This Christmas Day, many of us will be taking a trip to the London postcode, E20. No, not Westfield Shopping Centre, but Walford. Albert Square, to be exact. In a Christmas act almost as traditional as carving a turkey, EastEnders Christmas Day episode is a mainstay in many Londoners’ homes, whether or not they are year-round fans, like me.
At the time of writing, the stage is set for the EastEnders Christmas storyline 2024: Nish is lurking in that basement flat, ready to wreak havoc on Suki, Eve, and most probably The Six; Linda’s alcoholism is causing major problems for her family; plus in good old-fashioned EastEnders style (quite literally given some of the old school characters involved) Cindy’s affair with her ex-husband’s son is set to be exposed.
Before we get to the climax of all this though – with two episodes this Christmas Day, dontcha know – let’s make like Ebenezer Scrooge, and take a look back at Christmases past. Which is the best EastEnders Christmas Day episode of all time?
10. Kat and Alfie get married – 2003
Let’s ease into this list with a happy EastEnders Christmas episode: when Kat and Alfie got married during the EastEnders Christmas Day episode 2003. Yes, EastEnders does have happy Christmases… on rare occasions. Between the gatecrashed wedding (to Andy), the fake snow machines, and the profession of true love, this episode had all the makings of a Christmas rom-com. Of course, we all know Kat and Alfie’s love story didn’t end there, and has had many highs and lows since.
9. Ian tries to kill Simon Wicks – 1990
Things don’t change much in the Beale household, do they? Much like the synopsis for this year’s EastEnders Christmas Day episode, Ian’s Christmas Day 34 years ago was centred around the fact that Cindy had cheated on him. While we don’t yet know how it’ll play out between the Beale patriarch and Junior Knight in 2024, back in 1990, this revelation resulted in Ian trying to sabotage his love rival, Simon Wicks, ultimately trying to kill him on Christmas Day by sabotaging his breaks.
8. Jamie’s death – 2002
The character of Jamie Mitchell still gets mentioned in episodes, 22 years after passing away in the EastEnders Christmas Day episode 2002. His death was a result of Martin Fowler accidentally running him over. Sonia Fowler, Phil Mitchell, and the other Mitchell members each visited Jamie in the hospital following the accident, making any amends and expressing their love, before Jamie passed away in tear-jerking scenes.
7. A Christmas cracker of a paternity test – 2008
This one is on the list for pure savagery. When notorious EastEnders villain Archie Mitchell found out that the father of his granddaughter was not his son-in-law, Sean Slater, it would never end well. Why talk to your daughter about the situation when you could, instead, orchestrate a reveal and get someone to put the results in a Christmas cracker? Much like the Christmas cracker jokes, no one found it funny.
6. The Brannings fall from The Vic’s roof – 2017
I did not see poor Abi Branning’s death coming in 2017. Tense scenes unfolded as sisters Lauren and Abi Branning tried to stop their dad, Max Branning, from jumping off the top of the Queen Vic, resulting in both of them tumbling over the edge, much to Max’s (and our) horror. It was unclear who would survive and, sadly, resulted in Max’s youngest child (at the time) passing away, after giving birth to her daughter, Abi Jr.
5. Dean’s true colours – and brother – revealed – 2014
Looking for an almighty EastEnders fistfight? Sorry Mitchell brothers, this crown actually goes to Mick Carter and Dean Wicks, who until said fight, had no idea they were brothers. Dean very much deserved to get his Wicks wits beaten out of him, as Mick and family finally found out about the awful ordeal he’d put Mick’s wife Linda through earlier in the year. Mick wasted no time expressing his disgust and anger with his fists, until Shirley revealed they were, in fact, brothers, not uncle and nephew as they’d been led to believe.
4. The Six – 2023
Don’t @ me. I really liked how this one played out last year, and genuinely screamed in shock at the TV, as I realised mere moments before it happened what was to come when Keanu decided he was getting his ‘son’. EastEnders played a good card leading us to believe the ‘dead body’ in the February flash-forward would remain dead by the end of the episode; many of us did not see Linda and her meat thermometer coming until the last minute. Least of all, Keanu, obviously.
3. The murder of Archie – 2009
A year after our number 8 entry on this list, Archie Mitchell met his demise – not before causing a wave of heartache for Albert Square’s residents though. He racked up quite the list of enemies during his short-but-scary tenure on the Square, before the Queen Vic bust came crashing down on his head. Quite deservedly really. Viewers would have to wait until the 2010 live episode a few months later to discover Stacey Slater as the killer.
2. Den, Angie, and the divorce papers – 1986
The second-ever EastEnders Christmas episode is a classic, and while I was born seven years too late to watch it go out live, I have of course watched it many times since. The scene at the bottom of The Vic stairs, where Den delivers Angie both the divorce papers and the iconic line ‘Happy Christmas, Ange’, is one for the history books.
1. Stacey and Max’s affair reveal – 2007
There’s a reason why clips from this episode still do the rounds on social media, nearly 20 years later (and a few Branning boys later for Stacey…) From Max’s Santa outfit to that topple into the Christmas tree to the zooming in on (nearly) every face in the room, it was classic EastEnders drama.
For those not in the know, the Christmas Day episode was the culmination of an affair between Stacey Slater and Max Branning, the father of her boyfriend-then-husband Bradley Branning, caught on tape and played out to the family on the TV by Max’s daughter, Lauren. You could have cut the tension with a knife.
So, there you have it, the Secret London list of the best EastEnders Christmas Day episodes of all time. Do you agree? What did I miss? I’m expecting fellow fans to take it to the comments section, because much like Sharon and her love of Mitchell men, I had a bit of back-and-forth in my head over my final decision…