EastEnders viewers were left distraught after last night’s episode (Thursday Dec. 2) as Keegan Baker (Zack Morris) was ambushed by Aaron Monroe’s (Charlie Wernham) far-right gang and was brutally attacked.
Before the vicious attack, Keegan found himself at the forefront of an argument at The Queen Vic when one of the gang members said a hateful comment at Isaac Baptiste (Stevie Basaula) and Keegan stepped in to defend him.
Ever since Keegan handed his ex-wife Tiffany Butcher-Baker (Maisie Smith) the divorce papers, she’s been getting closer to boyfriend Aaron, who is encouraging her to get involved with his far-right and racist ways.
Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) soon stepped in and ordered the yobs to get out, with one of them replying, “You having a laugh? What have I done?”
"You're in the wrong boozer. Either you walk out of here now, or your two bob pals will carry you out. How d’ya want to be?" Mick responded.
The thug poured his drink at Keegan’s feet and exited the pub. But it soon got rowdy between Tiffany and Keegan.
“Tiff, there are better ways to get back at me. You’re better than this. And you’re better than him! [referring to Aaron].”
Later, when Keegan left the pub, he was circled by the group of thugs armed with weapons. As they surrounded him, one of the thugs made vile racist comments.
Before they could attack, Keegan punched him in the face, which only added more fuel to the fire.
“We’re going to have to teach you a lesson ain’t we, boy?” the thug seethed, before the gang jumped Keegan and started beating him up.
From a distance, Aaron watched the gang savagely attack Keegan and nodded to the leader once they had finished. Soon after, the gang swiftly drove off in their car as Keegan was lying face down on the concrete.
Did Aaron set up the attack on Keegan?
Fans on Twitter were horrified as the violent scenes unfolded on EastEnders, with one viewer saying that it made their “skin crawl.”
Omg, that episode of EE make my skin crawl! I feel so so upset and angry for Keegan. Brilliant acting from everyone! #EastEndersDecember 2, 2021
This racism #EastEnders storyline is such a hard one to watch! Especially seeing Keegan getting attacked tonight! Great to see them tackling this type of storyline tho especially since this is sadly still happening so frequently in the real world!😭😭December 2, 2021
Poor Keegan, he ain’t deserve that. No one deserves that kind of abuse #EastendersDecember 2, 2021
I was actually holding my breath when they started attacking Keegan. 😰😨#EastEndersDecember 2, 2021
This storyline is horrific and hard to watch but also so important and so relevant right now. Poor Keegan. 😥 #EastEndersDecember 2, 2021
That eastenders scene with the racist attack on Keegan is absolutely shockingDecember 2, 2021
EastEnders airs tonight at 8pm on BBC1 — see our TV Guide for full listings.
