EastEnders fans spot clue proving who dies at Christmas – and he’s a returning character

EASTENDERS fans are convinced they’ve worked out who dies at Christmas after unearthing a hidden clue. 

According to fans, Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott) will return to the Square just in time to die.

EastEnders never fails to deliver on Christmas drama and this year will see a major death on Sharon’s (Letitia Dean) wedding day. It will involve the bride and several other Walford women.

The teaser scene suggests some kind of accidental murder as Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Sharon Watts, and Kathy Beale’s (Gillian Taylforth) all gather around the mystery body in the Queen Vic.  

Stacey and Sharon are covered in blood while Denise holds a broken champagne bottle and the rest of the women watch in shock. 

EastEnders fans have been stewing on the identity of the mystery Christmas corpse ever since the flash forward episode back in February. 

They have rumbled it may be Ravi, Nish, Keanu or even Dean. However, eagle-eyed EastEnders fans are now convinced they have the identity of the victim pegged as Ryan Malloy after rewatching the episode and spotting a telltale clue. 

The character briefly returned this year after his and Stacey’s daughter Lily revealed she was pregnant.

“I just rewatched the flash forward episode and something that stuck out to me is Stacey mentioning Ryan,” one Reddit user posed.

They added: “I’m now starting to think it’s him. He’s a big enough character (unlike Theo or Keanu), but not a huge villain that’s super predictable (unlike Nish or Ravi).”

In the episode, Stacey reveals that Ryan wants Lily and the baby to spend Christmas with him in Wakefield. 

If they don’t go to visit Ryan, will he return to the Square instead? 

A second user agreed that Ryan being the victim “makes more sense” than some of the other theories currently doing the rounds.

Meanwhile, EastEnders fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared similar thoughts. 

“It could be Ryan – he wanted Lily and the baby at Christmas – so he could’ve come back to the Square for them,” one said. 

One even suggested that he was working with Stacey’s stalker Theo (who could also secretly be working with Ruby) to get custody of their daughter.  

“I think it’s Ryan as a way of looking to get Lily back. This could follow on to Ryan coming back and maybe even being the Christmas body in the Vic, which could also tie into Whitney leaving,” the soap fan theorised. 

However, other EastEnders are hoping Ryan isn’t on the chopping block this Christmas. 

“It would be better if a bigger character was killed off,” one viewer noted.

While another suggested a good candidate. “Ravi because Sharon has had issues with him, as has Stacey, as has Denise and Suki,” they wrote. 

Other fans also think that clues about Ryan and Ravi being the mystery corpse are just there to throw people off. They believe the show will go in a completely different direction, offing long-time Walford resident Ian Beale. 

“The fact that they have been teasing it since February, which is actually the anniversary of the show, suggests a legacy character and that’s why I’ve always said Ian as I believe Adam Woodyatt came back to get closure,” an EastEnders fan suggested.