Eastenders spoilers follow.
EastEnders has just wrapped up its dramatic 2025 Christmas week episodes, but we’re already looking ahead to what’s coming next year. At a recent event, the soap’s current boss Ben Wadey detailed four stories to look out for in 2026.
Nigel Bates’ heart-wrenching dementia storyline is going to continue to be a big one, while Harry Mitchell is going to seek revenge against Ravi Gulati for everything he was put through recently.
Evil Joel Marshall is set to return as he goes on trial for his actions, while the recently-announced newcomer Bea (played by comedian Ronni Ancona) is set to shake things up for Linda Carter.
“We’ve got lots ahead, lots of new stuff that I’m excited about,” Wadey said.
BBC
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“You may have seen we’ve just announced Ronni Ancona joining the show, which I am very, very excited about. I’m a huge fan of her work, and she brings such a unique tone to it. And I was really interested in having a story that has a bit more tragedy comedy coming through it.
“It’s a story where she’s an old school friend of Linda’s, and she’s called Bea. Bea arrives and her memory of Linda is very different to Linda’s memory of Linda.
“Bea is a sort of character who might attach herself onto people, so she comes in and gets to reacquaint herself with Linda. It’s also going to be a big story for some other characters. Billy and Honey are going to be big in the new year, and will be involved in that story as well.
“So it’s a story which, as a team, every time we watch it and read it, we love it, we laugh and we cry, and it’s really, really fun.”
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Speaking about the other storylines, Wadey said: “After the misogyny story last year, where Joel was arrested, we’ve got his trial coming up, so we’re going to see Joel again as he faces the consequences of his actions. He’s pleading not guilty, and I think everyone’s struggling with why on earth he’d put everyone through a trial.
“Vicki’s really going through the wringer of that. And Vicki, who wants to be committed so badly to Ross, but associates Ross now with everything that happened with Joel, and Vicki’s eye has been wandering slightly towards Zack. So we’ve got a big, soapy love triangle in the mix for the new year.”
BBC
He added: “We’ve got a big story for Ravi going forward as he faces the consequences of his actions and all the awful things that he did in the previous few months. What that starts to do to his psyche and to his family – and a revenge plot from Harry Mitchell, which kicks us off early in the new year.
“And the continuation of the Phil and Nigel story. [After] that beautiful episode [before Christmas], that will continue through and give us heart and warmth and just realism and just gorgeous performances, and those relationships see us through further into 2026.”
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
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