EastEnders’ Phil and Johnny join forces to track down a killer – and put an end to it all

Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff) and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) are set to form an unlikely alliance in EastEnders, as Dean Wicks’ (Matt Di Angelo) trial kicks off.

The Six are back at the centre of the drama on the BBC soap next week, taking to the stand to give evidence as their plot to frame Dean for Keanu Taylor’s (Danny Walters) murder on Christmas Day reaches a head.

As the court case has approached, the real culprit Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) has cracked under pressure at the thought of having to face questions in court.

She’d previously given a false witness statement placing her rapist Dean at the scene where Keanu’s body was discovered on the night of his murder.

With Linda having landed in hospital in recent weeks after hitting the bottle again, the other women try to show their support in forthcoming scenes as she prepares to testify.

But Linda is spooked when Sharon Watts’ (Letitia Dean) cross-examination doesn’t go well.

Dean’s brief brings up information from Sharon’s past, and a situation quickly escalates that could have huge repercussions for The Six.

Having witnessed the chaos, Linda baulks from the court before giving her witness statement, leaving Sharon horrified.

Linda’s son Johnny and Sharon’s ex Phil – who both know the truth of what really went down on Christmas night – then team up to track Linda down.

But with Linda having previously indicated she’s prepared not to give evidence, will they manage to get her on the stand?

Actress Kellie Bright recently discussed the pressure Linda is under to not only keep herself out of prison, but the rest of The Six.

‘I think she does feel it rests on her shoulders,’ Kellie said ‘At the end of the day, she still feels this enormous responsibility for the whole thing [Keanu’s murder] because she was the one that did it. Regardless of what anyone says, she is ultimately responsible. She’s not just an innocent bystander in all of it.

‘Her conscience is also at play, because Linda is still in a place where she feels very unsure about the actions that she is taking, and on some level feels like she should be the one that is being punished.’

EastEnders airs these scenes from Monday 2 September at 7.30pm on BBC One and from 6am on iPlayer.