EastEnders celebrated it’s 40th Anniversary on 19 February 2025, with Chris Clenshaw taking the lead as Executive Producer. Numerous storylines were sporadically hyped up throughout 2024 and early 2025 to create an immense amount of anticipation amongst viewers. Characters taking the forefront were Phil Mitchell, Cindy Beale, Denise Fox, Reiss Colwell and Martin Fowler. who all had a storyline of their own, with some culminating, but also advancing within the anniversary. To mark the occasion, EastEnders made the decision to air for 1 hour on the 19th, and broadcast LIVE on the 20th - featuring a unique interactive element for the audience. The 40th Anniversary week began on 17 February 2025 and ended on 20 February 2025.
EastEnders 40th Anniversary Trailer - BBC
40th Anniversary Trailer. W/C: 17 Feb 2025
BBC released an Official Trailer for the 40th Anniversary on 10 February 2025 to provide quick snippets for what viewers could expect within the monumental week. It was described as ‘epic’, ‘massive’ and ‘unmissable’ on Social Media. A notable example of this is that Denise Fox is torn between choosing between her collected ex-husband, Jack Branning, or her fiery love fling, Ravi Gulati. However, the choice lay in the hands of the viewers who voted for Denise’s future partner, which was revealed LIVE - this is a never-seen-before element in EastEnders, sending the 40th off with an unforgettable bang.
Prior Storylines
Phil Mitchell’s Depression
Throughout 2024, Phil Mitchell had a downward spiral in his life as negative events such as his breakup with Kat Slater, Ben Mitchell going to prison, Teddy Mitchell’s arrival with his dominance of the family and the return of Stevie Mitchell all had a detrimental impact to Phil’s mental state. This was subtle to begin with, but became more noticeable around Christmas when Phil became more lonely and stopped attending family events, and became more depressed in general - the events listed above were the biggest factors of Phil’s condition as it forced a division between him and his family of sociability vs loneliness. Nigel Bates returned to Phil’s life which was some initial relief, but quickly added to Phil’s stress and perception of his own life.
Phil severely deteriorated once 2025 began, and key people like Nigel and Sharon Watts noticed this, and offered him support yet Phil persistently pushed them out each and every time, this once again contributed to him being divided from the social aspect of his life. Later, Phil was almost killed when he fell into a ditch at the Arches, and put him through physical pain as well as emotional pain, which overwhelmed Phil to a new level. At this point, Phil began to experience symptoms of Psychosis when he heard voices and was seeing sights that weren’t really there.
On 13 February 2025, EastEnders presented a special episode where Phil imaginarily revisited some of his youth trauma from his father, Eric Mitchell, who belittled him as a young adult and made him feel small - Phil specifically recalled the seemingly negative moments of his youth and decided to ‘confront’ these, Phil went against Eric but these visions fought back and angered Phil even more. Eventually, Phil had a ‘conversation’ with Peggy Mitchell, where he forced himself to imagine her saying he should end his life, and that people would be better off without him. Suddenly, Phil was stunned to see his brother, Grant Mitchell standing opposite him, after many years apart.
Who Attacked Cindy Beale?
Cindy Beale had a messy affair with Junior Knight in sporadic periods throughout 2024, cheating on Ian Beale. On Christmas Day 2024, their affair was publicly exposed to residents of The Queen Vic which caused a heated confrontation between many members of the Beale and Knight families. Cindy defended herself and her affair, not taking full responsibility and instead calling them all out for judging her. She later attempted to reconcile with Ian but he rejected her and chucked her out on the freezing, snowy streets. In a failed attempt to leave Walford, Cindy headed to the Square Gardens where she was suddenly hit over the head with a shovel, and left for dead by an unknown attacker.
This opened up 9 suspects: Ian, Kathy Cotton, Peter Beale, Lauren Branning, George Knight, Elaine Knight, Gina Knight, Anna Knight and Junior.
Cindy’s locket of Lucy Beale was also stolen which led to another mystery. After a few weeks spent in a coma, Cindy awoke and immediately started pointing her finger at anyone who seemed off. She initially had Lauren arrested, but then backed down. Ian then managed to get through to Cindy and get her to move back into 45 Albert Square to be ‘safe’ with him, but the Knight’s found this oddly suspicious and felt Ian was hiding something. Over the coming weeks, the shovel was found in The Queen Vic which placed the Knight’s under a bad light, Junior decided to hide the shovel so Cindy could act more rationally. In time, Cindy shifted her accusations from numerous people and eventually circled to Kathy, but Ian grew sick of this quickly and kicked her out, clearing her bank accounts to prove they were ultimately finished. Cindy felt in danger so she requested a gun for defence from Phil, but was refused.
Out of the Beale’s, Cindy resided with Junior then suddenly remembered about her missing locket and realised that would be the key to discovering her attacker - she therefore enlisted the help of Priya Nandra-Hart to seduce Ian in an attempt to retrieve the locket, but this failed when Ian overheard a conversation between the pair.
Denise Fox’s Love Triangle
Denise Fox, who initially entered a civil partnership with Jack Branning on Christmas Day 2021, saw a decline in their romance and relationship from 2023 onwards, where she cheated on him with Ravi Gulati after feeling pushed out by Jack’s approach to her. Later in 2023, Jack also had an affair with Stacey Slater which ended their relationship. Denise later suffered with psychosis in early 2024 and Jack was around to support her, which rebuilt their connection but didn’t last for long and they eventually dissolved the partnership, calling things off for good.
Jack remained persistent for Denise and continued to support her, even when it wasn’t necessary. Denise began looking elsewhere though when Ravi caught her eye again around Christmas 2024. At this time, they reignited a secret relationship unbeknownst to their families, which was strong and passionate compared to her chemistry with Jack.
Viewers could choose between Jack Branning and Ravi Gulati
Denise was attacked by Nish Panesar in 2025, which put both Jack and Ravi to the test of defying their love for her, she gave off mixed signals to each, but was leaning more towards Ravi at this time and supported him with his vulnerabilities, then vice versa. In time, Denise and Ravi were initially caught by Davinder Gulati, who remained quiet, Jack also continued to be there for Denise when she needed it, although the signals were not strong on her end. Later on, a larger fallout was caused when Denise and Ravi were caught by both of their families, which led to disapproval by Chelsea Fox, Jack and Priya. The public eye did not rule in favour of Denise and Ravi, and him and Jack could never see eye to eye either, an argument broke out between her two lovers, but Denise ultimately couldn’t stand them both and called off anything she had with either of them.
This storyline is an EastEnders first as it will uniquely allow for viewers to choose the outcome of which lover Denise pairs herself with, Jack or Ravi? The outcome can be found further on this page, at Thursday, 20th February 2025: LIVE.
Exposure of Reiss Colwell
In the midst of 2024, Reiss Colwell murdered his comatose wife Debbie Colwell - due to her care home fees being too extensive whilst he and Sonia Fowler were trying IVF treatment, they were eventually successful with Sonia becoming pregnant. Financial struggles were an all time high for the couple, and Reiss believed that Debbie’s death would alleviate their struggles, although, this only intensified them. With the little evidence they had, Sonia was arrested and sent to prison for the murder of Debbie, after sign ins and fingerprints suggested she was behind it. Despite this, Reiss let her take the fall for his actions and tried to search for a solution to keep them both out of the spotlight.
Bianca Jackson, Sonia’s sister, was determined to uncover the truth about the murder, and personally investigated the suspicious case. Bianca eventually discovered that Reiss was the murderer and she insisted on exposing him. However, Reiss managed to lead Bianca into a lockup, chaining her to the wall whilst depriving her of basic human rights for almost four months, this was due to Bianca being a liability for Reiss’ plan.
Within a few months, Sonia’s trial began and Reiss sought advice from Bianca, despite the position she was in - Bianca then recorded a video stating she was the one who killed Debbie, and used details from Reiss to explain the scenario. This was sent to the police, which worked and Sonia was released. Back home, Sonia was desperate to see Bianca’s confession but Reiss was uneasy and dismissed it. Reiss then realised Bianca was no longer useful to him and suggested she should overdose and end the worthless life she was living. Bianca fought back and tried to attack Reiss, though he rushed away when Sonia had a pregnancy scare, leaving the lockup unlocked.
When given the all clear, Sonia decided to watch Bianca’s confession and noticed a dollhouse in the background, which Reiss had previously moved into their home. Sonia connected the dots and realised Reiss murdered Debbie, and the pair had a heated argument, when Reiss got angry, Bianca heroically returned and wounded him, saving Sonia and getting the police involved, but within a few short minutes, Reiss escaped into the unknown.
The Anniversary Week
Monday, 17th February 2025
| Doof-Doof | Duration | Writer | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cindy Beale | 29 minutes | Bryan Kirkwood | 4.40 Million |
Everyone prepares for the wedding of Honey and Billy in the Square, and Grant begins to reunite with familiar faces such as Sharon. Sharon then reconnects with Linda Carter who has returned from rehab and helped with the setup. To mark their wedding, Sharon reads a letter written by her late mother, Angie Watts, which narrates over numerous scenes of residents preparing for the day. Grant checks in with the Mitchell family and Phil, convinced he is ok and certainly not depressed. However, alone, Phil then pulls out his gun and reserves it in his safe for later use, he then places some suicide letters addressed to members of his family. Cindy meets up with Priya to continue ahead with their scheme, but Ian intercepts them and learns the truth through bribing Priya. Priya then betrays Cindy and exposes her true intentions, which leads to another heated confrontation between Cindy and Ian, where she insists she is coming for him, but Ian cunningly threatens her that her attacker may try to finish her off. Bianca roams the square again after being freed from Reiss’ lockup but is stunned to see Grant, and argues with him over the death of Tiffany Mitchell in 1999, Grant keeps his calm though. Bianca then returns home and is too fearful to face the music right now.
Eventually, Honey and Billy’s wedding goes ahead with a comedic occurrence between friends and family, they successfully get married and continue on with their night and partying, Phil listens from the outside, too overwhelmed to face the crowd. Out and about, Denise continues to flirt with Jack and Ravi, clearly fascinated by them both in different ways. Shortly after, the Beale’s gather in the Vic but are confronted by Cindy where she publicly announces that Ian tried to kill her, yet people struggle to believe her and she is ridiculed by Ian as he chucks her out of the pub.
Phil sits outside with Lexi Pearce but is interrupted when Cindy begs Phil for the gun, and insists that Ian is going to kill her, Phil laughs her away and heads towards the marquee to listen to Lexi’s speech. Minutes later, Phil unusually requests a pint from Tracey, despite his complicated history with alcohol, but his depression tells him otherwise. Sharon, Grant and Nigel are shocked to see him drinking this, accusing him of being selfish, Phil apologises for this and doesn’t drink past a sip, he returns home, upset, and goes to his safe in search of his gun, but is bewildered when it has been stolen, he instantly infers this is Cindy due to her prior request and makes an angry phone call, peculiarly desperate for the gun.
Cindy then sneaks into No. 45, armed, and is shocked when she sees the locket, plus her attacker, opposite her. Shocked, she angrily aims the gun at them.
Tuesday, 18th February 2025
| Doof-Doof | Duration | Writer | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Character; shot of The Vic as it blows up | 28 minutes | Simon Ashdown | 4.84 Million |
Ian is revealed to be holding the locket and is held at gunpoint by Cindy. He insists he is not the attacker but she doesn’t believe him. Cindy continues to confront him, and talks about their romance, and how she felt manipulated and controlled by him. Ian once again persists it wasn’t him and reveals it was Peter, but Cindy doesn’t believe him in the slightest and threatens to shoot, but is stopped by Kathy, who reveals she is in fact the attacker. Kathy reveals she wasn’t satisfied with Cindy walking freely after Christmas, so decided “that was it” and hit Cindy with the shovel. Kathy reveals the regret that she didn’t finish the job, and took the locket because Cindy didn’t deserve it, and to steal another memory of Lucy from them. Cindy then bites back at Kathy and threatens to call the police, but Kathy calls her bluff and isn’t afraid. Cindy then decides she should sort this situation with the gun. Feeling the tension, Ian grapples the gun from Cindy and they struggle, and she fires the trigger.
Linda learns of Phil’s depression and struggle so decides she’ll go and visit him, and help him out. At his home, she discovers his suicide letters and concerningly reads the one addressed to Sharon, which startles her to what she reads. Meanwhile, Phil searches for Cindy to retrieve his gun. Linda reports her concerns to Grant and Nigel about what she’s read and believes Phil is going to kill himself. Reiss then suddenly returns to the square after a week away. Ian is shot in the arm but Kathy handles his wound. Cindy is overwhelmed by this and cannot own up to her wrongdoings, and throws out accusations left, right and centre. Ian snaps back but Cindy runs away, and heads outside but Phil catches her and takes the gun back. At Bianca’s, she hears a thud and investigates it, but is shocked to see Reiss who hands her a good luck card for Sonia, and sends his love, Reiss plans to innocently leave but Bianca stresses he is a wanted man and cannot walk away. Reiss gets angry when Bianca almost phones the police, he chucks her phone and runs away, leading to Bianca chasing him out the house, Reiss speeds off into the streets of Walford.
Stacey then meets with Martin Fowler and confesses that she still has feelings for him, after their complex history and marriage. Martin ultimately rejects her because he is happily settled with Ruby Allen, and says it’d be better if Stacey had kept quiet about this. Stacey storms off into the toilets in floods of tears. Meanwhile, Walford Residents socialise in the Vic, Denise continues to observe Jack and Ravi, not sure how to feel about either of them. Sonia and Lauren Branning decide they will head into the Vic Kitchen to settle their pregnancy cravings. Sharon rushes upstairs to clean herself up after a spillage. Linda, Grant and Nigel make their way over to the Arches to confront Phil over his suicide letters and depression, when they get in, Phil has the gun to his head and demands to be left alone. Cindy abruptly watches everyone living their lives, despite her chaos. Reiss continues to drive but is brought to a dead end at Turpin Road, and is forced to head back towards The Vic.
Cindy steps outside The Vic and sees Ian and Kathy, Ian and her have a confrontation about the shooting and attack, and Ian offers her money and a stable future if she leaves Walford and doesn’t go to the police, but if she refuses and goes to the police, he will ensure he gets Kathy the best solicitors and will keep her in the clear, threatening to make Cindy’s life a living hell, and reminds her to make this choice. “My choice?” Cindy looks at him, and suddenly notices Reiss speeding down the street, “Goodbye Ian!” Cindy pushes Ian into the road, Reiss swerves, luckily avoiding Ian, but his luck runs out when Reiss crashes into The Vic, setting numerous gas canisters alight. George is quickly alerted to the fire as numerous people escape The Vic, he drags Reiss out of the burning vehicle and tries to handle the situation. George orders Cindy to grab an extinguisher and escort people from the Vic, Kathy helps out. Ian stays to help George. George demands for 999 to be called but is startled when Reiss has gone, and the gas canisters are engulfed in flames. “We’ve got to get out of here, now!” George demands, running away with Ian speedily.
Suddenly, The Queen Victoria explodes, the windows are smashed out, flames surround the area, the roof crumbles whilst everyone inside the pub is put into fatal danger.
Wednesday, 19th February 2025
| Doof-Doof | Duration | Writer | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stacey Slater | 58 minutes | Kevin Rundle | 4.83 Million |
After the Vic explodes, residents and onlookers are left shaken. Inside, everyone survives the blast and immediately look for a way out - Martin and the Slater’s quickly learn that Stacey, inside the toilets, is trapped under rubble. At the Arches, Phil continues to wave the gun around in despair, panicking Grant, Nigel and Linda. It is then that Linda begins to comfort Phil about what he wrote in his letter, and that Sharon deserves to know everything from Phil himself, Phil continues to get progressively overwhelmed and pushes the gun up to his head, pulling the trigger, but the clip is empty, and Grant speedily takes the gun away, running off.
Some residents discover a way out, and clear a path. Despite attempted persuasion from Ruby, Martin decides to save Stacey and encourages Ruby to escape. Everybody begins to seek shelter at Bridge Street Café whilst they wait for the emergency services, as Jack deems the building unsafe. Back inside, Ravi discovers a way out for the rest of those that are trapped, with help from Jack and Grant on the outside. However, panic arises when Sharon is nowhere to be seen.
As everyone makes a desperate escape, Kathy and Cindy are forgotten as they both awake, trapped under the bar, Cindy then realises she is critically injured. As Kathy prepares to crawl out, Cindy begins to manipulate Kathy about the guilt and that she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she left Cindy to die, therefore, Kathy helps Cindy, and they both escape, with Cindy requiring urgent medical attention.
Martin manages to get the rubble off of Stacey, and help her escape, though she stops him, and forces him to stay in the building, and confess how he really feels, but Martin is hellbent on sticking with Ruby and that he does not love Stacey, despite her feelings. Outside, Bianca and Grant then team up, as it becomes apparent that Sonia and Lauren, both pregnant, are also trapped in there. Together, they sneak into the Vic from the side, unbeknownst to Reiss hidden behind some bins. Inside, Sonia suddenly goes into labour, whilst trapped in the destroyed kitchen with Lauren.
Sharon then panics, as she finds herself trapped under the Vic stairs, it is at that moment she hallucinates Angie, who encourages her to not give up, and scream for help. Angie fades away with Sharon screaming for help, and Grant comes to her rescue, carrying her out. Bianca, on the other hand, rushes to the kitchen to get to Sonia, but is shocked to learn the baby is coming. Reiss then shows up at the worse time imaginable - beginning to taunt Sonia, Bianca suddenly gets aggressive towards Reiss and pushes him into a corner, where a bath falls through the roof, crushing Reiss as he meets his fatal end.
Back at the Arches, Phil and Linda sit down, and talk, she encourages him it is now the time to seek professional help, for his own safety. Nigel also plays his part, and reveals to Phil that he has dementia, and will need a best friend who can take care of him. Phil then bravely accepts the offer of professional help, leaving the square with a professional.
As paramedics tend to injured residents, Denise checks in with Jack and Ravi, and realises that now is the time to choose who she really wants to be with. Chelsea then assures Denise that whoever the choice is, she will approve. Sonia starts to think of baby names, which becomes a second choice for EastEnders viewers, as the options are ‘Julia’ or ‘Toni’, in memory of EastEnders’ creator’s, Julia Smith and Tony Holland.
With more residents escaping, the Slater’s begin to panic as Martin and Stacey have still not came out. In there, they get into the barrel store, and Martin confesses his love for Stacey, after everything, and that “it’s you, Stace. Of course it’s you”. Although, their happiness is short lived as a steel beam abruptly collapses, and crushes Martin, as he screams in agony.
Thursday, 20th February 2025: LIVE
| Doof-Doof | Duration | Writer | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Fowler Stacey Slater |
32 minutes | Lauren Klee | 5.20 Million |
As the LIVE episode begins, Martin remains trapped with Stacey distraught, and screaming for help. Sonia also panics, realising she will have to give birth in the destroyed Vic. Bianca and Lauren help her. preparing to deliver the baby. Sonia then exclaims that the baby is cursed, because of Reiss, and the way it will be born. Outside, Linda looks at the Vic, her home, destroyed, and burnt out, she speaks to Denise and encourages her that it’s now time to move on, and forget about Keanu, Denise fears that she doesn’t know what ‘choice’ to make, as Linda comedically attempts to flip a coin, Denise confirms she has made her mind up, and makes her way over to a house.
Paramedics make their way into the barrel store, and get Martin hooked up to machines as they begin to look around and figure out how to rescue him. Stacey keeps him company, and speaks to him, as they continue to confess their evident feelings for each other, realising that they should’ve always been together. Martin then asks Stacey to marry him, and that when he’s free, he wants to pursue with their relationship and get married.
Denise suddenly knocks on a door, which is quickly revealed to be Jack’s, as he is Denise’s choice. Inside, they talk, and Denise reassures him that their relationship will work this time, Jack is reluctant about Ravi, but Denise claims that her feelings for Ravi are over, stating she just wants Jack, and to start a fresh.
The firefighters devise a plan, and Stacey is pulled aside for a private and saddening word. A paramedic reveals Martin is at risk of crush syndrome, which means that when the beam is lifted, toxins will flood his internal systems and cause a cardiac arrest - Stacey is warned that she should prepare herself, as it could not end well. Stacey then goes back to Martin and talks to him, he continues to confess everything he’s ever felt about Stacey, from the moment he met her, to the moment they’re at now. Stacey keeps getting emotional, knowing that the end is possibly near - she then learns that they are ready to lift the beam.
Sonia, struggling, gives birth to a baby girl, who struggles to breathe as Sonia collapses, Lauren begs Sonia to help and save her daughter, Sonia then makes a desperate attempt to get her daughter to respond. The baby begins to cry, with the paramedics arriving to rescue Sonia and the family just in time - they get into an ambulance and Sonia names her daughter Julia.
The paramedics and firefighters then lift the beam, which puts Martin through ultimate agony. Suddenly, his heart rate begins to drop as he falls under cardiac arrest, Stacey breaks down, the paramedics charge him with a defibrillator and perform CPR, but Martin fails to respond. Residents then hear Stacey screaming from outside, holding Martin’s lifeless body in her arms as he dies from crush syndrome.
Deaths
- Reiss Colwell - Instantly died after being crushed by a falling bath, during a confrontation with Bianca, Sonia and Lauren.
- Martin Fowler - Fell under cardiac arrest after a steel beam fell on him, as a result of The Queen Vic exploding.