EastEnders viewers are questioning if a past character helped Cindy Beale fake her death, after the news the villain is returning to the BBC soap.
Cindy was killed off in 1998 offscreen, and the news was broken to her husband Ian Beale by another Walford favourite after she was told by the prison.
Viewers have recalled the moment Pat Butcher tracked Ian down and revealed something had happened, leaving him reeling.
Pat explained in the episode that Cindy had given birth and that her baby daughter was okay, but that Cindy had died during childbirth.
In the fallout, Ian had to break the news to their children and helped raise Cindy's son Steven - while Walford was left stunned by the twist.
The Mirror recently confirmed that Cindy would be heading back to Walford after more than 20 years away, with actress Michelle Collins reprising the role.
It's thought she will head back to Walford with her ex-husband Ian, the same husband she tried to have killed with a hitman in the 90s.
Cindy's exit saw her sent to prison for a conspiracy to murder Ian, while she was pregnant at the time with a man named Nick's child.
Now, some viewers are questioning who told Pat about Cindy's death, and whether there was a conspiracy to fake her death - amid a theory that she went into witness protection.
As the scene with Pat was shared on Twitter, fans began to speculate perhaps Pat herself was aware Cindy was really alive and took the truth to her grave.
One viewer tweeted: "So Pat was lying all this time and a secret she took to the grave with her?!"
Another agreed: "okay this clip / announcement pat did could easily be assumed pat was lying."
A third fan tweeted: "MY PAT KNEW - SHE F****N KNEEEEEW!" as a fourth said: "Gotta bring pat back now to find out why she lied."
The comeback will also see the return of Ian actor Adam Woodyatt who, while briefly appearing on screen in December 2022, left the soap for a break in early 2021.
In the time Cindy has been away two of her children, Steven and Lucy, have been killed off - while Lucy's killer, her own brother Bobby, is back in Walford.
Cindy's son Peter and daughter Cindy Jr are both away from Albert Square at the moment, but could a reunion be on the cards?
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
