Linda’s future in the Square is on a knife edge as it’s clear someone knows what really happened to Keanu Taylor. But could Bernie and Dean be targeting someone else through her?

Bernie Taylor and Dean Wicks were revealed to be in cahoots to rattle Linda Carter this Thursday on EastEnders – but could they be using her to get to another Walford legend?

The pub landlady played by Kellie Bright is on a slippery slope as she’s desperate to get rid of Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) once and for all and free her guilty conscience over the death of Keanu Taylor, prompting her to accept a shocking deal with the Devil himself, newcomer Fraser.

Upon his arrival in Walford, the Scot’s proposal was simple – Linda needed to withdraw her witness statement placing Dean at the scene of the crime on Christmas if she wanted him to finally admit he had raped her in 2014. But Linda’s secrets are slowly being pushed to the light with every booze binge she embarks on and a poison pen letter left on The Queen Vic bar this Wednesday threatened to push her over the edge.

Dean Wicks encouraged Bernie Taylor to keep sending her poison pen letters in an attempt to get Linda to admit what she knows about Keanu’s murder

An early BBC iPlayer release has since confirmed that Dean Wicks was behind the letter as he’s astonishingly managed to convince Keanu’s sister Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) that he was someone to be trusted.

This Thursday’s trip to Albert Square (August 8, 2024) ended with Bernie facing Dean in prison as they reflected on their mischievous plan, hatched in an attempt to trouble Linda enough to make her reveal who Keanu’s killer really is, therefore allowing Dean to walk out of prison scot-free before his trial can even begin in weeks to come.

But as they chatted about their suspect, one viewer over on Reddit noted that Dean and Bernie only think Linda knows who the killer is, but they are still clueless to the fact she was the one to stab Keanu.

“Linda gets in some sort of accident next week I think Bernie might feel guilty and stop sending the letters. Remember her and Dean only think Linda knows who killed Keanu they have no idea that she is the actual killer but it’s deffo the flame that will begin to make them crumble”, they wrote. Which begs the question – who are the pair really after?

Before anybody even suspected Dean, Linda’s best pal Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) was on the police’s radar and arrested on suspicion of murder in April, 2024.

With Bernie knowing all about her brother’s chaotic relationship with Sharon, and her mother Karen’s ongoing distaste for her (despite a brief reconciliation during Keanu’s funeral), one theory could suggest that she and Dean are hopeful to crack both Linda and Sharon.

Karen Taylor herself encouraged her daughter to question whether Dean really was Keanu’s murder before leaving Walford one last time after waving a final goodbye to her beloved son. Could this have been enough for Bernie to give Dean a chance? And can he really be trusted?

Several viewers believe Bernie needs to watch her back: “Bernie needs to wake up, she’s siding with a rapist instead of finding out who killed her brother in her own. She really is an idiot. Get Tif back now to have a few words with her”, one of them lamented.

Another, however, argued: “I don’t blame Bernie. Yeah Dean is obv horrible trash. But she’s the one that went and ran her mouth to Phil … so she’s gotta feel guilty af. I mean she and Karen have already lost one son/sibling.”

Before Bernie was revealed as Linda’s blackmailer, viewers of the London-based show suspected that Shirley Carter may have secretly returned to the Square in an effort to help Dean in his efforts to be released from prison. Actress Linda Henry has not been seen in the show since Mick Carter’s disappearance in late 2022 and fans have been expecting her to reprise her role. Will it be in the midst of Dean’s trial?