EastEnders Larry Lamb reveals all Archie’s Christmases come at once when he gets engaged to Janine, gets The Vic… and gets bumped off! Why has Archie gone as far as to get engaged to Janine? "I don’t really know. That’s his complicated mind at work. Perhaps he knows things could go wrong with his plan to get The Vic and it would pay to follow through and have Janine on side as much as he can." But then he tells Peggy he wants her back when their divorce comes through… Why? "Because he does. That he can get engaged to Janine and still love Peggy is the psycho side of Archie. If Peggy said she wanted him back, the plan to get The Vic would be over. He wants Peggy more than anything." So why is he planning on taking away her beloved pub? "Because The Vic’s the ultimate pawn in the game. It’s the queen on the chessboard. Archie’s prepared to go all the way if he doesn’t get Peggy back." Is Janine just a minor pawn in his game? "She never was anything but a non-starter. Once Archie’s got The Vic, he decides it’s time for her to be pushed out – and I mean literally out of The Vic." So he does really get The Vic then? "Yes, he and Janine blackmail Ian into signing Phil’s loan over to him which basically means Archie owns the pub." How does Peggy react? "Poor Peggy. She’s deeply upset when he takes the pub from her." Might she be the person who kills him? "It could be her. Or Ronnie. Or Phil. Even a few people you might not suspect..." Is he really dead or doing a Dirty Den? "Oh, he’s dead all right." Do you know who kills him? "No. I didn’t want to know. I told them not to tell me in case I gave it away by accident." Does Archie know? "No he doesn’t. And he never will!" What can you tell us about the murder? "It’s rather good. You’ll be shocked by the way it happens and the context. I’ve died a lot of deaths in my career and this one was one of the least stressful to act out." How do you feel about Archie dying? "I only came here for six months and never expected him to be this arch-villain. I’m glad he was, but his story has to be completed. He has to meet his maker." Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk’s new weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop
