This story discusses topics including rape and sexual assault.
EastEnders has aired a scene between Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), adding to theories about who the Christmas death might be.
This week saw Dean blackmail Linda, threatening to tell the police that George Knight pushed him down the stairs unless she made a false statement saying that he didn’t rape her.
Long-time viewers will know that Dean did rape Linda back in 2014, something which has affected her life for almost a decade now.
Linda eventually agreed to make the false confession, but she didn’t realise that her words were being secretly recorded by Dean.
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Devastated by what had happened, Linda almost turned to alcohol, but was comforted by mum Elaine, who told her to take back her power – and so she confronted Dean.
"Nobody wants you here," Linda told him. "Nobody cares about you, loves you. You could disappear tomorrow, and nobody would even notice.
"This hold you’ve had over us? It’s gone, for good… You can’t hurt me anymore."
A flash-forward scene in February showed "The Six" (Linda, Sharon, Kathy, Stacey, Suki and Denise) staring down at an unknown male who is dead on the floor of The Vic this coming Christmas.
Fans are firmly on the lookout for any lines that could foreshadow the identity of the victim, and Linda’s line about Dean "disappearing" adds to theories that it could be him.
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In an interview with the BBC on his return, Di Angelo said about the speculation: "We know that Linda is involved in the Christmas storyline, and we also know that most people in the Square would like to see the back of Dean.
"But everyone is going to have to wait to find out if Dean’s the body on The Vic floor because I’m not giving away any clues!"
The upsetting scenes featuring Linda and Dean this week have been heavily criticised by viewers online, with some saying that the blackmail storyline shows a lack of respect for real-life victims of rape and sexual assault.
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.
