The plot thickens!

Hands up who was disappointed that the obvious sparks between Alfie Moon and Roxy Mitchell didn’t manifest into a juicy EastEnders affair?

Well, they may be hope yet!  Bosses at the BBC soap have confirmed that when Jessie Wallace returns to reprise her role on our screens tomorrow, she will start sewing the seeds for a huge, but very different kind of who-dun-it as she embarks on a mystery affair, leaving the path of true love clear for Alfie and Roxy when it all comes out in the wash!

According to Digital Spy, so intent are producers of the award-winning soap, that no one – cast, crew or public – should discover the secret identity of  Kat Moon‘s (Jessie Wallace) mystery man in order to keep the guess who game going well in to the autumn, that they are even filming all scenes involving him with an extra!

The storyline has been confirmed by bosses at the BBC as being a long running mystery, and according to reports, there are five main suspects in the frame:  Ray Dixon (Chucky Venn), Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd), Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman), Max Branning (Jake Wood) and Jack Branning (Scot Maslen).

Kat, who has been off our screens for the last few months after the actress who plays her, Jessie Wallace, took time off to get over her (nearly) marriage break up, is set to return to Walford in tomorrow night’s episode with her husband Alfie (Shane Richie) after supposedly leaving Walford to look after her sick father.

Her return is set to upset the apple cart as far as Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons) is concerned, as she has recently revealed to Alfie her secret love for him since they have grown closer in his wife’s absence, but Alfie being the honest family man that he is, graciously declined the offer, though it was clear for all to see that he was very tempted!

In a bold move, Roxy admits her attempt to steal Alfie to Kat when she returns, as well as telling the feisty landlady that the offer was firmly rejected, resulting in Kat sacking her on the spot.

“Everyone has been eagerly awaiting Kat’s return to Albert Square and it doesn’t disappoint,” a source told the Daily Star newspaper.

“Roxy confesses all in a bid to stay on friendly terms with Kat and Alfie. He then decides the best distraction would be to set up a football team.”

Scenes involving this football team have already begun filming, and include at least one of the 5 main suspects, Jack Branning, so maybe this is how he may fit into the affair.  Jack has been single since his wife was sent to prison, and has a soft spot in Kat’s heart following the devastation of the baby swap storyline, so perhaps their friendship will develop into something more.

Kat and  Michael Moon have a previous affair under their belts, which resulted in the conception of her son, Tommy, but with him set to marry Janine at the end of this month, on the same day that she goes in to premature labour with his child, would he have enough time on his hands for an affair?  Charlie Brooks, who plays Janine, is set to leave the show for six months later this year in order to take part in Strictly Come Dancing, so could her exit be linked?  I think it is safe to say he is the current bookies favourite, but as we know, the obvious is never quite as obvious in soap land!

Ray Dixon is currently seeing Kat’s best friend, Kim (Tameka Empson), who was also seen filming for the football team scenes, giving him plenty of opportunity to be the mystery man, with him and Kat  both left behind at the pub where they both work, whilst their partners are away at games, but as for motive, he is a family man and we can’t honestly see him being a home wrecker, can you?

Max and Derek Branning are probably the least likely outsiders.  Max has form when it comes to married women, engaged women, women in general, and has currently been lacking in the bedroom activity department with ex-wife, Tanya (Jo Joyner).  However, he recently turned down an affair with Roxy (her confidence must be rocketing with all this rejection!), though extremely tempted, instead opting to do the right thing for once and stand by his ex-wife, who had been battling cancer.  Reports earlier this week suggest that things are set to start slowly returning to normal for Max and Tanya in the physical sense, and that he is set to ask her to marry him again later this year, which makes him unlikely to be the mystery man, but never say never, and if recent reports are to be believed, Jo Joyner will be taking a break from the show next year, leaving a big opening for a big exit!

As for Derek, he has been single since joining the cast, but is currently trying to rebuild bridges with his estranged family, but more importantly he remains, in our humble opinion, the least likely suspect, because, come on, would you????

Who the affair is with is may be a mystery, but the why has been disclosed.  After Kat comes back to the pub and learns about Alfie and Roxy, she starts to worry that the spark has gone from her marriage.  Trying to rectify this proves difficult as Alfie remains oblivious to her hints and advances, leaving her feeling unwanted.

Feeling rejected and neglected, Kat is delighted when her new mystery man starts showering her with the attention she is craving, and in typical Kat fashion, embarks on a one night stand.  Overcome with guilt afterwards, she attempts to put the incident behind her, but this time something is different, real feelings have started to develop making it impossible to stop seeing this person, and so the affair begins!

EastEnders‘ executive producer Lorraine Newman commented: “The consequences are not only great for Kat and Alfie, but also for each individual suspect. The audience will join the cast and crew guessing across the summer and autumn as we eliminate the suspects one at a time, leading to one almighty explosion.”

Watch the EastEnders drama unfold later this month, in the meantime let us know who you think the mystery man could be, and remember to think outside the box!  EastEnders have named 5 suspects, but remember, Coronation Street named 5 suspects in the Frank Foster murder, none of who turned out to be the killer!

Watch what happened last time Kat was unfaithful in the clip below:

EastEnders can be seen Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings on BBC One/BBC One HD.