EastEnders’ biggest New Year shocks from Ronnie and Roxy’s watery grave to baby snatch controversy
IT is always known for being a notorious time in Walford with this upcoming New Year already looking to be more bleak than ever.
Earlier this year, the cast of EastEnders were locked in a top secret two-week shoot for the extra special New Year episodes.
But it isn’t the first time that the BBC soap opera has gone all out for the first episodes of the year.
The Sun has taken a look back at the FIVE biggest shocks to rock EastEnders at the turn of the year.
Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell’s shock double death
New Year’s Day 2017
Often regarded as one of the biggest missteps in EastEnders history, viewers were left absolutely devastated when Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell both died together as they drowned in a hotel swimming pool on the night of Ronnie’s wedding to Jack Branning.
Their deaths came as a huge shock and rocked Walford to its core.
Having been dealing with her cocaine habit in recent weeks, Roxy was unable to shift her drug use for the big New Year’s Eve bash.
Unbeknown to anyone, she had been using the class A substance on the day of the nuptials which is widely believed to have later contributed to her death.
As Ronnie and Roxy took a moment to laugh and reminisce with one another, they stumbled across the hotel swimming pool.
Opting to take a dip, Roxy dived into the pool as Ronnie attempted to remove her wedding dress in order to join her.
Thinking Roxy was joking around and holding her breath, Ronnie soon discovered this was not the case.
She dove in after her but ultimately drowned under the weight of her wedding dress.
Roxy was later determined to have suffered a heart attack upon hitting the pool with many surmising that her cocaine usage had helped to trigger it.
Ronnie and Kat’s baby swap shock
New Year’s Eve 2010
In a storyline that generated a mass of Ofcom complaints, a grief-stricken Ronnie Mitchell SWAPPED her newborn dead baby with Kat Slater’s healthy new child.
The day before New Year, Ronnie gave birth to a boy named James Branning without the presence of his father, Jack.
All alone and with hubby Jack out of the country, Ronnie was left panicked when within minutes James dies of sudden infant death syndrome.
Whilst seeking help, she opted to switch him with Kat’s newborn son, Tommy Moon.
She soon regrets her actions but as Jack returns and meets Tommy believing him to be his son, Ronnie said nothing.
Her mental health began to spiral during this time and she was soon forced to reveal all and tell Kat the entire truth.
Ronnie eventually handed Tommy over to Kat and admitted the truth to everyone.
Tiffany Mitchell’s shock death
New Year’s Eve 1998
Amid a tumultuous year, Tiffany Mitchell decided that the time was right to turn her back on Albert Square and opted to start a new life in Spain with daughter Courtney.
Decided to tie up loose ends and say her goodbyes, she left Courtney in the Vic with Peggy.
Unaware that Grant has been released from jail, he headed straight to The Vic to get his hands-on Courtney, his daughter.
With Grant aware of Tiff’s plans to flee, he snatched Courtney and made a run for it.
When Tiffany discovered this, the panic-stricken woman raced after them.
However, amid her fears, she raced out of the pub and straight into the path of Frank Butcher’s oncoming car.
He ran straight over her as helpless onlookers watched as she died in the street.
Linda shoots Keanu
New Year’s Eve 2019
Amid a confusing kidnap plot of Keanu Taylor at the end of 2019, Linda Carter was ultimately responsible for shooting Keanu just years before she stabbed him to death.
After Martin kidnapped Keanu, a drunken Linda came up with a plan as to how they could fake his death and return to Walford.
As part of a practise run, Linda accidentally ended up shooting Keanu for real and almost killed him.
Forcing him back up, she made him sit there and then directed Martin to film a fake shooting to convince the Mitchells that Keanu was really dead.
Syed and Christian’s truth revealed
New Year’s Day 2009
The truth about Syed Masood’s sexuality came tumbling out on New Year’s Day 2009.
Ahead of his impending wedding to Amira Shah, Syed had begun an affair and developed feelings for Christian Clarke, despite it going against his Islamic beliefs.
His mother Zaniab had become wary of this and soon began to assume that an openly gay Christian had unfairly propositioned her son.
However, Christian soon admitted that her son was gay and had been having sex with him in the run-up to the wedding.
Zaniab was horrified at such a suggestions and insisted that her Muslim son could not be gay and insisted he continued to marry Amira.
The storyline received praise for being one of the first major portrayals of homosexuality within the Islamic religion.
EastEnders stars who QUIT
MICHELLE Collins has seen her second EastEnders stint boost her bank balance. Yet what stars have quit this year?
The Sun exclusively reported how Michelle, 62, was down to £20,000 in her company accounts when she agreed to a shock back-from-the-dead return to Albert Square last year.
Her character, Cindy Beale, was presumed dead off-camera in 1998.
Yet what about the 2024 exits?
Earlier this summer, loyal soap fans appeared to note how Stevie Mitchell had “quit” the long-running series.
It came after Alan Ford enjoyed just six-months on-screen.
Bobby Beale actor Clay Milner Russell also left this year after five years in Walford.
Fans also feared Martin Fowler actor James Bye would “quit out of boredom” over recent storylines.
Additionally, a host of stars have quit the BBC soap for Hollywood fame.
One of the most successful stars to come from the BBC One soap is Rob Kazinsky.
He played Stacey Slater’s brother Sean Slater from 2006 to 2009, he has starred in Hollywood blockbusters Pacific Rim and Captain Marvel.
Ben Hardy, who quit EastEnders as Bobby Beale almost a decade ago, went on to break Hollywood the following year, when he starred as Archangel in X-Men: Apocalypse.
Since then, he has played Roger Taylor in Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and he starred in Michael Bay’s Netflix movie 6 Underground.
Michelle Ryan played Zoe Slater until 2005.
She starred as the lead in short-lived American series Bionic Woman from 2007 to 2008.