EASTENDERS fans were left horrified tonight as a huge explosion ripped through the square.
In shock scenes the iconic Queen Vic pub went up in flames as part of the show’s 40th anniversary – leaving the fate of many characters unknown.
George Knight was seen lying motionless on the floor after urging everyone to run from the Vic as he spotted the explosion was about to happen.
Before it the cylinders went up, George was seen pulling Reiss from the wreckage leading fans to believe the killer won’t die.
Viewers started speculating about who will have been killed in the fire – with a number of the biggest stars feared dead.
One person wrote: “Sonia, Lauren, Sharon and Stacey all in other parts of the Vic and MY STACE IS IN THE BOGS RIGHT BY THE EXPLOSION!”
A second commented: “who’s dead? who’s alive? where’s reiss? sharon? everyone. please i don’t want to wait till tomorrow evening.”
While a third added: “I’m actually really scared for so many characters now… Sharon, Sonia, Lauren, Stacey, Martin, Ruby, Honey, Billy, Suki, Eve, the list goes on…”
And a fourth speculated: “Stacey in the bathroom, Sharon upstairs, pregnant Sonia and Lauren in the kitchen. OMG. I think Martin dies trying to save them all I think he stays alive until Jean mentions Stacey is in the toilets then he saves her then dies idk.”
The carnage unfolded as Bianca and Reiss came face-to-face after he crept back into No. 25.
As she tried to call the police he rushed to his car and tried to escape before colliding into the pub.
Unfortunately a number of gas cylinders were outside and within seconds they blew up.
The Sun previously revealed Natalie Cassidy will be leaving Albert Square after 32 years, and her character Sonia Fowler is now one of the favourites to be killed in the blast.
And we now know she is one of those inside the pub.
And in upcoming episodes – things go from bad to worse as the fire rages on.
Jack Branning does his best to get the locals out of the smouldering building alive but not everyone will make it.
During the show’s live episode on Thursday, it truly is life or death with pregnant Sonia’s life hanging in the balance.
Fans will see her go into labour trapped inside the pub as the fire gets out of control.
With no access to medical equipment or support, Sonia only has two other, as-yet unidentified, traumatised Walford locals by her side as they struggle to get to safety.
Elsewhere in the episode, viewers finally found out who attacked Cindy.
EastEnders' 40th anniversary cameos so far
With the 40th anniversary of EastEnders coming up, fans are looking forward to some more incredible cameos from iconic faces of Walford's past. But who have we had so far?
Tracy-Ann Oberman– Oberman returned as Chrissie Watts, a character she last played nearly two decades ago.
Paul Bradley– Bradley returned as Nigel Bates, a character he last played over 25 years ago.
Micheal French– French returned as David Wicks, a character he last played two decades ago.
Patsy Palmer– Palmer returned as Bianca Jackson, a character she last played in 2019.
Ricky Groves– Groves returned as Garry Hobbs, a character who has not been seen since 2009.
Cliff Parisi– Parisi returned as Minty Peterson, a character who was last seen on the square in 2010.
Ross Kemp– Kemp has returned to play Grant Mitchell, a character he first played in 1990. The BBC has described Kemp’s storyline as “explosive”. Kemp said it was an “absolute honour” to return to the show.
Other aspects of the 40th anniversary celebration include: A wedding between fan favorites, A huge explosion at the Queen Vic, and A live interactive episode.