EastEnders said goodbye to James Bye as Martin Fowler tragically died in The Queen Vic after his character was crushed whilst trying to save beloved ex-wife and true love, Stacey Slater.

EASTENDERS fans are still reeling after the 40th anniversary episodes that aired last week. The iconic BBC soap opera turned 40 last week, and to commemorate the milestone, a live episode aired.

From the most dramatic scenes, to the romantic, thrilling and delightfully camp, the incomparable EastEnders has been delivering the biggest water cooler moments for 40 years. As a new era begins, the magic is still very much alive – in fact, it's thriving.

The episode was broadcast live for the first time since 2010 and its ratings were about 1.5 million above the soap's daily average. However, they were a fraction of those for the

EastEnders fans were left in utter disbelief over the bombshell death in the drama-packed 40th-anniversary live episode. The BBC One soap threw a huge bash to mark its four decades on our screens this week - and my,