EastEnders gives first glimpses into the trial against Dean Wicks in spoiler images

In the pictures, Sharon (Letitia Dean) appears nervous during her questioning, while the other members of the Six – except Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) – look on worriedly.

Earlier this year, Dean (Matt Di Angelo) was arrested and charged with the murder of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) after being framed by the Six.

In fact, it was Linda who committed the crime: she stabbed Keanu in a desperate attempt to save her friend Sharon, who was being brutally strangled by her fiancé.

More of this

The group later developed a plan to frame Dean for the crime, partly in retaliation for the rape of Linda, for which he has so far escaped justice.

The spoiler images show how their plan reaches its climax: Denise Fox (Diane Parish), Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth) and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) watch Sharon's testimony along with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), who is also involved in the plan.

Will their plan succeed or will Dean escape again?

Whatever the outcome, it looks like we won't be seeing Dean again after the verdict, as Matt Di Angelo confirmed to The Sun on the Radio Times Soap Awards red carpet that he will be leaving EastEnders after the climax of this storyline.

“There is a trial,” he said. “I know the outcome of the trial because we've already filmed it. I can tell you – but I won't because it would ruin television.”

“Dean is a bit like the World Cup,” he continued. “Every six years or so you get to deal with him a bit and then after a week you think, 'OK, enough of this'.”

Di Angelo added that Dean will “not” “return to the Square” after the trial – but is that because he's behind bars, or will the villain be acquitted and seek a new life away from Walford? We'll find out the answer soon enough…

Read more:

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

Visit our dedicated EastEnders Page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you want to see more, visit our TV guide and streaming guide.