r/eastenders

I’ll start first: Keegan cheating on Tiffany with Dotty

Hey. So. Huge EastEnders fan. First time poster on this thread, so please be gentle!

Me and my friend often discuss where we think the shows going, and I’ve got a few theories. Some may be completely outlandish. Some have possibly/probably already been discussed so I apologise in advance. I’m just going to dive straight in:

So last Thursday’s episode (01/10/2026) reveal that Ned helped Nicola effectively cover up her father’s “accidental” murder really cemented my theory for me that Nicola’s dad was sexually abusing/raping her through her young adult life and he is Harry’s father. There was a comment a few weeks ago made by Gemma and/or Jodie about how much Harry looked like their Grandfather and Nicola’s reaction was overly angry. I know that if the show takes us in this direction it a) is quite obvious; b) means Harry Mitchell isn’t the biological father of either of his children, and; c) potentially feels a little familiar to the “Uncle Harry” storyline of the 00s. However, Laura Doddington (who plays Nicola) is an absolute powerhouse so giving her drama on this scale to sink her teeth in to would be electric.

The reveal about Harry Slater abusing Kat as a teen and fathering Zoe aired 25 years ago now. And ok - there would be inevitable comparatives made, however I think it would also be a really important topic to shed light on. It’s a tough subject, but over the last 25 years I’m fairly sure - statistically speaking - recorded cases of child sexual abuse (including intra-familial abuse) has massively increased. So, bringing that to the forefront - whilst difficult - if handled correctly could really help a lot of people.

Also - And this my opinion, so I appreciate I might be alone in thinking this - Nicola Mitchell has been the best character to be introduced since Suki Panesar in 2020.

Anyway - I digress - I think that if this theory is right then this will be one of next year’s big storylines and we’ll be building toward that reveal more and more.

Whilst we’re on the subject of Nicola Mitchell - I think the extended family are really going to be pushed on us more and more. I’m mostly ok with that - again, I know there are probably a lot of negative thoughts on the Hawkins’ but when did EastEnders last have an instantly likeable family move on to the Square, really? So, I think Ned’s going to want to manipulate his way to growing his empire on the square…

This week, we know Nancy Carter is returning.
We also know (or at least it’s heavily rumoured) that Janine Butcher, and Lee Carter are making short returns at some point. If I remember rightly there were alleged on location photos of Janine and Linda attending a funeral. I’m probably very wrong, but I feel like this is all to do with Mick’s body. I wouldn’t even want to guess the ins and outs, but my theory is that Mick’s body has been found. This sends shockwaves through the Carter clan, but all isn’t as it seems. Janine - for some monetary reason - has somehow arranged for a body to be “washed up” and falsely identifies this as Mick to benefit from his death.

The Carter children would share their disapproval of Linda being in a relationship with Max - especially whilst (seemingly) accepting the loss of their father, which will ultimately put Linda in a position where she has to choose her happiness with Max, or her kids. She will break things off with Max - although “secretly” be heart broken.

Max will behave in true Max style… he’ll drown his sorrows and seek another woman’s bed… Who? Chelsea Fox.

Chelsea has had a tough time of it this year. She reluctantly turned 40. Jordan was hit by Ian Beale’s car. Gray Atkins returned, along with Sheila who tried to kidnap Jordan. Denise is going through her leukaemia diagnoses and treatment. Something will trigger Chelsea to go and drown her sorrows and her and Max will end up doing the no pants dance.

For whatever reason, he and Chelsea will start to see each-other. Chelsea likes the security, and Max likes how it makes Linda/Cindy/the entire female population of Walford seethe. At some point - possibly the beginning of December, Max will get a call: the venue he and Cindy tried to book for their nuptials on New Year’s Day has had a last minute cancellation. He proposes to Chelsea, who accepts knowing that Max can provide for her and Jordan. She’s also come to see a good side in Max - likely because he manages to rescue Penny and Ethan from a fire. Also - on a side note - we know that Ian has been really struggling in prison. He is released this week and is traumatised. He and Chelsea form a friendship and Ian wants to help Jordan as much as possible. Through their friendship Chelsea sees how much he’s struggling and encourages Max to reach out and talk to Ian - having both gone through similar experiences in their past. Max reluctantly agrees, but Max actually helps Ian and the two form an unlikely bond, which is why Max asks Ian to be best man.

Christmas will be a typical miserable time for the residents of Albert Square. Priya will return, however her and Ravi’s lives are sent spiralling as the truth about her pregnancy and the father will come out. The Slaters will try and host the first Christmas following the death of Zoe. Alfie will try and rally the troops and make it a day of celebration, however the grief will be too much for Kat to deal with who will snap and launch something (a stool? The Queen Vic bust? Jean’s festive fishy basket?) through one of the window’s of the Vic. She will tell Alfie that she cannot live in the pub any longer and they will look to sell up/move out and return Stacey’s money to her. This will mean new owners in early 2027 which paves the way for Ned to swoop in and move Gemma, Jodie, Ryder and Rose out of Nicola’s house and in to the Vic.

As New Year’s Day approaches, Linda has had another realisation and doesn’t want a repeat of Max and Cindy’s Wedding day in September, so she vows to stop the wedding. Similarly, Cindy is still vying for revenge. Essentially being Walford’s newest super sleuth and all round answer to Miss Marple - she manages to uncover evidence that Max visited Zoe on the night of her death. Of course in true Cindy style, she would wait for Max & Chelsea’s Wedding day to go to the police - for maximum impact.

Ravi - who has really started to spiral since the Christmas Day revelations about Priya & Max - has planned the ultimate revenge, himself… He’s going to take a child from Max, the way he feels Max has taken a child from him. I imagine at this stage a lot of fans suspect he is the gloved gunman, however I saw a interesting video (so absolutely not taking the credit for this tidbit) which highlighted that since returning following his mental health crisis, when Ravi is trying to calm himself down, he taps his fingers. In the flash forward episode, we seemingly see the gloved gunman at the wheel of vehicle and they tap their fingers in the same motion. Ravi will kidnap Lauren and Oscar, tell Max to choose which child lives and dies. Max will refuse to pick. Ravi will reveal his location to Max and say he’ll kill them both. There will be a race against time - Mark Max, Jack & Mark Fowler will all arrive at said location. There will be a stand off. Max will be on his knees begging Ravi not to do this. Ravi will say it’s too late - either he chooses either Lauren or Oscar or he looses them both. In Max’s desperation he chooses to save Lauren. Ravi points the gun toward Oscar. Pulls the trigger… but no bullet fires out.

Mark/Jack race over to Ravi and get the gun away from him. Max is distraught but manages to calm down. Jack checks the gun and says theres no bullets loaded. Ravi smirks and says he didn’t need to kill a child for Max to lose one.

Oscar - who has always sought Max’s approval and respect now sees that he will never be enough. He will end things with Jasmine/Josh and leave the square - heading to stay with Cora.

Speaking of Jasmine/Josh… I may be clutching at straws here, but I just do not trust Josh. I’m probably way off here, but I suspect that there’s a much darker side to him than we’ve seen. Firstly… Josh & Jasmine’s foster father. We know he died in a car accident when the twins were younger and Jasmine pretty much got blamed. I think there’s more to this. I think that somehow - he was actually responsible for the accident and let Jasmine take the heat. Secondly… The night of Zoe’s demise. The recording of Zoe’s last words on the phone to 999 being “he left me” obviously points to Max and Zoe’s last meeting - however I still think Josh absolutely could have got up in the middle of the night, heard Zoe trying to shout for Kat, gone in and - again for one reason or another - refused to help her and left her to die.

Lastly, we know Sean Slater returns soon. Just why he returns to the square is currently unknown - or at least I’ve not read anything. I can only assume it’s potentially something to do with visiting for Zoe’s funeral. The intention would be for a flying visit. However I suspect he’ll get entangled in the Amy/Craig/grooming storyline and end up staying to help.

So. I’m just going to stop here. I fully admit that most - if not all - of this is very unlikely to happen. I also appreciate I’ve written an incoherent rambling essay here. But… I don’t know? Any thoughts? Am I way off?

As we’re now officially under 3 months away I’m curious to see people’s predictions because I feel the past couple months have been a bit all over the place and I’m wondering how they’re going to pull it off