EastEnders' dastardly Derek to meet a grisly end?

EastEnders hardman Derek Branning could be meeting a grisly end in a Christmas special. There is speculation that the character, played by Jamie Foreman, could be killed off in the BBC soap after cast members were spotted filming what appeared to be funeral scenes at a churchyard in Hertfordshire, reported The Sun. Scott Maslen (Jack Branning), Steve John Shepherd (Michael Moon), Ann Mitchell (Cora Cross), Jamie Borthwick (Jay Brown) and Lorna Fitzgerald (Abi Branning) were seen on location. Max Branning - played by Jake Wood - is also expected to marry ex-wife Tanya Cross (Jo Joyner) at Christmas. A source told The Sun: "Derek has been a huge force in the Square since he joined and has had some fantastic storylines, but his exit will be his best storyline yet." "It's being kept tightly under wraps because bosses want to surprise fans on Christmas Day," they added. Jamie is set to bow out at Christmas after playing Derek since November 2011. Christmas has always been a dramatic time for the residents of Albert Square. Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra) had to save his family from a fire last year, while Lacey Turner left her role as Stacey Slater in typical soap fashion on Christmas Day in 2010.

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.