We don’t know about you, but recently it feels like even Sherlock Holmes would have a hard time watching ‘EastEnders’, as there are more mysteries currently developing in Albert Square than ever arrived at the door of 221B Baker Street.
Here, we take a closer look at some of the burning questions we have about all the secrets the residents of Walford are hiding...
1. Did Elaine really have a stroke?
When actress Kellie Bright announced she was pregnant, bosses had to scramble to find a way to write her character out of the soap. For the eight months of Kellie’s maternity leave, we’d been led to believe Linda had been caring for her mum after she had a stroke.
However, when Linda paid a fleeting visit to the Square recently, she returned back to her mum’s side, claiming to husband Mick that Elaine had a fall.
But when she arrived back at her mother’s pub, she looked far from ill, and was behind the bar cracking jokes with the punters.
Had Linda been lying about her mum’s health this whole time? Or has Elaine made a speedy recovery? And why would she have kept that from the rest of her family? These questions lead us to our next mystery...
2. What is the secret Linda is keeping from Mick?
After Linda made a swift exit back to her mum’s, Elaine was seen embracing her daughter, asking if she’d “told Mick”, to which she replied she hadn’t.
Given Linda’s emotional state, we’re sure this was a completely separate issue from Elaine’s miraculous recovery, so what is it that she is hiding?
She’s made no reference to her secret since returning to Walford permanently, having had to deal with Mick’s bombshell that he is in love with Whitney. Fans have speculated that Linda could be pregnant, which seems unlikely given the length of time she’s spent away from home, so what is it she is really keeping from her family?
3. What is Max’s real plan for Walford?
Upon his release from prison, Max seemed like a changed man, but this being ‘EastEnders’, it was soon revealed his new leaf was actually part of a grander plan to take revenge on the people of Walford, after being wrongfully sent to prison for the murder of Lucy Beale.
Over recent months, we’ve seen him enlist Charlie Cotton to reclaim his son Matthew from Max’s grieving brother Jack, as well as manipulating the Carter family into signing away the freehold of the Queen Vic.
He’s also kept quiet about Steven Beale’s brain tumour lie, choosing not to tell his daughter and Steven’s girlfriend, Lauren. Instead, he has been blackmailing him into carrying out some of his dirty work, including setting fire to a house. But who lived in the house, and why did Max want rid of them?
We also know he’s in cahoots with Fi Browning, who is working for a company called Grafton Hill that Linda and Shirley sold the Vic freehold to. But it seems they have some sort of connection to the company Max works for - Weyland & Co - especially given Max and Fi seem united in their mission to take control of as much Walford property as possible.
But what is the real driving force behind their vendetta, and what is their grand plan for the London district once they have it all?
4. Who is the mysterious Chairman?
Max seems to be acting on the orders of the mysterious businessman known only as ‘The Chairman’, who was first introduced to us when Max met him at the top of the Shard, following the bus crash earlier this year.
While there, they outlined their plan to bring Walford to its knees, and he has popped up several times since - but who is he, and why is he too so determined to see the people of Albert Square suffer? Perhaps he has some link to one or more of the residents we are yet to discover.
5. Why did Phil lie about Jay’s dad?
Phil decided to rewrite ‘EastEnders’ history recently, when he told Jay Brown his late father Jason was not actually his real dad at all.
Instead, Phil claimed he was a homeless man that he and Frank Butcher accidentally killed when they set fire to the car lot as part of an insurance scam in 1994.
Phil also explained to Jay that this was the reason why he was handing him the land to the car lot, which he recently received a mysterious offer of £300,000 for.
However, after telling Jay the ‘truth’, Phil was later heard answering a call where he admitted he’d actually told him a complete pack of lies.
Just who was on the other end of the phone and why are they making Phil lie to Jay? Do they have something over the hardman, and if so, what is it? Or could this be connected to the mystery offer of money for the car lot land? It wouldn’t surprise us if Max had a hand in this one too.
6. What’s the deal with Michelle’s tube man?
Given no one ever speaks to random strangers on the tube in London, we should have known from the off that there wasn’t something quite right about the chap Michelle kept bumping into on her journey to work.
A few dates have since followed, but only after it was revealed Tom had actually been following Michelle and tracked down where she was living, unbeknown to her.
Since then, we’ve seen an aggressive side to him emerge on a few occasions where Michelle hasn’t been around, and we get the impression he has something sinister planned for Sharon’s BFF. But what is it? And what has he got against her?
7. What are Ted and Joyce hiding?
Ted and Joyce may have blended into the background (bar moaning about their upstairs neighbours) since moving onto the Square, but lest we forget during their first few episodes, it was revealed Ted was in possession of a pistol.
There has been speculation it has something do with their previous links to Walford, given they used to live in the tower block behind Albert Square, but we’re hoping to finally get some answers.
8. Is Jack’s nanny really all she seems?
Call us overly suspicious, but there’s something about Jack’s nanny Ingrid we just don’t trust.
We’re not sure whether it’s because she’s overly nice (something which usually indicates there’s a dark side there eg: Stella Crawford, May Wright), or if it’s because there’s a possibility she could be a plant of Max’s as part of his grand plan.
Either way, we’ve got our eye on this one.
9. Are Kat and Alfie dead?
Last time we saw Kat and Alfie on spin-off ‘Redwater’, both of their lives were left hanging in the balance.
Just before the credits rolled on the final episode, Alfie suffered a cardiac arrest while undergoing surgery on his brain tumour, while Kat was feared drowned after getting caught up in the getaway plan of her derranged long-lost son, Dermot.
This mystery didn’t actually unfold in Walford, but a second series of ‘Redwater’ is looking unlikely due to poor ratings, so it’s going to be up to ‘EastEnders’ to answer this one.
10. Who dies in the gas explosion?
It was recently revealed an explosion is set to rip through Albert Square in the coming weeks, in some of the most ambitious scenes the soap has ever aired.
We’ve been told at least one character will die, but with the explosion happening when the community are gathered for the Walford In Bloom competition, many of the locals will be at risk.
Steven Beale is one likely candidate, given actor Aaron Sidwell has already confirmed he is leaving, but will bosses throw in a curveball and kill off another Walford favourite?
11. Why on earth did they bring back Robbie Jackson?
We guess we’ll never know why the people in charge thought it was necessary to bring back Dean Gaffney’s hapless character.
