home.
When Stacey and Lily fake that everything is perfect for the social worker, Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) is concerned.
She tries to encourage her daughter not to be so heavy-handed with Lily and to let her make mistakes and learn.
Will Stacey listen?
This is unlikely as, in later scenes, Stacey continues nit-picking Lily’s parenting, so Jean tells her off.
As Stacey explains why she’s so protective, Jean reminds her that Theo Hawthorne has gone and Lily is the one who must protect Charli now.
However, when Stacey goes outside, she finds something horrifying waiting for her.
Does Theo have something left in store for Stacey?
Stacey tried to report Theo’s actions to the police but their hands were tied, much to her shock.
Theo maintained it was all a misunderstanding as Stacey emphasised she was scared and worried about what he could do.
Over on social media, many fans of the London-based show have begun to wonder – could Theo have been pushed to terrorise Stacey by someone from her past?
According to them, Stacey’s former love rival Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) could have been pulling the strings from her prison cell.
“Do you agree with my theory that Ruby & Theo could be working together?”, one fan commented.
“Surely Theo can’t be that clever when it comes to Stacey’s backstory. The only person I can see working with Theo to get revenge on Stacey and the Slaters is Ruby.”
A second viewer disagreed but admitted it was an “interesting take.”
“In tonight’s episode he named all Stacey’s ex’s how does he know that when he’s only been in here life just a few months”, they questioned.
“This would be a good twist but he’s a woman abuser I can’t see how ruby could form a decent friendship out of Theo?”
However, another viewer quickly jumped in by throwing another name into the mix.
“I possibly think it’s Ryan (Malloy) as a way of looking to get Lily back. This could follow on to Ryan coming back and maybe even being the Christmas body in the Vic which could also tie into Whitney leaving”, they theorised.
Ryan Malloy made a brief return to the Square after finding out his daughter Lily was pregnant at the age of twelve and he made his intention to get custody of her very clear.
This has placed him on the list of potential victims in the Christmas murder mystery.
Which brings to our third and final theory for the week.
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3. More enemies for one resident
Ravi Gulati (played by Aaron Thiara) and Denise Fox (Diane Parish) have a troubled past after it was revealed that the pair embarked on a steamy affair.
The illicit romance was cut short by a guilt-ridden Denise and wreaked havoc in her family, particularly with her daughter Chelsea (Zaraah Abrahams).
But when Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) reveals she and her partner Zack Hudson will have to move out of No.1 due to their dream of becoming foster parents, Ravi and Denise have to join forces to help Chelsea.
Struggling to cope with Whitney’s impending departure, Chelsea opens up to Denise who invites her to move back in with them.
However, Ravi quickly jumps in with an offer of his own as he suggests that he and his son Nugget could move in with Chelsea instead.
But while Ravi seems keen to take their relationship to the next step, Chelsea remains unsure.
During a heart-to-heart with her pal Whitney, Chelsea admits she’s not sure she’s ready to move in with Ravi.
Whitney encourages her to take a leap of faith while Denise is horrified when Chelsea and Ravi announce they are moving in together.
Denise immediately warns Ravi that her daughter will see through him.
Chelsea tries to restore peace by inviting her and Ravi’s families to drinks at No.1.
Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) encourages Denise to support Chelsea and keep enemy Ravi close.
But when she overhears Gina and Anna Knight (Francesca Henry and Molly Rainford) rowing about Ravi dealing drugs, Denise is desperate to go to the police.
Jack urges caution, and they head to the party, where the air is thick with tension.
Things take yet another dreadful turn when a row breaks out, leading Chelsea to throw accusations at Denise, who storms out… having secretly taken Ravi’s laptop.
Could she find out the truth about Ranveer Gulati’s murder?
If such is the case, Ravi will undoubtedly try to silence Denise Fox, adding yet another enemy on his long list.
Unfortunately for him, this would also mean Suki Panesar will be seeking revenge against him.
As viewers know, Suki has fully blamed herself for Ranveer’s murder and her son Kheerat took the fall to prevent her from going to prison.
Could Denise and Suki team up to make Ravi pay?
Both women aren’t the only ones who have a bone to pick with him as the gangster has also angered Sharon Watts and annoyed Stacey Slater – another two of the Walford six set to be involved in the upcoming Christmas whodunnit.
Much like Ryan Malloy and his father Nish Panesar, Ravi is on the list of potential victims – but how will he manage to get Kathy Beale and Linda Carter against him?
EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.