EastEnders fans have ‘worked out’ that Danny Dyer could be returning as Mick Carter this Christmas –

but not as you might think.

For weeks now, there has been a question mark hanging over the future of his ex-wife Linda Carter (Kellie

Bright), who is currently in the grips of her alcohol addiction.

Back in October, there was speculation the BBC soap was filming Linda’s funeral when paparazzi photos emerged of former stars Maddy Hill and Danny Hatchard reprising their roles as Nancy and Lee Carter outside of a church.

Pictures also showed Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff) and Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) filming on location – while Linda was nowhere to be seen.

New spoilers for the episode airing on Monday 16 December have since revealed there will be a life-changing and traumatic event for Linda as she takes centre stage in the special instalment.

Amid rumours the episode could involve a Christmas Carol-inspired storyline, with Linda presented with versions of her past, present and future, fans have come up with an interesting theory that Danny will reprise his role as Mick.

One posted on Reddit: ‘Mick will return as a guide for Linda to see what happens if she carries on drinking, which would explain the leaked set photos of the whole Carter family back together and then wearing pink etc.’

‘I 100% think we will get a Danny Dyer cameo,’ said another

Another theorised: ‘Mick’s ghost could be like how Roxy spoke to Amy at her session. He could tell her he will always love her but she needs get clean for the kids and telling her it’s OK to move on without him and go meet someone new when she is ready. He will wait for her when her time is up but that’s not yet.’

‘I think it could be a Christmas Carol/Hallucination/what if episode for both characters. For example Linda sees Mick as a hallucination & sees multiple scenarios like if she continues to drink etc,’ penned another.

It’s been a tough few years for Linda, who has hit the bottle again following the apparent death of her husband Mick two years ago.

Things worsened when rapist Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) arrived in the Square, and she later murdered Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) in defence of her best pal Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).

Amid speculation Linda could be on her way out of the BBC soap after 11 years this Christmas, a cryptic Instagram post from Kellie Bright, where she is seen to be holding pottery with ‘THE END’ engraved inside of it, managed to further stir the pot.

But will Linda’s ‘death’ turn out to be a very Dickensian-inspired hoax?