It’s freezing, the diet has been entirely dropped and it’s going dark at 4 o’clock – the festive period is here, and we know that besides worrying about how far the roast beast will stretch, finding something under a fiver that isn’t total rubbish for your secret Santa and having to face the aunty you hate over Christmas dinner, you’ll be worrying about when you can catch your EastEnders fix!
EastEnders never fails to deliver the festive goods. Back in 1985, 30.15 jaws hit the floor when Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) served wife Angie (Anita Dobson).
In 2007, the big reveal of Max Branning (Jake Wood) and Stacey Slater’s (Lacey Turner) affair kept our hands out of the Quality Street, while 2023’s ‘six’ storyline dominated Christmas evening.
This year, BBC bosses have promised that: ‘Walford residents learn the consequences of their actions as they are visited by ghosts of their past, villains of the present, and visions of the future.’
Of course, all episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer and the schedule will return to normal on the week commencing the 5th, but as for the big celebratory fortnight? Worry no longer about missing your ‘Enders fix, we’ve got the whole schedule, and some tasty teasers about what you can expect!
When is EastEnders on over Christmas and New Year?
- Monday, December 22: 7:30-8pm
- Tuesday, December 23: 7:30-8pm
- Wednesday, December 24: 6:55-7:25pm
- Thursday, December 25: 7:45-8:15pm and then 9:45-10:15pm
- Friday, December 26: 9:30-10pm
- Monday, December 29: 7:30-8pm
- Tuesday, December 30: 7:30-8pm
- Wednesday, December 31: 7:30-8pm
- Thursday, January 1: 7:30-8pm
What is happening on EastEnders this Christmas and New year?
Max Branning is back, which means chaos is sure to follow.
Jake Wood promised that Max will definitely be a busy bee upon his return: ‘Max is busy, very busy! He’s got a lot of history with a lot of the residents, some of whom he’s met before and others he’s yet to meet.
‘A lot has happened since we last saw Max, but also since he permanently lived in Walford, so there’s a mountain of secrets waiting to be exposed, and a whole lot of drama.’
Appearing just as son Oscar (Pierre Moullier) stumbles out of an inferno and as he reunites with his family, daughter Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) and brother Jack (Scott Maslen), secrets start to blow wide open…
…speaking of secrets, 2025’s Queen of the bombshell, Zoe Slater’(Michelle Ryan) is holding onto a major one, that could make her previous slew of exploded secrets look minor in comparison.
Mum Kat (Jessie Wallace) and stepdad Alfie (Shane Richie) welcome her home in the midst of her stalking ordeal, desperate to buoy her over the festive period, though an Earth shaking discovery completely blows her mind.
As the Slater clan welcome all-comers into the Vic for a community Christmas, they enter into a screaming match with another family, which proves to nothing compared to what comes next. Police are called, more secrets are exposed, and it’s possible life will never be the same again.
Nigel Bates’ (Paul Bradley) dementia symptoms continues to worsen as the residents of Walford gather round to watch the screening of his passion project, and his perception of reality begins to crumble.
When he realises that he’s responsible for wife Julie’s (Karen Henthorn) facial bruise, he flees in horror and locks himself in the Vic, leading him to hallucinate Pat and Barry Evans (Pam St Clement and Shaun Williamson).
Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) finally agrees with Julie that they need help caring for him.
Christmas isn’t ruined though, as Phil, Julie and Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) rally round, with Nigel himself determined to make Christmas daya special one…
As New Year approaches, Max is firmly on the outs with his entire family and the wider community, having made an enemy of the entire Square.
With New Years Day promising a flashforward to the same day in a years time, we’ll get a taste of the chaos to come, before setting off on a years journey to discover why and how things came to be.
But just what trouble has Max managed to cause in the span of a year?
Meanwhile, a re-invigorated Harry Mitchell (Elijah Holloway) gives himself a dangerous focus: ensuring the absolute destruction of Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara). Despite best friend Kojo Asare (Dayo Koleosho) and Barney Mitchell (Lewis Bridgeman) disavowing the plot, he does find someone who’s willing to help him to get Ravi.
Who’s decided to join forces with Harry?
