EastEnders Spoilers Christmas Week 2014

[maidmarian]

Havent stopped laughing at the "webcam"
bit!
And I did like like Den - and Grant!

Its Phil (Potato Head) I find unbelievable.
I think of him as the Bonsai Gangsta!

[maidmarian]

Havent stopped laughing at the "webcam"
bit!
And I did like like Den - and Grant!

Its Phil (Potato Head) I find unbelievable.
I think of him as the Bonsai Gangsta!

[Perdita]

EastEnders' popular Carter family are about to experience a Christmas they'll never forget as their two biggest secrets are exposed.

December 25 will see Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) rocked by the terrible revelation that his partner Linda was raped by Dean Wicks, as well as the life-changing news that Shirley is his mother.

Speaking at an EastEnders press event this week, executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins shared lots of gossip and teasers about the festive drama to come. Read on to find out what he had to say!

When did you decide that these two big Carter secrets would be exposed on Christmas Day?
"We knew the details of this Christmas vaguely last Christmas! When we brought the Carters in, we knew that we were going to explode them the following Christmas, so we had the tent pegs of the story laid out and in place.

"What I love about the story is that it has its origins in Greek tragedy, with a man raping his brother's wife. Originally the story didn't have that level of complexity, but one afternoon I was in the office of our series producer Sharon Batten when the show's story producer Alex Lamb came in and said, 'Have you seen the scene that Linda Henry has just done with Danny Dyer?' It was the scene when they first met Stan, right back in January.

"Alex said, 'Linda Henry's playing it like she's Mick's mum'. We all looked at each other and said, 'Oh my God!' Originally Shirley was Mick's sister and everything else was planned, but Alex said, 'She's his mum!' We went 'She's his mum!' Then when we got Linda Henry in to tell her, she cried!"

Was it important to plan Christmas so far in advance?
"I think the best stories are always planned. I think you can see a show that's not planned and is thinking on its feet, so we really tried hard to make sure we knew where we were going.

"A long-running drama is also very organic and it's good to feed off the actors' performances too. Kellie Bright and Danny Dyer fed into the script as well. We got their notes and thoughts, because they know their characters so well. What's lovely about EastEnders is that we all work together as a team and we listen to everybody's input. That's what makes it special."


So did the actors also know the details of Christmas from the start?
"Yes, they knew. We always knew this Christmas there would be two moments - Mick finds out about the rape and Mick finds out that Shirley is his mum.

"We all worked here on the Max and Stacey story in 2007. The formula then was an old EastEnders formula - you do a big storyline in the autumn, plant a big bomb and then explode it at Christmas. The audiences like a long-running storyline. They needed to get involved in these stories, know all the secrets and watch them explode."

What will be the repercussions of Christmas?
"Going on from this, it's not the end of the Carter storyline - it's just the beginning. Mick and Linda are going to fight to save their marriage.

"Shirley is also going to have to choose between her two sons coming into the New Year. Linda Henry doesn't like talking to people, coming to press events or coming to awards ceremonies. She's so amazing, lovely, cuddly and warm underneath that brittle exterior, but because of that she doesn't get enough praise.

"Alex, Sharon and I were all here when we created Shirley - and Linda Marlowe was always in our heads as her mum! We always talked about the Carters too. There were story conferences six years ago when we talked about the Carters, so this moment has kind of been bubbling for years!"

We know that Mick will trash the Queen Vic once the truth is revealed! Can you tell us more?
"Danny has been champing at the bit to do this for a year! Ever since we told him about the rape storyline, he was saying, 'But Dom I'll go ballistic, I'll kill Dean!' Then when he watched it happen he was saying, 'I don't like it, I don't like what he's doing to her'. It made him genuinely sad, but also he's Danny Dyer and he wants to smash things! (Laughs.)

"We always said there would be this scene and it's fab. We let Danny go crazy and then it calms down a bit, but this is only Act One. There's so much more to come and it ripples through the family."

Can Mick and Linda stay strong?
"The constant through it all is their love. Things won't be smooth and they are going to get rocky, but ultimately there'll be a happy ending."

Can you tell us more about Shirley's reaction to the rape revelation?
"Shirley is torn. The easiest thing would be for the truth to come out about Shirley being Mick's mum and they'd have a hug, but we had to put another obstacle in the way. This was always another big twist. We've got to make it difficult! This is EastEnders and if we were all cuddly, you wouldn't be watching. So it's going to be very, very hard.

"What's wonderful is you've got someone like Linda Henry who just plays with all these different strange facets of Shirley, who is not a sympathetic character and yet you're with her on this whole journey. She's going to vacillate and she's going to go between her sons.

"You've already met daddy - Buster Briggs played by the amazing Karl Howman. He's coming back for the next chapter of this story. He needs to see his two sons and we'll see how that's going to affect Mick and Shirley. There's a whole new era for Shirley coming up next year, which is really exciting.

"We've also got a lot more from Linda's mother Elaine. Maria Friedman did so beautifully in the scenes she did earlier, but there's even more lovely Maria Friedman stuff to come!"

What else can you tease about the story?
"You haven't had all the surprises yet! As you know, there's a baby due. We've scripted the birth, which is suitably dramatic. Ultimately, it's not all going to be bleak. This is heavy, but you can't sustain that. There is a lot of joy coming up for the Carters as well. That's important, because when they came in they were joyful and we're keeping hold of that.

"When the script first came through for the rape, Kellie said, 'Oh God, we're doing it. We're changing Linda and we're changing the family forever'. The family will never be the same again, but there is so much more to come and I have an amazingly clever team of writers, producers and storyliners.

"We keep taking what we think is the obvious - the way the audience think we're going to go - and then going the opposite way. It keeps us all on our toes but so far it's working!"

Why should people watch EastEnders over Christmas?
"Because I think we've gone back to basics and back to the origins of classic EastEnders. It's the secret that the audience know is going to come out and they're wondering how it's going to come out. Afterwards you're watching the fallout and it's going to keep rumbling. Boxing Day picks up directly from Christmas Day and if possible it gets even better!"

Read our full spoilers for EastEnders episodes airing over Christmas and New Year

EastEnders airs a 65-minute episode on Christmas Day at 9pm on BBC One.

[parkerman]

Eastenders ring the changes this Christmas.

[Dazzle]

Eastenders ring the changes this Christmas.

Nicely spotted Parkerman!

That's funny and highly irritating all at once...

I hope we're not going to get the same for the next four Christmases!

[alan45]

Eastenders ring the changes this Christmas.

Another explosive storyline wich will probably rock the square. Hope he remembers to buy his condoms in good time.

[alan45]

Eastenders ring the changes this Christmas.

Another explosive storyline wich will probably rock the square. Hope he remembers to buy his condoms in good time.

[Dazzle]

Another explosive storyline wich will probably rock the square. Hope he remembers to buy his condoms in good time.

Oh, but then we wouldn't be treated to a hilarious episode where cheeky chappy Alfie desperately seeks out a condom...

[Perdita]

Stan Carter will ask grandson Mick to help him die after he received a terminal diagnosis.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Danny Dyer let slip the new storyline which will see Stan asking Mick to "smother him" after revealing his terminal illness.

Dyer said: "I'm juggling about eight storylines at the moment. My old man is on his way out. My mother's got Alzheimer's - she's not my mother, my sister's actually my mum.

"My missus has been raped by who turns out to be my brother, so I don't know if it's my kid. My dad dying - he's not my dad, he's actually my grandad - he wants me to smother him."

Dyer also spoke about the Carter family's dramatic Christmas Day, which is when Mick finds out Linda was raped and Shirley is his mother.

He said: "It's the Christmas from hell, but it's a beautiful thing at the same time. It's all nice - mince pies, cranberry sauce, bit of goose and all that game - 9 o'clock it gets so dark. We have an hour of the Carter family just unfolding and me having a complete breakdown. I've loved it though. As an actor, you want to do that stuff."

Dyer continued to explained why he thinks EastEnders is depressing at Christmas.

"I think you need a little smack round the face on Christmas Day," he said. "Everyone's opening presents and acting jolly - all of that forced fun - and then you just need a little spank!"

Dyer recently praised EastEnders' writers for the Christmas episodes when Mick learns of Linda's rape, saying he believes that Mick's reaction is very realistic.

[Perdita]

EastEnders villain Dean Wicks continues to threaten Linda Carter in the show's Christmas Eve edition.

The show's latest episode saw Dean (Matt Di Angelo) vengefully cause trouble for Linda by telling Lee that his parents aren't really married.

While Linda (Kellie Bright) is still dealing with the fallout from this revelation, Dean will pay another visit to the Queen Vic and urge her to help him win back Stacey Branning.

Hit play below to see Dean turn nasty when Linda refuses to cooperate:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2...oZj6YxtkESnGjn

EastEnders airs these scenes on Christmas Eve at 8pm on BBC One.