‘EastEnders’ writers are keeping the Christmas plots “a big secret” from the cast.
Gurlaine Kaur Garcha as Ash Panesar in EastEnders
The measure is being taken as a means to stop the hotly-anticipated festive storylines from getting out and ruining Christmas in Albert Square, but according to one star, the episodes will be “one to watch”.
Gurlaine Kaur Garcha, 28 - who plays Ash Panesar in the soap - told Mirror Online: “I actually don’t know anything about Christmas. It’s a big secret - I don’t even know anything.
"But from what I’ve heard it is really exciting so will be one to watch.”
Some fans have speculated whether Gray Atkins - who is played by Toby-Alexander Smith, 30 - could be the catalyst for some festive drama, as the soap's boss Kate Oates admitted his journey in the show was “always intended to be a longer arc”.
She said: "But even though some of his actions have been extreme, they have always been grounded in the roots of Gray's character. He's a classic narcissist: everything he does is designed to fit a narrative that absolves him from guilt, and paints him out to be a good guy.
"I think in Gray, we have a character who tells himself that Chantelle died in a terrible accident; that Tina had to die so he could be there for his kids; and Kush had to go, because he and Whitney are 'meant to be'. He's the centre of his own universe, and nothing is his fault."
Since killing his wife Chantelle Atkins (Jessica Plummer), Gray has gone on to take two more lives - Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) and Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami) - but some have wondered if another death might occur.
Last Christmas, the soap was rocked by Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) teaming up to plot the death of Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), which proved unsuccessful.