Keanu Taylor tragically died on Christmas Day in gory scenes - or so we were led to believe.
Leaked pictures from the set have confirmed that Keanu is coming back to our screens during the New Year's Day flashback special.
Viewers watched Martin Fowler show Ben Mitchell a gruesome video of Kenau being executed in an abandoned warehouse.
But EastEnders fans have speculated that all is not as it seems after Linda Carter was seen wiping blood off her shoe.
Some of the theories look set to be proved correct as actor Danny Walter has been snapped at Stansted Airport with on-screen mum Lorraine Stanley.
In the leaked picture, Karen is seen holding her son's face while saying a final goodbye.
It seems Keanu is very much still alive and planning on fleeing the country to escape the wrath of the Mitchells.
However, what is still unknown is how Keanu managed to escape with his life.
A popular theory is that Martin faked the video footage of Keanu being shot dead.
The explosive New Year's Day trailer shows Linda walking past the same car that Martin used to transport Keanu, so how is she involved?
The pictures seem to indicate that the door will be left open for actor Danny Walters to return.
In a statement, the actor said: "It has been a joy to play Keanu Taylor for the last two and half years.
"I have been blessed to work with the most fantastic creative team and I will miss them and my fellow actors immensely.
"EastEnders will always hold a special place in my heart and I will continue to be an avid fan."
EastEnders viewers will finally discover the truth in a dramatic New Year's Day extravanganza.
Speaking about the flashback episode, Kate Oates added: "All serial dramas have played with format over recent years and it’s less of a surprise these days so to do it. There has to be a reason.
"There was so much story to get in there. There are lots of unanswered questions from Christmas Day and some of them, the audience won’t even have realised have been raised until they watch.
"What I really like about this Christmas is there’s a lot of history in there. Martin’s story looks at the history of what happened with Jamie all those years ago, the Carter story looks at the history of the Vic. We very much pay tribute to EastEnders history while being rich in story.
"The flashback episode is built around lots of little clues and it will pay off really awesomely I think. The writers, directors and actors have done a brilliant job in just making it feel really clever and exciting. We’ve done it for a really good reason."
Executive Producer for EastEnders, Jon Sen, added: “We all agreed that Christmas is so good we wanted to do it twice!
"So this year the New Year’s Day episode will be a format-busting sixty minute episode taking us back to the beginning of Christmas Day to see the stories from different perspectives.
"As the episode unfolds, viewers will discover what really happened on that day, when new secrets were born and fresh alliances forged.
"I can’t wait to see how fans react.”
*EastEnders airs on Monday on BBC One at 8pm
