In Britain, Christmas simply isn’t over until all the presents are unwrapped, the pigs in blanket have been demolished and the EastEnders festive special has aired, throwing Albert Square into chaos with yet another major bombshell.
For over 36 years, the BBC One soap has delivered high-stakes Christmas drama every December – and now RadioTimes.com readers have decided which Yuletide revelation is EastEnders’ best-ever plotline.
While fans had 16 storylines to choose from, it was Max and Stacey’s affair that was most popular among voters, receiving 30 per cent of the overall vote.
The classic episode, which aired back in 2007, saw Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) play a video of Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) kissing her father Max Branning (Jake Wood), which she’d secretly recorded on the night of Stacey’s wedding to his son Bradley (Charlie Clements), in front of all the family.
Coming in a close second place in our poll was EastEnders’ 1986 Christmas episode, in which Dirty Den (Leslie Grantham) served Angie (Anita Dobson) divorce papers. Over 30 million viewers tuned in to watch Den Watts give his wife divorce papers after discovering that she’d lied about having six months to live, while 27 per cent of readers voted for the moment in our poll.
Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) being killed by the Queen Vic bust in 2009 came in third place (seven per cent), while Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) attacking rapist Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) in 2014 and Sharon Mitchell’s (Letitia Dean) affair with Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) being revealed in 2019 both received five per cent of the vote.
Eastenders will air a double episode on Christmas Day at 9:35pm on BBC One. Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch check out our TV guide.