EastEnders favourite Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) has been sorely missed since she temporarily left the Square following her son Mick Carter's (Danny Dyer) devastating Christmas exit.
But could she be making a dramatic return to Walford a year later as part of the soap's killer Christmas storyline?
Earlier this year, the soap revealed that an unknown male will be killed this Christmas in a special flashforward episode. The crime involves six Walford women known as The Six — Stacey Slater, Suki Panesar, Linda Carter, Sharon Watts, Denise Fox and Kathy Beale, who were all standing over an unknown corpse at the Vic.
In a surprise twist that EastEnders has never done before, the episode flashed forward to Christmas 2023 where a wedding was taking place at the Vic. It was soon revealed that Sharon was the bride as she was wearing a blood-splattered wedding dress.
Stacey could be seen with blood on her hands, Denise was holding a broken bottle of champagne, Linda had a split lip, Kathy had a ripped dress sleeve and a mystery male was seen lying dead on the floor of the pub.
Since then, fans have been speculating that there could be a secret seventh member of The Six who is responsible for killing the man — and this could be none other than Shirley!
Shirley temporarily left Walford after the presumed death of her son Mick on Christmas Day.
Heartbroken Shirley was unable to cope with the loss of Mick and needed to get away from the Square, so went to stay with her daughter Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley).
The iconic matriarch is yet to return home, but is her time about to come this Christmas?
Shirley has been a huge part of the Vic, so it wouldn't be a surprise if she's thrown into the heart of some grisly festive drama at her beloved boozer to mark her explosive return.
The barmaid is fiercely protective over her loved ones and is definitely capable of killing someone who gets on the wrong side of her or her family — just ask her many attempted murder victims.
And since her daughter-in-law Linda is involved in the Christmas killing, it's possible that Shirley could have attacked the unknown man to save Linda and defend her territory.
Could Linda have helped Shirley escape the crime scene and that's why she's not seen in the flashforward?
She also has a close bond with Denise — could Shirley have stepped in to protect her friend from a possible attack and it ended in disaster?
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
