EastEnders Christmas spoilers 2011

As fans of EastEnders will of course know ‘Fat’ Pat Evans is off to the great beyond, and is to take her last mortal breath on New Year’s Day…

And we thought we’d offer up our own little tribute to the iconic matriarch, but first, when Pat – who is of course played by Pam St Clement – discovers she has terminal cancer at Christmas, she naturally wants all her family around her.

So in addition to the family members she already lives with, Pat’s son David Wicks (Michael French) returns to the Square to spend some time with his mum before it’s too late.

However, it’s not long before David’s getting into scrapes, most notably with Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman) who David really shouldn’t make an enemy of!

But that aside, it’s a sad time as Bianca (Patsy Palmer) and Ricky (Sid Owen) have to break the news to their kids that Nanna Pat is on her last legs.

A show insider told the Daily Mirror, “The whole Christmas schedule is packed full of high-octane drama in Albert Square.

“Pam St Clement’s decision to leave has been common knowledge, but nobody will be prepared for the drama about to unfold.

“There are dozens of twists and surprises, and fans will be glued to their seats.”

Pam announced her decision to leave the show in July, saying she wanted to pursue “other work and life opportunities” so hopefully, this won’t be the last we see of her on our screens.

Let’s take a look back at Pat’s EastEnders story via these clips…

Here are a couple of Pat’s first ever scenes in the show back in 1986…

And one of the many fights between Peggy and Pat…

And Mo and Pat…

This scene was as Pat was sent to prison for drunk driving. She of course knocked over a woman who later died…

This clip is of Pat marrying the love of her life, Frank Butcher…

And her wedding to Roy Evans…

This clip shows Pat and Pauline Fowler having a heart to heart…

Here’s the moment Pat had her heart attack…

And when she accused Janine of killing her gran Lydia, which of course, she didn’t do…

You’ve been awesome Pam, and given us all many years of entertainment as Pat, so thank you!

I’m really going to miss you and your hideous earrings, heavy sighing and bitch fights…

More ‘Enders news soon!

And Nina Wadia on Zainab’s desperate fight to get Kamil back

We’ll start our look at Walford news with former EastEnder Lacey Turner – who of course played Stacey Slater – who’s about to return to our screens in a new series of Sky Living Drama, Bedlam.

In it, she plays the role of paramedic Ellie, who can see ghosts. She stars alongside Jack Roth in the series which featured singer Will Young in the first series.

Of the new role, Lacey told The Sun, “I am really excited about taking part in the second series of Bedlam.”

“It’s a great story with brilliant writing and a fantastic cast. Ellie is a really interesting and conflicted character.

“I’m looking forward to playing her and seeing where the story takes her.”

And her co-star Jack added, “The first series was very interesting, opening many exciting doors to explore in a darker way.

“Horror is a genre which can be capitalised upon brilliantly for television as there is time to fully develop ideas.

“My character Max has a great back story with intriguing and mysterious directions to be taken along with Ellie.”

The new series of Bedlam airs in the New Year.

On now to the ongoing mystery of who is stalking Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and apparently we’re going to find out who it is in the Christmas Day episode.

But before then, the stalker gets more bold by setting fire to the Christmas tree that’s right outside Phil’s house!

Oo, he’s not going to like that at all!

Finally, Nina Wadia, who of course plays Zainab Masood, has told Soaplife that her character will do whatever it takes to get her son Kamil back.

As fans will know, evil doctor Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti) has taken Kamil away, and is refusing to tell Zainab where he is.

Of the plotline, Nina said, “She knew she was in trouble right after they married when he smacked her across the face hard enough to send her across the room.

“He’s been very manipulative and she’s been isolated from all her friends and family.

“He made it so that she had nobody she could actually turn to and gradually eroded her self-confidence.

“Every time she went to Masood, something went wrong. Either the timing wasn’t right or he was with Jane.”

And of Yusef taking Kamil away from Zainab, Nina said, “He says he’ll hurt her and he’ll hurt Kamil.

“She doesn’t care what happens to her, but she will do anything to protect her children.”

Finally, Nina was asked if the rumours that Yusef will die in the fire at Christmas, she said, “This is an action drama that builds to an inevitable conclusion. It’s a very different EastEnders Christmas.

“The fire involves lots of different characters.

“It’s nice to be involved as opposed to The Vic fire when the Masoods danced in the background on telly for 10 minutes!”

I cannot wait for these episodes. Can’t beat a bit of doom, gloom, death and destruction at Christmas.

It’s what it’s all about… o yeah, and that whole being for kids and worshipping God thing…;-)

Let’s have a reminder of what lies in store in Walford this Christmas…

More ‘Enders news soon!

And Janine Butcher to have a happy Christmas after all!

As fans of EastEnders will of course know, poor Zainab Masood is in way over her head with Doctor Evil, Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti), who’s even kidnapped Zainabe’s toddler son Kamil in a bid to enforce his control of what Zainab does next…

And what she wants to do is escape from Yusef before he manages to get her into Pakistan, because she knows, once she’s there, there will be no hope of ever getting away from Yusef.

However, we know that things are going to come to an incredibly dramatic head on Christmas Day when Yusef traps several of the Masood family – as well as other Walford residents – in the B&B when he deliberately starts a fire.

But even he had no idea how out of control the inferno would be, and he will himself not survive the blaze.

Nina Wadia, who of course plays the frightened Zainab, has been speaking to BBC News about the storyline, and her hopes for the impact of the plotline.

She said, “I think the idea behind showing a strong woman like Zainab changing like this is to show that it can happen to even the strongest of women.

“They can change and they can be manipulated – especially if they’re isolated from their friends and family.

“The manipulator can take advantage, so it’s to prove that it can even happen to people like her.”

“To be honest, if even one woman rings that Action Line at the end of the show and there’s some difference made to her life, I’ll feel like we’ve done our job.

“It is a serious issue and I’m glad it’s being highlighted. I hope that it wakes anyone up – not just women, I know that there are abused men out there as well.

“So if it gives anyone the strength to leave a relationship like that, we’ll have done our job.”

Then, while discussing the fact that Yusef has taken Kamil away – but fortunately, Mas (Nitin Ganatra) is set to find the little boy and bring him home to Walford at Christmas – Nina said, “Yusef shows very clearly his true colours…

“He decides to take Kamil, so he’s now messing with her children, which is what’s going to wake Zainab up big-time.

“She then realises that she’s in trouble, and she goes to the one person she knows will help her regardless of what he says he thinks of her – which is Masood. They will have to work together to ensure that their children are safe.”

But sadly, one of their children is going to be very far from safe this yuletide…

Tamwar (Himesh Patel) is set to be trapped in the fire, and will reportedly suffer burns so horrific, he’ll be disfigured for life.

In other Christmas EastEnders news, on the big day, Janine Malloy (Charlie Brooks) will be rejected by her family when she puts ever more pressure on Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) over the loan she recently gave her for £50,000.

And unsurprisingly, Ricky and Bianca – who are played by Patsy Palmer and Sid Owen – are particularly furious with Janine for putting Pat under such stress, especially given that Pat has a heart condition.

So, when Janine is shunned as the rest of the family sit down to dinner, she goes to her office, but once there, she gets a lovely surprise…

Her boyfriend Michael (Steve John Shepherd) has decorated Butcher’s Joints with lights, a tree and laid on a Christmas dinner, served by a group of top class waiters.

But though Janine is truly touched by the gesture, she’s got other things on her mind as she suspects she’s pregnant!

And by New Year, the news will be confirmed, but what will she do?

We’ll keep you posted!

The EastEnders drama continues tonight at 8pm on BBC One, with the dramatic fire featuring in the episodes from Christmas Eve.

Let’s take a look at the BBC trailer for Christmas in Walford…

More ‘Enders news soon!

This time next week is of course Christmas Day, and the writers of our top three soaps have been busy for months writing plotlines that’ll keep us riveted as we slump in our chairs, still wearing the hats out of the crackers, bloated from too much dinner and slightly buzzed from copious quantities of Christmas booze…

And we have a round up of all the major plotlines we’ll be seeing play out on Christmas in the top three soaps.

Starting with Corrie, there’s not much cheer around for Becky who’s been falsely accused of causing Tracy Barlow to miscarry her twins.

So, upset, drunk and alone in her flat, Becky has herself a little bonfire of all the photographs she has of her and Steve.

But, as the booze takes its toll on her, she dozes off, leaving the embers of her Boyfriend Bonfire smoldering away.

A fire quickly takes hold, but luckily for Becky, Nick Tilsley spots smoke and manages to break in to save her life.

We’ll see poor Becky’s fire trauma on Christmas Day at 8pm on ITV1.

Meanwhile, over in Walford, Denise Fox is set to find a mystery gift under her tree, but before she can find out what’s in it, her sister Kim claims it’s for her, and tussle ensues…

However, eventually, the sisters agree that it is intended for Denise, who duly opens the parcel to find a USB stick inside.

Wasting no time, an intrigued Denise loads up her PC and finds out what her gift is; a confession from Phil Mitchell that he knowingly sold Denise’s former fiancé Kevin Wicks a dodgy cut and shut car.

Kevin of course died when the car went out of control and crashed. So, armed with the shocking recording, Denise goes to confront Phil, who still has no idea who’s stalking him.

However, by the time Boxing Day rolls around, everything on the Square has changed – forever for some.

On Christmas Day, the B&B will of course be set on fire by an arsonist – who we suspect is Yusef Khan – and it’s going to leave at least one person dead and several more fighting for their lives…

And it’s amid that carnage that the stalker is revealed!

These scenes air as of Christmas Day at 9pm on BBC One.

And finally, it’s over to Emmerdale, where Debbie Dingle has invited Andy Sugden and his girlfriend Alicia Gallagher over for Christmas dinner, but of course, it’s going to go the way of the pear…

It’s not surprising really, given that Debbie’s latest plan to conceive a saviour sibling – who can donate bone marrow to her ill daughter Sarah – is to actually have sex with Andy.

So as the tension in the room simmers, Alicia and Debbie snipe at each other all day, and over lunch, that tension boils over when it’s clear that little Sarah has received more and better gifts that Alicia’s son Jacob.

She’s furious and upset for her son, and it’s made worse when Diane and Victoria arrive with gifts for Sarah, and nothing for Jacob. Embarrassed, Diane rushes back to the pub, but can only find a box of biscuits to give Jacob.

As the bickering continues, Debbie gets more and more annoyed, until she snaps and pours Alicia’s dinner over her head!

Catch all the drama on Christmas Day at 6pm.

More soapy news soon!

Plus, Barbara Windsor on life after ‘Enders, and Christmas cards from the cast!

The inferno at the B&B is one of the most highly anticipated storylines of the EastEnders year…

And it’s happening on Christmas Day when the evil Yusef finally gets his comeuppance for all his wicked scheming, and his abuse of poor Zainab.

Today, the BBC have released a first look promo for the Christmas Day episode, which shows some of Walford’s residents enjoying a nice lunch, and the traditional family time, before the devastating fire is started deliberately.

Here’s the clip…

As fans of the show will surely know by now, as a result of the fire, Tamwar Masood is to be left with horrific burns which, over the course of next year, will see him undergoing reconstructive surgery and battling to cope with a dreadful depression.

And of course, Yusef is going to die in the fire – which it seems he set – while Phil Mitchell and Masood are also set to suffer injuries.

Mas gets his wounds as he desperately tries to reach his son Tamwar, and make sure that his family gets out of the B&B blaze alive.

Next week though marks that run up to that fateful day, and we’ll see that Yusef’s cruelty to Zainab intensifies. And he has whisked little Kamil away, refusing to tell Zainab where he is until they’re both in Pakistan.

And as we saw last night, a desperate Zainab left a note for Mas, which read, “I’ve made a terrible mistake, HELP ME!!”

But the note was brushed aside when Mas and Jane got home, and apparently, he won’t find it until well into next week, by which time, the tragic events of the fire and its aftermath are well and truly in motion.

However, when Mas does find the note, and discovers that Kamil is missing, he vows to stop Yusef, no matter what it takes.

On Christmas Eve, he tells Jane and Denise, “I will not stand by and let that man kidnap my family. I will kill him if I have to.”

Woop go Mas!

In other news, former EastEnder Barbara Windsor has revealed that the only thing she misses about starring on the show is that she doesn’t see as much of her former co-stars as she’d like.

Speaking to the PA, Barbara – who of course left the show and her role as Peggy Mitchell in 2010 – said, “I miss the camaraderie and my mates…

“I loved coming into work and seeing everyone, the wardrobe and make-up people and runners. I miss that.

“That’s about it.”

And when asked if she’d ever go back to the soap, Barbara said, “I don’t know. I don’t think so at the moment. She just went off, didn’t she?”

She added, “I worried about leaving EastEnders but I’ve been very busy this year.

“I don’t want to give the business up – it’s looking bright.”

I’d like to see Peggy come back, even if it was only a one off. Would you?

Finally, on the show’s official website today, there’s a little treat for fans – Christmas cards from the cast!

Here they are…

More EastEnders goss soon!

And Natalie Cassidy’s ex in trouble with the police again

The run up to Christmas is distinctly lacking in good cheer for Zainab Masoon (Nina Wadia) as her new husband Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti) becomes ever more controlling and abusive.

And when he realizes that Zainab could get away from him and their marriage if she wanted to – which she does – he decides the way forward is to move Zainab and Kamil to Pakistan immediately.

So, ordering her to pack quickly, he ushers her to the airport. However, Zainab realizes that is Yusef gets her overseas, she may never escape him, so she quietly slips her passport into a bin at the airport, which of course means she can’t board a flight.

Back at home, Yusef’s furious, and says as soon as her new passport arrives, they’re leaving the country. And to make sure that Zainab can’t back out again, he takes little Kamil out of the house to stay with a relative, refusing to tell Zainab where her son is until they’re in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Masood (Nitin Ganatra) knows something’s wrong, and confronts Yusef, demanding to see his son, and while he’s there, Zainab manages to whisper to him that she needs his help to get away…

He conspires with Denise (Diane Parish) who later goes to Zainab’s house and asks if she can work a shift at the Minute Mart. Yusef reluctantly agrees to let her go, and once at the shop, Masood goes to grab Zainab’s arm, and sees all the bruises she has.

It’s then that he realizes the full extent of the abuse Zainab’s suffering, and his fears for Kamil become overwhelming. And although Zainab’s terrified of going home, Masood tells her she must so that Yusef doesn’t suspect anything is amiss.

Once she’s back home, Denise and Masood plot how to rescue both Zainab and Kamil. The result is one of the most shocking soap showdowns ever, as Yusef steps up the evil to deadly levels on Christmas Day!

As we’ll see, he sets a fire at the B&B, trapping several members of the Masood family as well as a number of the other residents of the Square, and for some of them, their lives are about to change forever as the flames take hold…

O man, I cannot wait for the Christmas episodes!

In other news, former EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy split from her fiancé Adam Cottrell earlier this year after he assaulted her and caused criminal damage to their home.

And now, it seems he’s in trouble with the police again as the Daily Mail reports he was arrested on suspicion of the burglary of a house in Hertfordshire.

The paper states, “The 31-year-old, who is barred from approaching Ms Cassidy after he attacked her with a slipper and smeared mascara over her face, was taken to police cells and questioned at the weekend.

”He was later freed on bail, pending further inquiries by detectives and scenes of crime forensic scientists.”

Police sources told the paper that Cottrell was arrested near the home of an elderly couple after apparently missing his last train home from Essex to Hertfordshire.

A 15-year-old was also taken into custody after the incident in Essex, on Sunday morning, police said.

A police spokesperson said, “Two people were arrested in West Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, on suspicion of burglary at 12.30am on December 11.

“A 31-year-old man from Ware, Hertfordshire, and a 15-year-old from Westcliff, Essex, were later bailed without charge to Southend Police Station on February 7, 2012.”

We’ll keep you posted how that goes.

More ‘Enders news soon!

We’ll start today’s EastEnders news with a round up of what’s ahead in the week of Christmas, and those all important – and explosive – episodes…

December 23rd 8pm

Just when Zainab thinks she is going to be reunited with her son, Yusef wickedly tells her that he cannot be manipulated. However, Masood is determined not to give up but when he finds out that Yusef has taken Zainab to get Kamil, he races against time to save his family.

Alfie is deeply concerned when he finds Jean still at The Vic. Kat insists that she can look after her but Alfie confronts Kat, telling her that she is using Jean as a distraction from their real problems.

Elsewhere, Bianca returns home but Ricky is feeling guilty about the night he spent with Mandy and thinks he should admit the truth.

Christmas Eve 8.45pm

Masood and Zainab try to foil Yusef’s plan to go to Pakistan, but has Yusef cottoned on to their scheming?

Phil is determined to catch his stalker and stages a stake-out but will his stalker fall into the trap?

Christian arrives back on the Square but how will he react when he react when he learns of Syed and Amira’s plans?

Bianca and Kat join forces to throw a Christmas Eve party for families but will Janine spoil the Christmas cheer?

Christmas Day 9pm

As Masood frantically searches for Kamil, Zainab finally stands up to Yusef, but what consequences will this have for her family and the rest of the Square?

At Tanya’s, everyone tries their best to have an upbeat Christmas but there is a struggle of power between Max and Derek.

Denise opens a mysterious present on Christmas Day revealing a shocking a secret about one of the residents in Walford.

Everyone comes together for Christmas dinner at the Mitchells’s but Shirley is put off her food when she finds out some shocking news about Phil’s stalker.

Alfie overhears Jean and Kat having a heart-to-heart but will it reveal some shocking home truths?

Boxing Day 9pm

As evil Yusef seeks his revenge on Zainab and Masood, his actions erupt in explosive consequences, putting the entire Square in danger.

December 27th 7.30pm

It’s the morning after the night before and the residents of Albert Square are all still trying to comprehend the events of Christmas night and the damage that’s been done.

Shirley confronts Phil’s stalker, but with all the other commotion happening on the Square, how long will it take her to reveal their identity to Phil?

Derek finds himself an unexpected new apprentice in Liam, but how will Pat react when she see’s the two of them working together in the Square?

Oo I can’t wait for the Christmas episodes, but ahead of them there’s yet more drama as Mandy Salter ends up sleeping with Ricky Butcher the night before her wedding to Ian!

The wedding day is scheduled for the 19th December, and the synopsis for it reads…

It’s the day of Ian and Mandy’s wedding and while Ian is getting everything ready for his big day, Mandy is having doubts about their future. Will Mandy go through with the wedding?

Meanwhile, Yusef’s announcement that he is taking Zainab and Kamil to Pakistan today throws Zainab’s world upside down.

With Yusef controlling her every move, Zainab is forced to take drastic measures but her actions have huge consequences…

That all sounds way exciting, but Sir David Jason might well disagree! According to him, he finds EastEnders “dreary.”

Speaking to the Daily Miror, he said, “I’d like to do something on there to cheer it up.

“In times of recession lives are a bit dreary so they don’t want EastEnders where they keep slitting each other’s throats.

“What intrigues me is that there are funny people in the real East End. It’s famous for it.

“There’d be blokes dressing up as women as a lark, but EastEnders seems blind to the fact that they enjoy a laugh.

“There should be a cheery chappy on there.”

Nah Sir David – that’d take all the fun out of it… if it were fun

More ‘Enders news soon!

We’ll begin today’s look at soapy spoilers with EastEnders, when Heather Trott’s about to get the best Christmas present she could ever ask for – a fella!

As fans of the show will know, last summer, Heather met Rose Cotton’s son Andrew, and he took an instant liking to her, but after a very awkward meal with Rose and Andrew – during which Andrew was rude to his mum, even though she deserved it – Heather called a halt to their romance.

However, just before Christmas, Andrew turns up in Walford, determined to get Heather to be his girlfriend.

But as Heather’s in fancy dress when they meet up again, when Andrew makes a comment about it, she mistakenly thinks he’s making fun of her, when in fact, he was just trying to compliment her.

Fortunately though, Heather soon realizes that Andrew really does like her, so she agrees to spend Christmas Day with him.

An EastEnders insider told the Daily Star, “Heather really hasn’t had much luck with men.

“She’s only got baby George after Darren Miller got drunk and accidentally slept with her.

”So Andrew coming to the Square made her feel quite bad.

“She was devastated it didn’t work out with them and obviously with Rose having moved in with her sister Dot there was a good chance she might see him again.

“But she’s not at all happy when that day comes. Andrew realises what a mistake he made letting her go and pulls out all the stops to win her back – which he does.

“The pair enjoy a good snog in the Vic to cement their new- found love.”

We’ll see the couple’s reunion on BBC1 on December 20.

Over to Corrie now, where Tracy Barlow is about to stage a fall down some stairs to make it look as though Becky McDonald is responsible for Tracy losing her unborn twins.

As fans of the show will probably know, the truth is that Tracy loses the babies days before her row with Becky, but fearing that Steve will ditch her if he finds out, she wants Becky to get the blame so she’ll – Tracy – get Steve’s sympathy vote.

So when Tracy falls down the stairs, and is seemingly unconscious, a frantic Becky calls an ambulance…

A Coronation Street insider said, “Steve is convinced that Tracy is on the warpath over his friendship with ex-wife Becky.

“He has no idea that she has suffered a miscarriage and that she is desperate to find him.

“She has got it in her head that he has spent the night with Becky and the two have a confrontation but Tracy fails to tell her that she has had a miscarriage.

“As far as Becky’s concerned, Tracy is still very much pregnant when she falls. She’s frantic with worry, despite their history.

“Tracy gets herself pretty worked up over Steve and Becky’s emotional ties.”

We’ll see Tracy’s fall a week tomorrow.

Finally, it’s over to Emmerdale, where a hate filled Amy Wyatt is set to visit Cain Dingle as he lies critically ill in hospital.

But there will be no grapes and flowers from her, but she does give him a piece of her mind, thinking he’s unconscious and can’t hear her…

But he isn’t, and he hears every hate filled word.

An Emmerdale insider said, “Amy was determined to have her baby boy adopted but as the weeks go by she realises that, with the help of Val and Eric Pollard, she has every chance of giving the child a decent life.

“As far as she’s concerned Cain can go to hell. She’s spent so long terrified of what he might do to her that she actually enjoys going to see him in hospital.

“He’s helpless and for once she doesn’t have to hold back. But he’s heard every word.”

We’ll see Amy visiting Cain a week tomorrow.

More soap spoilers soon!

Poor Pat Evans (Pam St Clement) is of course going to die over Christmas, but as the photo from the Sun above shows, she gets one last touching kiss from Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker).

And following that kiss, the pair will all too briefly, become close as Patrick tries to help Pat sort out her financial affairs, the most pressing of which is the loan she took out using her house as security…

The entire family are facing a bleak New Year if she can’t make the repayments because the house could be repossessed.

But of course, Pat won’t be around to see what happens.

A show insider told the paper, “Pat and Patrick become close over the festivities but before anything can really happen between them it is too late.”

In other news, Denise Fox (Diana Parish) is set to get a shocking gift this Christmas, from an unknown source…

On Christmas Day, she’ll find a box containing a USB stick under her tree, and when she loads it into her computer, she’ll hear a recording of Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) confessing that he sold Kevin Wicks (Phil Daniels) the cut-and-shut motor that he died in when he lost control of the car.

At the time of his death, Kevin and Denise were in a relationship, and she was devastated when he died.

So, armed with the recording – which has of course been left by Phil’s mystery stalker – Denise goes to confront Phil.

Tameka Empson, who plays Denise’s sister Kim, told Inside Soap what happens.

She said, “When all the information about Kevin Wicks and Phil blows up, it comes out of nowhere for the Fox girls.

“Kevin’s death was way before Kim’s time, so she’s bewildered by the whole thing.

“They wonder why someone would tell them about such a thing on Christmas Day.”

However, she added, “Kim knows no fear. It might be Phil, but she’s not afraid to take him on.

“The Mitchells think that they’re the big guns in the Square – but as far as Kim’s concerned, the Fox family are the same.

“They might not have the same numbers as the Mitchells, but they won’t shy away from a fight.”

We’ll see Denise’s shock over the recording on Christmas Day at 9pm on BBC1.

And finally, Nitin Ganatra, who of course plays Masood, has praised the show’s writers and production crew for the “spectacular” fire scenes that we’re to see on Boxing Day.

As fans will know, a fire is to break out at the B&B, trapping and number of Walford’s residents, including Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel) who’ll be left horribly disfigured by burns.

And the blaze will also kill scheming doctor Yusef Khan (Ace Bhatti).

Nitin told Inside Soap, “It was really exciting to do. There’s a lot of action and it’s spectacular.

“It takes place on Boxing Day and there are lots of twists and turns. What happens next is amazing.”

On the subject of actually filming the episode, Nitin said, “I was walking through [the fire] and standing in it! I was like a little kid – I got really excited.

“There were certain points where they’d bring in a stuntman. But most of the time we did it on our own, which was great.”

Nitin added that he’s “honoured and excited” that the Masood family are at the centre of EastEnders’ big Christmas storylines.

He said, “I feel honoured and excited. We got such great feedback from the New Year’s Day episode we did with Zainab finding out about Syed and Christian, and people still talk to us about that.

“So to be told we were headlining Christmas had a real effect on us. We want to do the best we possibly can.”

I love EastEnders at Christmas! All that doom and gloom and drama…. Bring it on!

More EastEnders news soon!

As fans of EastEnders will know, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) is being hounded by a mystery stalker who knows enough about him to get him into some serious trouble…

Whoever it is knows that Phil and Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) set fire to the car lot in an insurance scam, killing a homeless man who was asleep in one of their cars.

The stalker also knows that Phil sold Kevin Wicks (Phil Daniels) a dodgy motor, which Kevin died in following a crash.

And of course, the stalker has evidence since whoever it is has the memory stick that was previously in Jack Branning’s (Scott Maslen) possession, but is now missing. On the stick was a taped conversation in which Phil admitted to selling the cut and shut car to Kevin.

So, next week, when Phil and Shirley (Linda Henry) come home to find their door wide open, they know the stalker was responsible and has been in their house. They then come up with a plan to get as many of Walford’s residents in one place as possible by hosting a party…

All goes well initially, with all the main suspects there – you can click here to view the rather long list of suspects – but of course, many of them aren’t stupid and clock on to what the party’s for.

That being the case, Ian (Adam Woodyatt), Jack (Scott Maslen) and Derek (Jamie Foreman) decide to have a laugh at Phil’s expense by all confessing to being the stalker.

However, when Heather (Cheryl Fergison) needs her inhaler, Shirley rushes to get it for her from her bag, but finds a stack of envelopes identical to those the stalker has been using.

But despite initially furiously confronting Heather, Phil and Shirley soon realize that they were planted, which means the stalker IS at their party!

Phil decides it just has to be Jack, so he figures a spot of revenge is in order, and orders Jack’s car to be towed away and crushed. Oh dear.

That doesn’t go down well with Jack, or big bro Derek, who tells Phil that if he wants to take on Jack, he’ll take on the entire Branning family, and judging by how Derek comes across, he really doesn’t want to go there…

We’ll see these scenes on Monday, December 12 at 8pm and Tuesday, December 13 at 7.30pm on BBC1.

Also making ‘Enders news today is that before Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) arrives back in Walford during the week before Christmas, Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) goes to visit her in prison, and it ends in – as ever with those two – a slanging match!

The storyline begins when Ricky comes back from his stint of working in Dubai. And Pat (Pam St Clement) is delighted to see him, given that she’s hoping he can bail the family out of the financial mess they’re in…

Pat took out a loan secured on the house, and hasn’t made the repayments, so they could be homeless at any moment. However, Ricky has bad news for Pat…

He’s lost all the money he earned, and is more broke than he was before he went. So, feeling useless and stupid, Ricky confesses all to Bianca, which is what causes her to go nuts at him.

Bianca yells that she hates him, and orders him to leave, so is that the end of them? And will they all be homeless by Christmas? Find out when these scenes air on Thursday, December 15 at 7.30pm on BBC1.

More ‘Enders news soon!