EastEnders fans are gearing up for another big twist in the 2023 Christmas Day special as the long-awaited murder is finally set to be revealed.
Ahead of the massive storyline airing, fans have been busy voting for their favorite Christmas soap storyline of all time.
EastEnders proved to be the crowd favorite for epic drama and unexpected twists, with one moment in particular coming out on top The Digital Spy 2023 Reader Awards.
The 2007 Christmas special, which revealed Max Branning (Jake Wood) and Stacey Slater's (Lacey Turner) affair, came out on top as favorite festive story.
Despite it being 16 years since the amazing moment took place, fans deemed it their “best Christmas soap storyline of all time,” beating out Den Watts who served Angie with divorce papers in 1986.
EastEnders' 2007 shock revelation of Max Branning and Stacey Slater's affair has been named the best Christmas soap storyline of all time according to The Digital Spy 2023 Reader Awards
Despite it being 16 years since the amazing moment took place, fans deemed it their 'best Christmas soap storyline of all time' (photo by Max Branning, played by Jake Wood)
Also in the running for top spot was Abi Branning's shocking fall from the roof of The Queen Victoria in 2017.
Emmerdale was recognized with the 1993 plane crash that killed four characters, while Hilda Ogden's farewell to Coronation Street in 1987 also won over fans.
The winning moment was Max and Stacey's famous kiss on the day of her wedding to his son Bradley (Charlie Clements).
The shocking kiss, which viewers had seen a month earlier, was revealed to the whole family when Stacey and Bradley's wedding video was shown on Christmas Day.
While reminiscing, the family decided to watch the video during their festive celebrations, but little did they know that Lauren Branning (Madeline Duggan) had accidentally secretly recorded Stacey's clinch with her father-in-law Max.
The entire family, especially Bradley and Max's wife Tanya Cross (Jo Joyner), were left completely shocked by the footage, with Lauren breaking down in tears.
Max desperately tried to convince his wife Tanya that they had only recorded it as a joke to show Bradley, but she was left devastated and completely unconvinced.
Stacey then tearfully apologized when the truth finally came out, with Bradley becoming involved in a physical fight with his father Max, knocking over the Christmas tree.
The shocking kiss, which viewers had seen a month earlier, was revealed to the whole family when Stacey and Bradley's wedding video was shown on Christmas Day (pictured by Lacey Turner)
Max desperately tried to convince his wife Tanya (Jo Joyner) that they had just recorded it as a joke to show Bradley, but she was left devastated and completely unconvinced.
Bradley (Charlie Clements) then got into a physical fight with his father Max, knocking over the Christmas tree.
Also in the running for top spot was Abi Branning's shocking fall from the roof of The Queen Victoria in 2017
The tense scenes ended with Bradley storming out of the house, leaving Stacey in tears.
The aftermath of the affair completely tore the family apart, ending Stacey's marriage to Bradley and causing Max's relationship with Tanya to collapse.
Stacey and Bradley later reconciled in June, but their romance ended again after she shared a kiss with Callum Monks, played by Elliott Jordan.
Meanwhile, Tanya and Max are on a rollercoaster of a journey.
After the couple separated following the affair, Tanya buried Max alive with her help new partner Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky).
She then married Greg Jessop (Stefan Booth), but her heart was with Max and the two began having an affair, this time on Tanya's wedding day.
Later in their relationship, as the couple prepared to walk down the aisle for the second time, she discovered that Max had a secret wife, Kirsty Branning (Kierston Wareing).
Tragedy struck in 2017 when a suicidal Max Branning was talked away from the roof of the Queen Vic by his desperate daughters Abi (Lorna Fitzgerald) and Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) as he tried to jump.
Yet the two girls eventually fell, leading to Abi's tragic death.
Speaking about when Digital Spy's Soaps Editor Daniel Kilkelly won the top award, he said: 'More than 14 million viewers watched the revelation of Max and Stacey's affair in 2007, making it the most watched TV broadcast of all time. all year round. .
'There have been many more festive bangers in Soapland over the years, with long-running stories regularly coming to a head over the period, but Digital Spy readers still fondly remember the reveal of 'Stax' as the perfect soap opera Christmas episode.'
More than 75,000 votes were cast across the full line-up of Digital Spy Reader Awards, which reward this year's British public's favorite films, TV shows, actors and moments.
The full award winners can be found on The Digital Spy website.