Is Jack Branning the dead body in EastEnders at Christmas? All the clues and theories

He's always been a loud character, increasingly problematic and capable of severe aggression when pushed to his limits, but we're about to see him turn manipulator, too.

Whether or not you think EastEnders would kill off family man and local detective Jack, you can't deny there are some key clues, so read on as we go through the evidence ahead of the explosive festive storyline.

Is Jack Branning the dead body in EastEnders at Christmas? All the clues and theories

Blackmailing Denise to stay

In recent scenes, Denise Fox (Diane Parish) told Jack that she was leaving him. But when his troubled teenage daughter Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd) went missing and they found her in fragile state, Jack blamed Denise for Amy's situation.

He even used Amy's mental health to manipulate Denise into staying in the family home! A new low for Jack, there. Denise tells Jack she can't forgive him for using Amy's illness to blackmail her, and it looks like their marriage will soon be over.

We can't help but feel that Jack's behaviour could seal his fate, with his actions proving very similar to those of fellow possible victims Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) and Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).

Whether Denise is pushed to the brink if Jack becomes more and more toxic remains to be seen, but her trailer hints that the focus is on being wronged by men. However, it's just as likely that another member of The Six intervenes...

Daughter Penny's timely arrival

EastEnders recently confirmed the return of Jack's eldest daughter, Penny Branning, now played by Kitty Castledine.

Penny will be back alongside cousin Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa), and we can't help but notice that the pair are both dressed in black in their first pictures!

Are Penny and Lauren in Walford for Jack's funeral? We can't imagine them both rocking up for the funeral of any other well-known local, so is this the biggest hint yet that Jack's days are numbered? Or is this a red herring from the BBC soap?

Connections to The Six

Beyond Jack's fractured relationship with Denise, he's grown close to Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), his co-grandparent and ex-in-law. Spoilers reveal that Stacey causes Jack's situation to spiral when she interferes in his relationship troubles.

Meanwhile, Jack knows that Linda's youngest child, Annie, is his niece after her affair with his brother Max Branning (Jake Wood).

Might history cause Jack to clash with Linda, or could Jack be caught in the crossfire of her battle to hold Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) accountable for raping her, after Jack was recently seen supporting Linda?

With Jack also set to broadcast the news that Nish and Ravi have been arrested for the murder of Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), who viewers know is very much alive, could Jack step in to help Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), having previously been investigating Ravi for other crimes?

Or could he turn against Suki, Stacey, and Eve for their plans?

Finally, Jack used to be engaged to Sharon (who remembers that?!) so he's connections to most of the group.

Baby Charli

After Stacey interferes in his life, might Jack take action over the granddaughter they share, baby Charli? Jack has been very territorial over Charli, previously making it clear that he didn't trust the Slaters to have custody of her.

They're getting along well right now, but might the collapse of his marriage and Stacey's input cause Jack to famously overreact and demand that she give Charli up and into his care?

A row could get out of hand, with Jack turning violent, Denise using that bottle to stop him and Stacey ending up with Jack's blood on her hands after the resulting altercation...

The amber cufflinks

Jack memorably gave Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) the now infamous pair of amber cufflinks that are about to be found on the lifeless body at The Vic.

Of course, we never saw them returned to Jack, and the cufflinks originally belonged to Nish before he donated them in a poker game.

But might they end up back in Jack's possession in time for Christmas? Of course, there's a lot of them floating around now, so we'll have to wait and see.

Read more:

• EastEnders confirms Penny Branning return after 15 years away
• EastEnders winter preview 2023: Chris Clenshaw on Christmas, exits, returns
• EastEnders confirms Johnny Carter return with new recast actor
• Does the EastEnders Christmas trailer confirm there’s a seventh woman?
• EastEnders drops dramatic Christmas trailer with violent Kathy Cotton

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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