EastEnders airs deadly threats as Christmas murder draws closer in early iPlayer release

After sleeping with Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), a guilty Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) was not in a good mood.

His oblivious wife Denise Fox (Diane Parish) worried about her stepchildren Amy (Ellie Dadd) and Ricky Junior (Frankie Day), and she headed back to the family home to talk to Jack after last week's row.

Jack admitted his fling, keeping Stacey's name out of it - only for Denise to find her necklace. Convinced to return home for Christmas, Denise told Jack "I honestly don't know what I'll do" if he betrays her again.

When, soon after, Denise spotted a secret meeting between Jack and Stacey that told her all she needed to know, we couldn't help wondering how far Denise might go in the wake of this deceit.

Meanwhile, a subdued Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) stared solemnly at a poster for missing lover Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), while Stacey was shocked to receive a bouquet of flowers from Eve.

But something just didn't add up, and some digging from Suki led to the discovery that her husband Nish (Navin Chowdhry) had ordered the flowers - so he must know all about Eve's affair with Suki!

Suki and Stacey debated whether Nish had murdered Eve, unaware that his son Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) has run her out of town. Suki knew just how cunning and clever Nish was, but Stacey reminded her that "men only have power if you let them".

As she panicked over Eve, Stacey couldn't help blurting out that she wanted to do whatever could hurt Nish the most, before quickly backtracking in front of a quiet Suki.

Suki urged Stacey to trust her where Nish was concerned, and Stacey asked her not to do anything stupid. But Suki was next seen stealing drugs from the surgery, so is she about to make a deadly decision this early on?

All the while, Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) began selling a batch of amber cufflinks on the market, splitting the proceeds with Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) in a bid to cheer up the grieving grandad.

Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) remarked that he already had a matching pair of cufflinks, and we all know that Phil, Nish, Ravi and Jack are among seven potential victims wearing the very same accessory on Christmas Day.

Who will make the next move as storylines collide?

Read more:

• Who do you think dies and kills in the EastEnders Christmas special?
• EastEnders boss Chris Clenshaw previews Christmas 2023 and The Six aftermath
• EastEnders' Letitia Dean on whether Sharon can forgive Keanu for kidnap secret
• EastEnders' Gillian Taylforth on Kathy and Rocky: "She can’t live with the constant lies"
• EastEnders' Diane Parish teases "heartbreak" in Christmas episode
• EastEnders' Lacey Turner on whether Stacey will kill again: "She will do whatever it takes to protect Eve"
• EastEnders' Balvinder Sopal: "People will be on the edge of their seats"
• EastEnders' Kellie Bright: "The body wasn't who I thought it would be"

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

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