EastEnders fans go wild as they spot ‘clue’ linking Chrissie Watts to major storyline ahead of shock return

The character first arrived in Albert Square in 2004 as she was looking for her estranged husband Den Watts.

After she was persuaded to give their marriage another go, she then discovered he had an adopted daughter, Sharon (Letitia Dean) alomng with two other children, Dennis Rickman and Vicki Fowler (Scarlett Alice Johnson).

Chrissie soon discovers that Den has been having an affair with the local ex-policewoman, Kate Morton (Jill Halfpenny). Chrissy initially worked together with Kate as hairdressers, before she got her revenge by hacking off her hair in revenge.

Chrissie and Den reconcile and she tells him that she will kill him if he ever cheats on her again. Together, they decide to defraud Sam Mitchell (Kim Metcalfe) and her family from everything, including their ownership the Queen Vic. However, she soon feels left out by Den after he begins another affair with Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), when he tries to get her pregnant after she lied to Dennis Rickman.

Dennis discovers the affair, tells Chrissie and she persuades Zoe to abort the baby. Together with Sam Mitchell, they concoct a plan to get their own revenge on Den and either Chrissie or Sam will get hold of the pub.

They confront him on the night of his 37th wedding anniversary with Angie. Den is unmoved and confesses all of his wrongdoings, including Chrissie's part in defrauding the Mitchell's. However, Sharon was waiting in the shadows and she denounces Den before leaving Watford.

Chrissie taunts Den who attacks her. In turn, Zoe then hits Den with a doorstop which belonged to Den's sworn enemy Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard). Sam and Zoe panic, but a smug Chrissie taunts Den when she is left alone with him. He grabs her leg when she delivers the fatal blow to his head with the heavy object, unaware that Sam was secretly watching her.

Zoe is left unaware of the true extent of what happened that night and Chrissie allows her to think that she killed Den. The trio hide the body in the Vic, before Sam confronts Chrissie about what she truly saw. Sam demands that the ownership of the pub goes back to the Mitchell family.

Sam tells Zoe the truth about the murder and Zoe leaves Walford. but she tells Kat (Jessie Wallace) about the killing. Sam gets drunk on Sharon and Dennis' wedding day, digs up den's body in the hope that Chrissie will be sent down. But Chrissie feigns greif as she comforts Sharon over her dad's death. Sam tells the police about the murder, but when Den's blood is found under Sam's sink, complete with her changing story, she gets the blame. Chrissie also convinces Kat to get Stacey (Lacey Turner) to give a false alibi to the police that Zoe and Chrissie were with Kat her that night.

Sam's mother Peggy (Barbara Windsor) returns to Walford and slaps Chrissie who falls into Den's grave at the funeral. The matriarch also accuses her of murder by framing her daughter. Stacey soon learns the truth and she stars blackmailing Chrissie for money. In return, she then forms a relationship with Jake Moon (Joel Beckett) and she attempts to sell the Queen Vic to Jake's gangland boss Johnny Allen (Billy Murray).

After making a series of mistakes, she plans to free the country with Jake. Before then, they have an argument at Johnny's nightclub, where Chrissie confesses how she was the one who killed Den with the doorstop. Johnny then tells Phil and Grant about the tape but Chrissie and Jake are already on their way out of the country. However, they were almost stopped by Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) and Billy (Perry Fenwick) informs the police. At the airport, she finds herself confronted by Sharon and is arrested by police after an exchange of words and a punch to the face.

Chrissie only co-operates with the force in exchange for a meeting with Sharon, as she tries to get her to understand why she killed Den. In the meantime, Sam is released on bail but flees to Brazil with Phil's help. Jake visits her in prison and proposes to her. However, she discovers that he's lost the £25,000 that was to be her bail money and she calls him an 'idiot' before storming out. She then decides to get revenge on Sharon for sending her to prison. She attempts to force her to testify in court about what Den was like as Chrissie thinks that Sharon will crumble. But still looking at Sharon like a step-daughter she calls off her plan, fires her solicitor and pleads guilty to the murder. She is then sentenced to life imprisonment.