It’s not Christmas in EastEnders without a death, and this year it was Anthony Trueman (Nicholas Bailey) who fell victim to the festive season.
‘A Christmas storyline is a huge moment in soap, so to get that and a big Christmas Day exit was a real honour!’ Actor Nicholas Bailey said.
An altercation with Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) led to Anthony’s demise, with the pair shoving each other hard enough to render both of them unconscious on the floor.
While Zoe was able to be roused, the same couldn’t be said for Anthony, and he was officially pronounced dead in tonight’s episode.
This, of course, left Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) hysterical, having watched daughter Zoe hand herself in to the police.
Determined to protect her daughter, she gave very little away when questioned by officers over her version of events.
However, this didn’t stop her from launching her own investigation, immediately seeking out granddaughter Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) for answers.
Amid the drama on Christmas Day, it was revealed that Jasmine had been working alongside Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), having bonded over their dislike for Zoe.
Jasmine has of course been confirmed to be the daughter of both Zoe and Anthony – something that came as a shock to Nicholas.
‘I really didn’t think Anthony was the father, so I was surprised because it had been concealed so well!’ He said.
‘But it was a pleasant surprise because you always know that when there’s a big revelation like that, you are going to get some great stuff to play.’
It took some convincing from Kat, but eventually Jasmine opened up aboutChrissie’s plan to to torment Zoe, and how she’d manipulated vulnerable Jasmine into doing her bidding.
Don't miss a Soaps scoop! Add us as a Preferred Source
As a loyal Metro Soaps reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories. We have all the latest soaps news, spoilers, videos, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.
Click here and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.
When Jasmine revealed that Chrissie had said something cryptic about Zoe getting what was coming to her, before warning the teen to disappear before the police arrived, Kat’s ears pricked up.
Pointing out that Chrissie wouldn’t have known the police were coming unless she knew Anthony was dead, Kat theorised that Chrissie had been planning to kill Anthony and frame Zoe all along.
With Jasmine clearly terrified of facing Chrissie’s wrath, Kat’s theory certainly has legs, but is she right?
And more importantly, will she be able to prove Zoe’s innocence?
There have been so many twists, turns and shocks this week that it has been hard to keep up with all the goings on in Albert Square, and even Nicholas admitted that he didn’t expect the story to take this path.
‘My jaw hit the floor when our producer Ben Wadey told me where this was going and what was going to happen. But I think it was a masterstroke because when I look back, Anthony was always a bit like a pressure cooker, and he let things build and build before the steam escapes. This time he couldn’t keep the lid on it!’ He said.
While the actor is pleased his ‘friends are going to have some incredible stuff to play’ following Anthony’s death, Nicholas has admitted that leaving the show is ‘bittersweet’.
‘I’ve felt really at home since I came back to EastEnders. But the storyline itself is tremendous, and it gave me much more to do than I expected. It’s been great to come out of my comfort zone and play some spectacular scenes full of spectacular lines.
‘I was sad things were coming to an end, but I wanted to lean into the excitement of this story being a launch pad for some incredible stuff heading into 2026. I love EastEnders and I love seeing the show thrive.’
