EastEnders fans ‘heartbroken’ as soap ‘kills off’ major character after 11 years
EastEnders fans have been left 'heartbroken' after the soap seemingly killed off Linda Carter in Monday's episode - before reviving the character in a format-breaking twist at the end. Linda's death has been rumoured over the last month, with fans predicting that she will lose her battle with alcoholism at Christmas.
The theory proved to be right, with Linda (played by Kellie Bright) storming out of the Queen Vic after fighting with her mother Elaine over her drinking problem. Linda is then seen downing a bottle of vodka before crawling underneath a blanket with a homeless man, who then tried to sexually assault her.
After waking up and running away, Linda started to experience stomach pains and vomited across a war memorial before collapsing and dying on a park bench. The next day, the police informed Elaine that her daughter had died the night before, with the soap jumping ahead to Linda's funeral.
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Gathered with the rest of her family to say goodbye to Linda, her son Johnny began drinking to cope with his grief, while her daughter Nancy blamed Elaine for Linda's death before slapping her across the face. Nancy screamed that she would fight for the guardianship of her siblings in Family Court, leading Elaine to kick everyone out of the pub.
With Elaine alone in the pub, the lights began to flicker - with the soap cutting back to Linda leaving the pub on the night of her death. With the fan favourite about to down the bottle of vodka, she stopped to look at a picture of her drawn by son Ollie, which depicted her drunkenly lying on the ground.
Suddenly realising what would happen to her if she continued down this path, Linda poured the vodka down the drain and returned to the Queen Vic to speak to her mother. "I don't want to be this person anymore," she said. "I saw it all, Mum...what would happen if I don't stop. It's like someone slapped me round the face and you're right, the drink is going to kill me, and when I die, everyone's going to hate me."
Fans took to social media to praise Kellie Bright's performance, with one viewer writing: "Okay. okay. OKAY! Kellie Bright!!! The actress that you ARE!!!!!!!!! Tonight’s episode of #Eastenders was PHENOMENAL! Crazyyyyy." Another added: "Today's episode was a whole other level of #EastEnders with the cinematography and the storyline. Kellie is simply phenomenal! Had me in tears with how Linda saw her life becoming and all the people she hurt. Heartbreaking, what a journey this episode is. Outstanding."
While EastEnders fans are yet to find out what will happen in Albert Square this Christmas, the BBC has teased that "time's up" for Cindy Beale as her affair with Junior is revealed. In a teaser trailer shared by the soap on social media, fans watch as Anna (Molly Rainford) unwraps a small gift, tagged with the terrifying message, "Play me! Festive fun for all," with viewers convinced that it ill be a damning tape of Cindy and Junior together.
EastEnders airs tonight at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. If you've been affected by any of the issues in this story you can contact Rape Crisis in the UK on their online chat or by calling 0808 500 2222.
