7 of the most shocking EastEnders 'duff duff' cliffhangers ever

20 February 2020, 15:04 | Updated: 5 January 2021, 16:28

EastEnders has kept us hooked ever since it began in 1985.

To celebrate the iconic soap's 35th anniversary, we've gone back in time to pick our very favourite 'duff duff' cliffhangers ever...

1. "You ain't my muvva!" (2001)

   

   Such an iconic moment that truly shocked us all when we first saw it.

   By this point, we knew that Kat Slater was actually the biological mother of younger sister Zoe, and it led to one of the soap's most-quoted moments ever.

   In the height of a furious argument in the Square between the pair, Kat shouted out that she was, in fact, her muvva. Incredible.

2. Sharongate (1994)

   

   It was the height of the Phil and Grant Mitchell era, and this was arguably their greatest storyline.

   Here, Grant discovers a shocking cassette tape (remember them?), which revealed Sharon's affair with brother Phil. Grant decided to play the tape out to everyone in the Queen Vic on the night of Phil and Kathy's engagement party.

   FIGHT!

3. Den gives Angie divorce papers (1987)

   It doesn't get more iconic than this.

   Angie Watts convinced Den to stick with her by making up that she had a terminal illness. It wasn't long before Den found out, and he decided to seek revenge by suddenly serving her divorce papers instead of Christmas dinner.

   It was the most-watched episode of all time, with over 30 million people tuning it at the time. Happy Christmas Ange.

4. Who shot Phil? (2001)

   

   Still one of the best soap whodunits, Phil Mitchell was shot on his own doorstep by an unknown assailant. To be fair, he has peed off the entire Square.

   This 'duff duff' led to a massive manhunt, and fans had to wait a whole month to find out it was actually his ditched ex-girlfriend Lisa.

5. Max and Stacey's affair is revealed to all (2007)

   

   Taking a leaf out of Grant's book, Lauren altered the course of the Brannings forever at Christmas 2007, by placing a DVD that revealed Max and Stacey's affair.

   The whole family - and nation - awkwardly watched on as Stacey and her father-in-law smooched away (and more). Just a normal Christmas in Albert Square.

6. Dirty Den's comeback (2003)

   

   "'Ello princess".

   After years and years away, Dirty Den came back from the dead, shocking his daughter Sharon to the core. It was good to have him back.

7. Janine pushes Barry off a cliff (2004)

   

   Poor old Barry. He had quite possibly the most depressing end for a long-time EastEnders character ever.

   Janine went peak evil for this cliffhanger, as she told her new husband Bazza that their marriage was a sham to make some money. After he refused to believe her, she proved it by (somewhat accidentally) pushing him off a cliff. Justice 4 Barry!