EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders managed to sneak a new character into its New Year’s Day flashforward episode, with viewers who spotted the character sharing their theories online. Airing yesterday and set on Max Branning’s wedding day on New Year’s Day 2027, the special episode unveiled a huge number of mysteries.
As well as concealing the identity of Max’s bride, the episode saw Max being arrested for solicitation to murder, while also confirming that his daughter Lauren Branning had seemingly been having an affair with an unnamed person.
In one scene, a character who had not been seen on the BBC soap before could be seen standing behind Oscar Branning, who was confirmed to be dating a member of the Trueman family.
Taking to X, fans clocked the new mystery man, with many sharing their thoughts on who he might turn out to be and his significance in the episode.
Sharing a screenshot of him appearing behind Oscar, one fan penned: “And whom may I ask is this? #Eastenders.”
Mark Rogers//BBC
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Replying to the screenshot, viewers shared their theories, with some saying they thought he was most likely the person that Lauren was having an affair with.
“Maybe the guy Lauren is having an affair with,” wrote one fan, with another saying: “The person Lauren is cheating with obvs.”
Some viewers thought he might be related to someone on the Square, with one person asking: “WHO IS HEEEEEE. I think maybe Kat’s son?? Luke Slater/Father Dermott Dolan?? (recast??).”
“Mark Jnr. Michelle and Grant’s kid. Vicki’s brother. He’ll be bisexual and will be sleeping with both Oscar and Lauren by the time the year is out,” penned another.
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A few viewers thought the mysterious new character could be someone recast in the role of Joey Branning, previously played by David Witts across 2012 and 2013.
Over on our EastEnders forum, fans did some digging of their own and found that the character credited as “man” was played by actor Stephen Aaron-Sipple.
Fans found that the actor was labelled as a “confidential series regular” on a BBC show over on Spotlight, with one fan writing: “Spotlight confirms he is a regular on a BBC series.”
Also on the forum, viewers pointed out that an audio description for the episode named the character as Mark, with some saying “it could be Mark Fowler Jr”, though this would also be a recast as the character was played by Ned Porteous, who now appears on Emmerdale.
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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