Viewers of the beloved BBC One soap tuned in on the big day to learn the identity of the murder – and more importantly – the victim was.

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They watched as Linda Carter jumped to the rescue of her best friend Sharon Watts who was being strangled by Keanu Taylor.

She lunged a carving knife into his back, killing him on the spot.

Prior to the murder, Nish Panesar attempted to drag his estranged wife Suki out of the Queen Vic after she announced she was leaving him.

While The Six cockney matriarchs attempted to stop him, an altercation resulted in Denise Fox smashing a champagne bottle over his head, knocking him out.

The women then decided to blame Keanu for the violent attack, and told the police he had fled the scene, unbeknownst to them that his dead body was underneath the burnt cafe.

But as the police showed up, fans were left disappointed DI Xiang was nowhere to be seen.

The copper, whose first appearance in The Square was last month, was nowhere to be seen.

Flans flocked to a web forum to comment on his whereabouts, with one saying: “Where’s our commanding old bill gone and when is he returning?”

A second wrote: “I am wondering if he came off as too competent. Clearly this story is going go drag on for a while and he might have cracked the case too quickly.”

“Not going to lie, I was so sad when I saw the blonde policeman. Nothing against the actor at all, I am just a big DI Xiang fan and was so hoping to see him be part of the investigation,” said a third.

While a fourth commented: “I was gutted when it wasn’t Xiang questioning the six.”

Xiange first appeared in EastEnders in November when he was tasked with investigating the fire at Kathy’s cafe.

EastEnders continues on BBC One and iPlayer.

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