The cast and crew of EastEnders are getting into the Christmas spirit early with new pictures depicting a Walford Wonderland.
Which can only mean one thing – misery, exploding secrets, massive twists and deadly situations are likely being filmed as we speak.
The leaves have barely turned brown and you still have a few weeks before you need to start truly panicking about your Christmas shopping but, in the world of soap, September means trees, tinsel, tantrums and tragedy.
New pictures show Albert Square beautifully decorated and lit up for the festive season, and it’s hard not to feel a little bit giddy.
For us soaps reporters, we are already thinking all things Christmas and, by the time we sit down to our actual real life turkey and trimmings, it will likely be a distant memory to us as our heads will be deep into 2026.
A very scary thought!
Let’s not fast forward THAT far yet, the year is going quick enough – let’s focus on the Christmas that’s coming as these pics show the backdrop of what promises to be another electric year’s end on the Square.
Zoe Slater’s (Michelle Ryan) return appears to be being set up as the dominant storyline for December, with Max Branning (Jake Wood) long returned by then. More details on that very soon!
There are a lot of secrets waiting to explode where Zoe is concerned, not least of all relating to her mystery secret son, not to mention her romantic connection to loathsome/lothario (delete depending on which side you’re on) Max.
It’s a Christmas of past, present and future new boss Ben Wadey promised.
His first big coup after swapping Hollyoaks village for the Queen Vic was bringing back Michelle Ryan and Jake Wood, so it would make sense that he would want this to be the centrepiece of the pivotal drama.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com, he said coyly: ‘This Christmas, we’re looking past, present and future, so we’ve got a lot of stuff that we’re very excited to share with the audience.’
Meanwhile, he addressed the material to come that will build into it, telling us: ‘I think Kat’s been expecting one thing when Zoe would come back, and actually meeting your adult daughter is more complicated than perhaps Kat thinks.
‘There’s a lot for them to get to understand about each other. Zoe has a lot of secrets that she’s going to bring into the Square with her, so the Slaters are in for a whole ride this autumn.’
Don’t mind me, just hanging my baubles and cracking open the mince pies in anticipation.
