BBC EastEnders to 'recreate' iconic TV moment 20 years after it gripped the nation

EastEnders enthusiasts believe the soap is on the brink of rehashing one of its most memorable plots.

This week in the soap, David Wicks (Michael French) made a surprising comeback. During Thursday's episode (October 10), events took an unexpected twist when he walked in on his ex Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and her lover Junior Knight (Micah Balfour).

Viewers will remember that Cindy has been involved with her ex-husband's son for several months. After David discovered them, Cindy was quick to pull him aside, eager to prevent him from revealing the truth to her fiance Ian (Adam Woodyatt).

Cindy led David to Beale's Eels, where Anna (Molly Rainford) and Freddie (Bobby Brazier) were wrapping up their birdwatching. Cindy hurried them out, but Freddie informed her he needed to finish recording and sort things out.

Cindy, however, was indifferent and insisted they depart. Once Anna and Freddie had left, Cindy and David had a confrontation, with Cindy explaining why she was having an affair, reports the Daily Star.

Nonetheless, fans noted that Freddie's recorder was still running and captured their entire discussion. Now, viewers speculate that the soap is preparing to revisit the legendary Sharongate storyline that attracted 25.3 million viewers at its height.

Nearly 30 million fans tuned in to the Queen Vic moment in 1994 that revealed Sharon Mitchell's (Letitia Dean) affair with her brother-in-law Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). At the time, Sharon was wed to Grant (Ross Kemp), who managed to obtain a taped confession of Sharon admitting to an affair with his brother and the subsequent heated encounter.

In a dramatic twist, Grant crashed Phil and Kathy's engagement party at the pub, hosted by Sharon. To everyone's shock, he played Sharon's confession over the sound system instead of the music.

Fast forward nearly two decades, and soap enthusiasts are convinced that history is about to repeat itself with Cindy and Junior's secret coming to light. On X, previously known as Twitter, one viewer speculated: "Cindy and David are talking with the microphone recording? ! SharonGate 2.0 incoming!"

Another chimed in: "1994 had Sharongate. Get ready for Cindygate in 2024." A third commented: "It's gonna be Sharongate all over again isn't it."

Yet another added: "OH MY GOD! Bobby's bird recording equipment has got the whole conversation between Cindy and David! How is this going to play out?" However, some fans expressed disappointment at the plot development, with comments such as: "How predictable. I knew that recording equipment would still be recording everything. " And another viewer remarked: "We saw that coming."

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer