EastEnders fans think that they've exposed Linda Carter's (Kellie Bright) 'knight in shining armour' as Walford legend and her former lover Max Branning (Jake Wood).
Linda was left devastated recently after she learned that Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) wanted to sell Mick Carter's (Danny Dyer) share of the Vic.
Fortunately, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) was keen to buy half of the pub, but Linda was left torn when Suki (Balvinder Sopal) and Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) came up with a higher counteroffer.
Determined not to let the Panesars win, Sharon got her ex-husband Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) to buy the gym so that she could have the money to outbid them.
However, Linda was still unsure about going into business with either party and confided in Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) about her concerns.
He encouraged Linda to work with someone she fully trusted and to bring in someone experienced in business like the Panesars, but wouldn't change how the pub would be run.
During last night's episode (Wednesday, February 22), Linda took Patrick's advice onboard and made a secret phone call to a mystery person.
She told them: "I've got two offers on the table, both keen. But if you can come up with the cash, then I will ditch them and go with you. Just think about it. In a few months, we could be running this place together."
While the unknown caller remains a mystery, fan believe that Linda was on the phone to her 'knight in shining armour' Max, who will potentially buy Mick's share of the pub.
EastEnders boss Chris Clenshaw previously teased that an unexpected 'knight in shining armour' will swoop in and save Linda from losing her home.
He said: "Linda's world has been thrown upside down by seeing a photo of Shirley with Dean, but she’s forced to focus on who her new business partner will be or face losing her home.
"Both Sharon and Nish are hoping to get the keys to the castle, but her knight in shining armour may not be who you think."
Fans have also speculated that the knight in shining armour comment relates to the Christmas flashforward episode after a knight was seen behind Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner).
The episode saw six Walford women — Stacey, Suki, Linda, Sharon, Denise and Kathy all standing over an unknown corpse at the Vic. Stacey could be seen with blood on her hands, Denise was holding a broken bottle of champagne and a man was seen lying dead on the floor of the pub.
With womaniser Max having a lot of history with both Linda and Stacey — especially since Linda gave birth to their daughter Annie without his knowledge — could that be a hint that he is involved in the murder in some way? Or could he even be the victim?
Fans think they've unmasked Linda's knight in shining armour and the potential killer as Max and took to Twitter to voice their theories...
Since the knight is behind stacey, and stacey and max have ALOT of history as do linda and max, could lina's knight be max branning? Maybe max branning is the killer. #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/pjvWkM1kilFebruary 22, 2023
@loosewomen is max branning the killer? Linda's unexpected knight in shining armour, and a knight stands behind stacey in the flashforward #EastEndersFebruary 22, 2023
Throwing it out there, Max gets killed. He is brought back and eventually done in. He has a connection to 4 of the 6 women involved. #EastEndersFebruary 22, 2023
I hope its max branning #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/4ibwLWcLKmFebruary 22, 2023
EastEnders continues tonight at 7:30pm on BBC One.
