Next week in EastEnders, the Square is rocked by one of the most shocking twists in recent memory, as a beloved character uncovers a long-buried and brutal murder that changes everything for several families. It all begins innocently enough—Sonia Fowler, on her way home from a late shift at the surgery, takes a shortcut through the allotments to avoid the pouring rain. She notices something strange near one of the abandoned sheds: an awful smell and a patch of freshly disturbed soil, half-covered by a broken tarpaulin. At first, she assumes it’s just discarded rubbish, but as she leans in closer, the truth becomes horrifyingly clear—a decomposing body, partially buried, wrapped in an old coat bearing initials that send a chill down her spine. Screaming, Sonia stumbles backward and immediately calls the police, who cordon off the area and begin what quickly escalates into a murder investigation.

The discovery shocks Walford to its core. The body is quickly identified as a local man who went missing over a year ago—Gavin Payne, a minor figure with a criminal past and vague ties to several key residents, including Phil Mitchell, Ravi Gulati, and Jack Branning. His disappearance had been written off as another man skipping town to avoid debts or enemies, but now it’s clear: Gavin didn’t leave. He was murdered—and someone went to great lengths to keep that fact hidden. The news spreads like wildfire, and fear ripples through the Square. Who killed Gavin, and why was his body hidden in such a familiar place?

Jack leads the investigation, but the personal connections make it complicated. Gavin had once served time with Ravi and was rumored to have had dealings with Ben Mitchell—something Ben quickly denies. Phil, however, becomes unusually quiet, refusing to answer questions or even acknowledge he knew Gavin at all. Denise, noticing her husband’s increasingly erratic behavior, confronts Jack about what he’s hiding. Jack admits he had a run-in with Gavin the night before he disappeared—an argument over an old case and a threat that had never been reported. “But I didn’t kill him,” Jack insists. Still, Denise starts to wonder whether she knows the man she married as well as she thought.

Meanwhile, Suki Panesar becomes visibly shaken when she hears about the murder. Though she pretends to be distant from it, Vinny overhears her on the phone late at night, whispering to someone, “We had a deal. This wasn’t supposed to come back.” Vinny, terrified and suspicious, starts digging into his mother’s past dealings with Gavin and is horrified by what he uncovers—Gavin had once threatened to expose Suki’s link to a money laundering operation, and she had paid him to stay silent. But did she do more than that?

Elsewhere, Sharon grows suspicious of Ravi’s sudden nervousness and temper. He’s always played things close to the chest, but now he’s lashing out, snapping at everyone, and disappearing for long stretches with no explanation. When she follows him one night, she sees him meeting with a shady solicitor and exchanging what looks like a payoff. Is Ravi paying someone to cover his tracks? Sharon tells Phil, who immediately warns her to stay out of it—strangely protective of Ravi, even though they’ve clashed in the past. This only fuels Sharon’s curiosity. What secret are they hiding?

Back at the Vic, Linda finds herself at the center of another storm when she discovers a journal Gavin left behind at the pub months before he vanished. It had been tucked away in storage, assumed to be a guest’s lost item, but inside are pages of notes, dates, and disturbing accusations—names listed alongside amounts of money, cryptic phrases like “she knows” and “night at the allotments.” Realizing this may be key evidence, Linda debates whether to hand it over to the police or keep it hidden to protect someone she suspects may be involved.

As the investigation unfolds, Sonia finds herself plagued by guilt and anxiety. Though she knows she did the right thing, the gruesome discovery haunts her, especially when she starts receiving anonymous texts that read: “You should’ve left it alone.” Someone out there doesn’t want the truth to surface—and they’re watching her every move.

Then comes the twist that no one sees coming. A second body is found—this time in an old storage unit rented under a false name tied to none other than Keanu Taylor. The body is fresher, the wounds even more brutal, and the implication clear: this was no one-time murder. This is part of something much bigger—a series of killings tied to someone right in the heart of Walford. Keanu, already on the run after his fallout with Sharon and Phil, becomes the prime suspect. But is he really capable of this? Or is someone framing him to cover their own deadly tracks?

As Monday’s episode ends, viewers are left with a chilling shot: Phil Mitchell standing in front of Gavin’s grave late at night, a bottle in one hand, and a whisper on his lips—”It should’ve stayed buried.” His face is unreadable. Is it regret? Guilt? Or a warning?

Coming Up Next Week:

• A key character makes a secret confession—caught on a hidden recording.

• Police uncover evidence pointing to a major cover-up involving multiple families.

• One long-standing resident prepares to flee before the truth reaches their doorstep.

• A final twist reveals that Gavin’s murder was part of a revenge plot years in the making.

In Walford, the past never stays buried—and sometimes, digging up the truth brings only more death. EastEnders is about to deliver its darkest, most explosive murder mystery yet.