EastEnders reveals gunshot terror and 2027 flash-forward clues in New Year's Eve BBC iPlayer release
Warning: Contains spoilers for Wednesday's episode of EastEnders, which airs at 7.30pm on BBC One or can be streamed now on BBC iPlayer.
EastEnders has confirmed that someone will face a gunshot nightmare in 2027, but luckily for viewers, they won't have long to wait to see the incident.
A game-changing New Year's Day flash-forward – which will see the action jump exactly one year into the future – will reveal a particularly eventful time for Max Branning (Jake Wood) and his family.
It comes after Max was ostracised from his loved ones, after a rather dramatic two weeks in Walford.
The love rat returned and discovered that five years ago, he fathered a child with Linda Carter (Kellie Bright). If that wasn't enough of a shock, he then learnt that his entire family have hid it from him.
Following a Christmas Day punch-up with brother Jack (Scott Maslen), he drowned his sorrows with Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and the two slept together. At the time, they had no idea who one another was.
In today's instalment, Cindy's ex-husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) attempted to pay Max off, handing a large sum of money in the hope that he would flee Albert Square and start afresh.
But Max wasn't prepared to leave without a fight, and coaxed son Oscar (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) and daughter Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) into drinks with him at The Vic. There, he made a promise that he would change and be a better father.
However, when Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) waltzed in and shouted about him trying to kiss Linda the day before, they realised that he wasn't a reformed character after all.
With the Branning-Beale clan gathering in Harry's Barn to see in 2026, Max called by to tell Ian that his plan hadn't worked and that he wouldn't be leaving after all. It's safe to say that nobody was impressed!
As fireworks burst into the air above London, Max stared at the revellers and viewers were treated to a series of glimpses into what 2026 and beyond may look like on the BBC soap.
First we saw a baby on an ultrasound scan, followed by a Spirit of Ecstasy mascot from a Rolls-Royce car. Who is Max marrying?
Finally, a gloved hand aimed a gun. Are we about to see a death?
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Read more:
- EastEnders' Max Branning shamed as Cindy Beale fling exposed in BBC iPlayer release
- 8 EastEnders spoilers next week: Harry and Nicola Mitchell exact twisted revenge plot on Ravi Gulati
- EastEnders confirms no early BBC iPlayer release for explosive New Year's Day episode
- EastEnders icon Jake Wood reveals who he really thinks Max Branning’s true love is
- EastEnders boss teases love triangle scenes for Vicki Fowler as disturbed Joel Marshall finally goes to trial in 2026
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Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
