EastEnders has revealed who murdered Archie Mitchell in a live episode marking the soap's 25th anniversary.
Note: This story contains plot spoilers and reveals the identity of Archie Mitchell's killer.
The BBC said even the actor playing the killer did not know until 30 minutes before the live transmission. Ten possible endings had been rehearsed.
The show went smoothly, apart from a couple of fluffed lines, and included the surprise death of a main character.
Bradley Branning, played by Charlie Clements, fell to his death off a building in Albert Square.
The revelation of Archie's killer marks the culmination of a long-running plotline that the BBC hopes will draw in millions of viewers.
Archie, who had amassed a string of enemies during his brief time on the show, was bludgeoned with a bust of Queen Victoria in the Albert Square pub on Christmas Day.Executive producer Diederick Santer said there had been several clues to the killer's identity - one of them in the Christmas Day episode, one midway through the investigation and a final undisclosed pointer.Spoiler:
The live episode, which had been in the pipeline for nine months, featured 51 members of the cast, who had been rehearsing for three days.
The 30-minute show was a massive technical undertaking, with 36 camera operators, rather than the usual four, capturing more than 400 shots.
More than a few websites have published the killer's identity oblivious to the fact that many people will not watch the episode until later!
