EASTENDERS viewers were left shocked tonight after two characters were kidnapped by masked thugs in broad daylight on Albert Square.
The BBC soap has started 2023 with a bang that's for sure, having already featured a carbon monoxide poisoning and the shock revelation that 12-year-old Lily Slater is pregnant.
However tonight's episode delivered an epic 'duff duff' moment as well, when a large black transit van sped into the Square.
Screeching to a halt, a number of balaclava clad men jumped out and made a grab for the two stunned residents, while another was punched repeatedly in the stomach.
Earlier in the episode, Phil Mitchell had declared victory over DCI Keeble in their ongoing feud.
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The Walford hard man - played by Steve McFadden - had smugly told the bent copper he had all the evidence he needed to prove she was corrupt thanks to her interactions with Keanu Taylor.
It meant Phil was able to get Billy off the hook and finally get Keeble (Alison Newman) out of his family's life once and for all.
After their tense exchange at Peggy's, Keeble had an equally fraught chat with Keanu, telling him he had blown it before declaring that if Phil didn't kill him, she would.
While it looked like the copper had ran out of options, it seems she had one more card to play as the van swooped into Albert Square in the final moments of the episode.
As the men jumped out of the van, Alfie Moon, Kat Slater and their son Tommy stopped in their tracks before the thugs grabbed Phil's fiancee.
Meanwhile another punched Alfie (Shane Richie) in the stomach to stop him intervening, while Tommy tried to grab his mum.
However, the men picked him up too, before bundling him and Kat in the van.
The thug who had hold of Alfie threatened him not to call the police before punching him in the stomach a final time and then climbing back into the van to speed away.
Taking to Twitter, one EastEnders fan wrote: "Kats been Katnapped i can’t believe it"
Another added: "Holy fudge. Kat and Tommy getting kidnapped is mad! Was not expecting that one!"
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A third tweeted: "crikey oh Alfie woah loved that ending a much much better episode than yesterday."
EastEnders is available on BBC iPlayer.
