EastEnders fans have spotted an apparent blunder in the Boxing Day episode of the BBC soap. During the emotional scene where Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) learns of his son Anthony’s death, eagle-eyed viewers noticed actor Scott Maslen, who plays Jack Branning, seemingly mouthing Patrick’s line “Oh, why?” as he delivered the tragic news.
Fans took to social media to point out the odd moment. One wrote on X: “Did anyone else notice? The BBC clearly didn’t!” Another added: “I noticed his mouth moving thought he was just crying not to cry now you’ve pointed it out I see what you mean.” Some viewers speculated that actors often mouth lines to stay on script without realising.
The blunder came amid dramatic festive episodes that saw Anthony Trueman die in mysterious circumstances at the Queen Vic. Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) was knocked unconscious during an altercation with Anthony, and when she came round, he was dead. Zoe’s mother Kat (Jessie Wallace) suspected Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), who had been revealed as Zoe’s stalker, had dealt the fatal blow.
Nicholas Bailey, who played Anthony, recently spoke about his exit. The actor, who returned to the soap after 25 years, said the Christmas storyline was “tremendous” but “bittersweet”. He added: “I was sad things were coming to an end, but I wanted to lean into the excitement of this story being a launch pad for some incredible stuff heading into 2026.”
Bailey admitted he was surprised by the twist that Anthony was the father of Zoe’s long-lost daughter Jasmine, and praised the show’s producer Ben Wadey for the storyline. EastEnders continues weeknights at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
