EastEnders' Christmas Special delivered a shocking twist as a dramatic showdown at the Queen Vic ended in murder, with a major villain left dead.

The BBC soap's first festive episode aired on Thursday night and revealed a huge bombshell for Zoe Slater, who discovered that both of her children survived birth and were still alive.

Fans of the soap are aware that Chrissie Watts has returned to Walford seeking revenge on Zoe and has been manipulating events using her daughter Jasmine. 

However, when the drama unfolded at the Vic, neither Chrissie nor Jasmine was revealed as the victim.

Instead, the episode opened on a tense confrontation between Zoe and Anthony. 

Believing he had been stalking her, Zoe confronted him - unaware that he wasn't responsible - before the situation spiralled dangerously out of control.

Realising Anthony hadn't written the card supposedly sent by her son, Zoe became convinced her child was on his way to find her. 

When Anthony insisted she couldn't keep him from their son, she snapped: 'My son. He's not coming for you, he's coming for me.'

Desperate, Anthony pleaded: 'Don't do this Zoe. This is a chance for us, we can build our family and get to know our children together. 

'It's what we both want, what we both need. It's a second chance.'

Zoe responded furiously, screaming: 'You have lost it.'

She then made her feelings clear, shouting: 'I don't want to do this with you, I don't want anything to do with you ever again. 

'What you told Kat about my kids is sick. Get out. I want you gone.'

The confrontation turned violent when Anthony lashed out, grabbing Zoe and slamming her head against the bannister, leaving her unconscious.

Later, Kat went upstairs and discovered Zoe still unresponsive - and Anthony lying dead nearby. 

Panicking, she said: 'Zoe look at me,' before asking: 'What have you done? What have you done? He's dead.'

Anthony's body was found lifeless on the floor, leaving viewers with a chilling cliffhanger: did Zoe kill him?

In the second part of the Christmas special, Zoe decided to take responsibility for Anthony’s death.

However, she feared her newly reunited daughter Jasmine may somehow have been involved.

Determined to protect her family and stop anyone else from paying the price, Zoe made the heartbreaking decision to call the police and confess. 

She was then led away by officers, suggesting her fate from the Square may now be sealed.

EastEnders' Christmas Special is available on BBC One and will be available to stream on iPlayer.