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EastEnders legend Rob Kazinsky teases New Year's Day 2027 after fan theories: "None of them are correct"

Speculation is rife ahead of the big reveal.

Rob Kazinsky poses as Sean Slater on the set of Walford on a sunny day for EastEnders.

BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron

Published: Friday, 6 November 2026 at 9:00 am

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2026 has been the year of Max Branning (Jake Wood) in EastEnders – and co-star Rob Kazinsky, who plays Sean Slater, has weighed in on a number of fan theories.

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Following a flash-forward episode, which aired on New Year's Day, viewers have been left with more questions than answers.

The pay-off won't air until 1 January, where we'll see the love rat attempt to walk down the aisle again, presumably with his current girlfriend Linda Carter (Kellie Bright).

We still don't know why he's arrested, the identity of the mystery gunman who threatens to kill either Lauren Beale (Jacqueline Jossa) or Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier), or why Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington) so vehemently hates Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams).

Some oddities have been solved over the last year. We found out pretty quickly that the 'man' watching Max in the Square was returning Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple), and the reason for Libby Fox's (Belinda Owusu) comeback was relating to her mum Denise's (Diane Parish) cancer battle.

Max Branning at the bar of The Queen Vic in EastEnders

Max Branning (Jake Wood) has been at the centre of several major stories this year. BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron

Baby Ethan, the child in Jack Branning's (Scott Maslen) house is his grandson, and Nicola is now in a committed relationship with George Knight (Colin Salmon).

A new trailer also seemed to reveal that her injury was caused by sister Gemma (Patricia Potter), who knocks her down the steps outside No. 1.

Speaking with Radio Times about an exciting festive season ahead in Albert Square, Kazinsky recognised just how ambitious the flash-forward idea was.

Sean and Max face off with one another as Jack stands in the background in a scene from EastEnders

Rob Kazinsky teased that none of the viewer theories are correct. BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron

"They put themselves in a funny position by doing a flash forward event, which is something I've never seen before," he admitted. "It just means that there's all these fan theories - and none of them are correct. It's true."

Consider us intrigued!

"It's a lot more interesting than people think it's going to be," he added.

Given the Walford storylines are often laden with a twist or two, this honestly doesn't surprise us.

Read more:

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Authors

Michael Adams wearing a white t-shirt and beige gilet against a white background

Michael AdamsSoaps Editor

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.

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