EastEnders marked the end of an era in tonight's episode (April 28) as ruthless newcomer Woody sacked legendary barmaid Tracey.
Tracey became another victim of the ongoing changes at The Vic following Shirley Carter's big decision to sell the freehold on the pub.
We had already revealed that Woody (Lee Ryan) would be making a controversial move that would unsettle the entire Walford community – but Tracey's involvement in the plot only came to light in Friday night's episode.
Shirley recently agreed to sell the freehold after some scheming from Max Branning – who had assured her that the buyers would be taking a hands-off approach.
Sure enough, Max's promises were proved to be a lie when Fi Browning was immediately sent by the freeholders in a bid to improve efficiency at the pub. And Fi returned to The Vic in tonight's scenes, ready to relay her suggestions for change.
As expected, a no-nonsense Fi wasted little time in getting down to business – telling Shirley and Woody that they were simply employing too many staff and needed to cut back.
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Although Shirley initially refused to comply with Fi's suggestions, she soon realised that it wasn't up for discussion – and they could lose the building if they didn't play along.
After some serious thinking, Shirley believed she had found a simple solution to the problem by sacking Woody, who had made himself even more unpopular with the Carters by sleeping with Tina.
However, when it became clear that Woody wasn't going anywhere, Tracey's job came under threat – despite protests from both Shirley and Sharon.
Shirley and Sharon were completely against sacking Tracy, who has been working at The Vic for 30 years – longer than any other character on EastEnders.
But with Woody's mind made up, the Carters watched on in horror as he told Tracey that they simply couldn't afford to keep her – leaving her devastated. Is this really the last we will see of the silent barmaid?
Tracey's sacking wasn't the only shock in tonight's episode as it also became clear that Lauren's mystery guy Josh Hemmings is Max's boss.
Josh was furious when Max tried to meddle in Lauren's future at Weyland&Co by telling her hat someone else got the position she applied for– a move that Josh overrode by giving her a job anyway.
But as Josh warned Max not to go behind his back again, he put aside his anger for a moment to congratulate him on the sale of The Vic – hinting that this is all part of a much wider plan. And with it looking likely that Fi is in on it too, what exactly is going on here?
EastEnders continues on Monday, May 1 at 8pm on BBC One.
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