EastEnders viewers have known for weeks that the big Christmas Day plot would revolve around Zoe Slater and her sinister threats. But this week the story completely turned on its head when it was revealed that Zoe’s daughter Jasmine Fisher was behind these threats – and has been working for none other than Chrissie Watts.

This big twist set up a double festive episode that few were expecting, but as Christmas Day began, Zoe was in an uncharacteristically good mood, having received a card from her son who said he was coming to meet her.

When Kat found this card, she decided to break some sad news to Zoe – but they were interrupted by Chelsea, who revealed that Anthony had lied about both of her twins dying.

Furious Kat confronted Anthony in The Vic about his cruel fib, convinced he is Zoe’s tormentor. Back at home, Patrick raged at his son and broke Anthony’s heart when he accidentally said he wished he had died instead of his beloved Paul.

This set in action a dramatic chain of events where Anthony ambushed Zoe upstairs in the pub, desperately hoping to salvage a relationship with his adopted kids. But when Zoe refused to work with him, a fight ensued and Anthony knocked her unconscious.

Kat later headed upstairs and was horrified by what she found – Zoe lying injured, and Anthony dead.

Not even Zoe seemed to know what had happened to Anthony, but Kat took charge, faking a power cut and clearing out the packed pub. Their plans to cover up Anthony’s death were put to one side though, when Zoe and Kat came face to face with Chrissie.

When Jasmine arrived and confirmed that she is Zoe’s daughter, everything was revealed. Jasmine and Chrissie met at the hospital earlier this year, having both spotted Zoe’s picture in the paper after she was shot – and they teamed up to teach her a lesson.

Chrissie’s anger towards Zoe bubbled to the surface again when she found out that she had ran out on her baby twins, especially as she suffered a miscarriage when she first went to prison.

But Sam turned up at that moment and teamed up with enemy Zoe to convince Jasmine that Chrissie is evil. It was undoubtedly very special to see Chrissie, Zoe and Sam on screen together for the first time since 2005 and their cover-up of Den’s murder.

As two decades of history rose to the surface, Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness deserves a lot of credit for delivering a great performance and as newcomer Jasmine, going toe-to-toe with four Albert Square icons in Kat, Zoe, Chrissie and Sam.

Jasmine realised that Chrissie didn’t have her best interests at heart and cut ties with her, leaving Chrissie to walk into the night alone after a final word with Sam.

This rushed resolution perhaps makes the whole Chrissie twist feel a bit pointless – but talking over Den’s death again gave Zoe a lot to think about and made her realise that she didn’t want the guilt of hiding any more crimes.

Once alone, Zoe secretly phoned the emergency services to report Anthony’s death. She told Jasmine that she couldn’t be her mum just yet, then said an emotional goodbye to her own mum Kat before being taken away by the police.

Of course, this episode sets up some big new stories in the days and weeks to come. Jasmine’s interactions with Zoe’s loved ones will be interesting; she already has the grit and bite of a Slater, but she might not be welcomed into the family with open arms after what she did to her biological mum.

Plus, Anthony’s demise is no doubt going to hit Patrick incredibly hard, considering that he wished his son dead in their final conversation. Exploring Patrick’s grief and guilt in the aftermath will allow the legendary Rudolph Walker to take centre stage, as he celebrates 25 years in the soap in 2026.

But we’re also left with a host of loose ends and questions that we hope will be cleared up and answered sooner rather than later. Who actually killed Anthony? What happens to Zoe now? And will we ever meet her son, whose identity still remains a mystery?

Elsewhere in Walford, there were some other entertaining Christmas highlights, including Jean’s amusing admission that she’s thought about applying to MasterChef with her frankly questionable culinary skills.

Around the Beale/Branning dinner table, Max told his family that he knew they’d lied to him for years about Annie. But what we didn’t see coming is tipsy Kathy saying too much and revealing to Max about Jack’s affair with his former love Stacey! All hell broke loose after this second bombshell, leaving Max more estranged from his family than ever.

He wandered into The Albert where Cindy was drowning her sorrows, and the flirty pair hit it off immediately, while each not knowing who the other is!

Their chemistry is already undeniable, but Cindy would be disgusted to learn that the mysterious man she is kissing caused her son’s death. It won’t be awkward at all when they’re formally introduced at Jimmy’s Christening next week…

This might not be a Walford Christmas for the ages, but the mark of a good soap episode is when it leaves you desperate to find out what happens next. There’s a lot more drama to come in 2026 – and 2027…