EastEnders teased Kheerat Panesar could be killed off in a horrifying new storyline on the BBC soap.
The fan favourite was threatened by his own father Nish Panesar, who called his son a "snake" and claimed he was on "borrowed time".
Nish was talking to his secret son Ravi Gulati and was furious with Kheerat for exposing his dark past to his other children Vinny and Ash.
The character recently arrived in Walford after being released from prison, having been locked up for 20 years for murder.
Kheerat revealed all to his siblings about their dad's crime, and how he killed a man for being too close to his wife Suki.
The story had always been that Nish killed an intruder at their shop, but Suki was covering up the fact her abusive and controlling husband violently murdered a friend of hers out of jealousy.
Kheerat recently found this out and Ash and Vinny learned the truth in the latest episode, only for Nish to win them over.
Nish broke down in tears and claimed that Suki had made him lie all those years ago about his crime.
He claimed remorse and begged them for another chance, but Kheerat was not convinced by the performance.
But as he met up with his secret son Ravi away from the family, it was clear it was all an act - and that Kheerat could be his next victim.
He told Ravi to keep watch of Kheerat's every move, before adding that if he betrayed him again he would be "on borrowed time".
Nish said: "I need you to do something for me. Kheerat is showing himself to be the snake he really is. His mother has clearly given him a false sense of importance.
"Keep an eye on him. Where he goes, who he does business with. Don't give him any reason to get suspicious."
As Ravi asked what he had planned, he replied: "I don't know yet, but one thing is for sure. If he continues to betray me he’s on borrowed time."
Viewers were furious with the new villain and the idea he might hurt or kill Kheerat, taking to Twitter to share their thoughts.
One viewer said: "So Nish will get Kheerat out of the way by whatever means necessary (even killing him) if he doesn’t hand over all the businesses to him? Nish deserves death immediately."
Another fan tweeted: "I swear if they kill off Kheerat," as a third said: "They better leave my man Kheerat alone."
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
