A fresh twist in EastEnders has left fans convinced that Mick Carter will return in 2027, just a day after the show appeared to confirm his death. In tonight's episode, Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) confronted Mick's 'widow' Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), who claimed that Mick had been living in North London and suffered a fatal heart attack two weeks prior.
Janine told Linda she had identified the body and had him cremated, but as fans know, Janine's word cannot always be trusted. Linda returned to Walford heartbroken and shared the news with her boyfriend Max Branning (Jake Wood), who did not believe Janine and insisted they investigate.
Funeral revelation
The pair arrived at a church where a funeral was about to take place. Janine's presence there confirmed to Linda that something was wrong. Janine admitted she had not had Mick cremated and was about to bury him, but Linda demanded to look inside the coffin.
Janine persuaded Linda that she could not handle it, leaving Max alone to check the body. Janine then confessed to Max that it was not Mick in the coffin and that she did not know where he was or if he was alive. She wanted the life insurance money and needed a death certificate to keep it, and she convinced Max not to tell Linda, warning him he would never escape Mick's shadow if Linda thought he was alive.
Fans predict New Year return
The deception and the focus on Max at New Year have led some fans to predict Mick's return. "We are definitely getting *THAT* return," said one fan. "I can’t see any other way that they will show how low Max has sunk (his lying today) by Mick not coming back (even just briefly) and proving it wrong after Linda has broke the news to all."
Another fan suggested an amnesia storyline like Harold Bishop, but doubted it would work in the modern era. "Even if he somehow got swept all the way to France, if he woke up there with amnesia the first thing hospitals/the coast guard would do would be to check all records, and they'd find something about him," they said. "In his final episode there was a bit where he said something about being 'no good' for Linda or something, so I always thought that would be how they'd frame it, that he thought he was bad for her."
