Christmas for the Branning family is rarely a fun time – for instance, Max Branning’s affair with his daughter-in-law Stacey (Lacey Turner) was revealed on Christmas Day in 2008 – and it seems this year is going to be no exception…

We already know that Max’s brother Derek (Jamie Foreman) will die at Christmas, and with a report that’s out today, it seems there’s a chance that Max (Jake Wood) might be the one who kills him!

That’s because Digital Spy report that Derek is set to expose Max’s big secret to the entire family over Christmas. The secret is of course why Max keeps having to come up with big sums of money to send to some mystery person in Manchester.

However, though the full details about the secret, and how Derek reveals it, are being kept under wraps, we also know that Tanya Branning is set to leave the Square in the New Year as Jo Joyner, who of course plays her, is taking a few months off… Read more & comment »

EastEnders viewers will no doubt recall that earlier this year, Phil Mitchell’s on and off fiancé Shirley Carter left the Square to go and stay with her daughter Carly (Kellie Shirley) in a bid to get over her grief at the murder of her BFF Heather Trott…

Phil’s deranged son Ben is of course currently in prison awaiting trial for her murder, and at the last count, Shirley (Linda Henry) hadn’t forgiven Phil for his part in covering up Ben’s crime.

So it’s little wonder then that when she returns to Walford on December 3rd she’s less than impressed to learn that Ben has only received a four year prison term – having stood trial for manslaughter rather than murder – and that Jay (Jamie Borthwick) who also helped cover for Ben has only been given community service…

However, she’s even more shocked when she hears that Phil is now engaged to Sharon Rickman (Letitia Dean) and confused when she learns that Phil’s trying to get custody of Lola’s (Danielle Harold) baby Lexi. Read more & comment »

As fans of EastEnders will know, Shirley Carter just couldn’t pull herself together after the murder of her BFF Heather Trott…

And it was all made infinitely worse when psycho murderer Ben (Joshua Pascoe) confessed to killing Heather, and Shirley (Linda Henry) subsequently found out that her fiancé Phil Mitchell and his fostered son Jay (Jamie Borthwick) not only knew all along that Ben had killed Heather, but also that they actively helped him to cover up his crime.

So, fearing that Shirley was headed for a nervous breakdown, Phil called her estranged daughter Carly (Kellie Shirley) who, once she’d made up with her mum, took Shirley away from the Square to stay with her while she sorted out what to do next.

However, Shirley is now coming back to the Square and will return in the first week of December to find that a lot’s happened in her absence, not least that Phil (Steve McFadden) has got engaged to Sharon Rickman (Letitia Dean)… Read more & comment »

Shirley Carter’s life seems to be one of lurching from one disaster and torment to another, and of course, the latest chapter in the car crash that is her existence has been learning that her stepson Ben murdered her BFF Hev, and that her fiancé Phil helped him cover up the crime.

Jay (Jamie Borthwick) also hid the truth from Shirley, and everyone else for that matter, but it’s Phil’s duplicity that has struck a deeply hurtful chord for Shirley (Linda Henry).

So, in an attempt to find solace at the bottom of several bottles, Shirley is set to embark on yet another booze bender next week, but when a bloke she’s been chatting up turns nasty, Phil (Steve McFadden) is fortunately on hand to sort him out via the medium of a punch in the face, but he of course realises that one day, he won’t be there to save his fiancé… Read more & comment »

Fans of EastEnders have been patiently waiting for the moment that Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) learns the horrible truth about the death of her BFF Heather Trott, which is of course that Ben Mitchell murdered her, and his dad Phil and foster brother Jay helped cover up his crime…

Well sports fans, that moment is nigh, and will come in a week of special episodes as of August 13th, which will also see the return of Letitia Dean to the show and her role as Sharon Rickman.

The climax to one of the show’s biggest ever storylines comes when Shirley pays a visit to Denise Fox (Diane Parish) and is horrified to see a photo frame that used to belong to Heather sitting on Denise’s mantelpiece… Read more & comment »

Could Ian Beale be about to blow the whistle on the murder of Heather Trott in EastEnders?

Fans of the award-winning BBC soap will know how Ian (Adam Woodyatt) returned to the soap last week after spending the last few months on the streets after he discovered that his half-brother Ben (Joshua Pascoe) was the person responsible for the harpooning of Heather Trott earlier this year.
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As fans of EastEnders will know, August has been so far, and will continue to be, one of the busiest and most dramatic months we’ve seen on the show for a while…

Not only has Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) returned this month – but is weirdly still in the same skanky clothes and doesn’t appear to have even washed since he got back to the Square – but also Sharon Rickman (Letitia Dean) is coming back on the 13th!

However, on the subject of Ian Beale, he’s set to “freak out” when, while attending Phil and Shirley’s engagement party, he spots a portrait of Shirley and Heather that Patrick (Rudolph Walker) commissioned as a gift for the bride to be.

And of course, before Ian (Adam Woodyatt) went AWOL from Walford earlier this year, his half-brother Ben (Joshua Pascoe) confessed to Ian that he’d killed Hev… Read more & comment »

EastEnders legend, Steve McFadden, has expressed his excitement over the return of Sharon to the hit soap!

McFadden, who has played menacing mechanic Phil Mitchell since 1990, said that it only “took seconds” to fall back into routine with his old co-star, Letitia Dean, who has played his characters former flame and sister-in-law, Sharon Rickman, on and off since the show began in 1986.
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Yesterday, Digital Spy reported that the character of Carly Wicks, who is of course Shirley Carter’s daughter, is headed back to Walford, and her return is tied in with the storyline in which Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe) will be revealed as Heather Trott’s killer.

As we’ll see in the episode that airs on August 17th, Shirley (Linda Henry) will finally put together all the clues about Heather’s murder, and subsequently, she’ll find out that her fiancé Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and Jay (Jamie Borthwick) helped Ben cover up his crime.

The revelation is of course set to send shockwaves through the Square, and it’s during this time that Carly – who’s played by Kellie Shirley – will return to Walford… Read more & comment »

As we reported recently, Shirley Carter is in for an über dramatic couple of weeks, because not only will she propose to her boyfriend Phil Mitchell, she’ll also – finally! – discover that his son Ben murdered Heather Trott…

And as if that wasn’t enough for poor old Shirl to cope with, thrown into the mix will be jealousy when Phil (Steve McFadden) ditches their engagement party when his former mistress Sharon Rickman (Letitia Dean) sends him an SOS message.

Speaking to Soaplife, Linda Henry began by revealing what happens in the build up to the dramatic moment that her character Shirley realises that Ben (Joshua Pascoe) killed Heather.

She began by explaining the rooftop proposal to Phil, saying, “She’s doing a sponsored abseil to raise money for Hev’s son George, but she’s terrified of heights… Read more & comment »

There’s a good deal of drama ahead for Walford’s Shirley Carter, and it begins with the return of Sharon Rickman, who of course once had an affair with Shirley’s bloke, Phil Mitchell.

And Sharon’s timing couldn’t be worse as far as Shirley’s concerned, because next week, we’ll see her propose to Phil (Steve McFadden) and when he accepts, the couple happily celebrate their engagement with a party in the Vic.

However, a distress call from Sharon (Letitia Dean) sends Phil running to her aid, despite the fact it’s literally in the middle of his own engagement celebration, and not unreasonably, that leaves Shirley rather unimpressed.

As fans will know, Sharon’s return will be marked by episodes on seven consecutive night as of August 13th, and it’s also during the special week that Shirley will learn that Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe) murdered her BFF, Heather Trott… Read more & comment »

Walford’s Shirley Carter isn’t ordinarily one for grand gestures, however, in an upcoming storyline, she’s set to propose to her long-term boyfriend Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) on the roof of the Queen Vic!

The shock proposal comes as Shirley (Linda Henry) prepares to conquer her fear of heights by abseiling down the pub in order to raise money for a charitable fund that she’s set up for her murdered friend Heather Trott’s little boy, George.

However, the day won’t go smoothly, and after suffering from nerves, Shirley runs off, leaving everyone wondering if she’ll actually go through with the daring plunge.

But Phil chases her and tells her she can do it while promising to be there “every step of the way…” Read more & comment »

In a shocking twist to the EastEnders Heather Trott murder story, her best friend Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) is set to propose to Phil Mitchell, the man who has been covering it up!

According to STV Entertainment website, the not to be messed with blonde decides to propose (for the 2nd time) to the menacing mechanic after starting to figure out that is was Phil’s (Steve McFadden) son, Ben (Joshua Pascoe) who killed her friend.
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Over the course of the next couple of months, EastEnders’ bulldog-chewing-a-wasp character Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) is set to put all the pieces together and figure out that Ben Mitchell murdered Heather Trott…

Her first clue comes in a forthcoming episode in which she discovers the photo frame that Ben (Joshua Pascoe) used to clock Heather upside the head, prompting her to fall and fatally hit her head on the kitchen worktop.

But of course, Ben’s dad Phil (Steve McFadden) and his adopted brother Jay (Jamie Borthwick) already know that Ben’s a killer, but so far, they’ve managed to connive and deceive enough so that Ben’s not even on the radar over the slaughter… Read more & comment »

Recent Walford escapee, Nicola Stapleton, has revealed that she wouldn’t rule out a return to EastEnders!

Stapleton, who played Mandy Salter in the BBC soap, left our screens this week after she left her fiancée, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) on the day of their wedding, after a brief spell back in the soap that she originally starred in the 90′s.
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