EastEnders confirms victim lineup for Christmas Day murder in first look pictures

(L-R): Dean Wicks, Phil Mitchell, Keanu Taylor, Nish Panesar, Jack Branning, Rocky Cotton and Ravi Gulati sitting in the Vic in EastEnders
EastEnders has released the seven possible Christmas murder victims. (Image credit: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron/Matt Burlem)

EastEnders has released the seven potential murder victims that could be the dead body in the Vic on Christmas Day.

Back in February, a special flashforward episode showed six Walford matriarchs — Stacey Slater, Suki Panesar, Linda Carter, Sharon Watts, Denise Fox and Kathy Cotton — standing over the body of an unknown male corpse at The Queen Vic on Christmas Day.

Sharon was wearing a blood-splattered wedding dress, while Stacey could be seen with blood on her hands. Denise, meanwhile, was holding a broken bottle of champagne, Linda had a split lip, and the sleeve on Kathy's dress was ripped.

We then saw Sharon stoop over the man's body and reveal that he was dead, with the victim shown to be wearing a pair of distinctive amber cufflinks.

Ahead of the major whodunit reveal in just a few weeks, the soap has now revealed the seven men in danger of death this Christmas.

The seven murder suspects by The Six with smoke surrounding them..

Who has been killed on Christmas Day and who did the killing? (Image credit: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron/Matt Burlem)

The seven men involved in the murder line-up are Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry), Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters), Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) and Tom "Rocky" Cotton (Brian Conley).

All of these men have connections to the six Walford women and each of them has given at least one of the matriarchs a reason to kill.

For police officer Jack, his marriage to Denise is currently on the rocks and has grown closer to Stacey. With her marriage possibly set to break down with Jack, could Denise kill him in revenge? He has also made enemies of the Panesars too since Denise's affair with Ravi.

Evil businessman Nish has also had his fair share of trouble with all of the women during his time on the Square, but his biggest enemy so far is his wife Suki, who he has been abusing since he got released from prison.

The women all stare at the body in shock in EastEnders flash forward episode

Six Walford women stood over an unknown dead body at the Vic. (Image credit: BBC)

Ever since Dean made a villainous return on Halloween, he has made his former sister-in-law Linda's life hell after he raped her in 2014.

Phil has connections to the majority of The Six but his ex-wife Sharon is harbouring a huge secret from him this Christmas — that he is the biological father of her son Albie and not her fiancé Keanu.

Meanwhile, Keanu is hiding the fact that he and his mum Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanleystaged Albie's kidnapping and stole the £50,000 ransom money from Phil.

Ravi is following in his dad Nish's nasty footsteps as he has also made enemies with multiple of the women involved, especially his former love interest Denise and stepmother Suki.

Ravi made Suki believe that she had killed his adopted father Ranveer Gulati (Anil Goutam) and let her son Kheerat Panesar (Jaz Deol) go to prison for the crime. Denise rumbled Ravi's lies, but Ravi quickly destroyed the evidence so she couldn't expose him.

The final man is Rocky, who set fire to Kathy's Cafe as part of an insurance scam in a bid to pay off his debts to Nish. The blaze left Kathy's grandsons fighting for their lives and is known for his constant lies to his wife Kathy. But could the former conman meet a grisly demise?

EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now. 

Grace Morris
Staff Writer

Grace is a digital writer with WhatToWatch.com, where she writes series guides, recaps and features for must-watch shows and delivers all the latest soap news and reactions. She graduated from Anglia Ruskin University in 2020 with a degree in Writing and Film Studies, which only made her love for creative writing, film and TV grow stronger.

You'll usually find her watching the drama unfold in the latest reality series or much-loved UK soaps (usually with chocolate by her side!). She's an expert in EastEnders, Emmerdale, Coronation Street and everything reality-related from Selling Sunset and Married At First Sight UK to 90 Day Fiancé UK. Plus Netflix megahit Virgin River!

Grace also likes to explore new places with her friends and family and, of course, watch and read about the latest films and TV series.