Did EastEnders Take a Cue from the US? Fans Pinpoint Soap Behind ‘The Six’ Plot!

Ever since EastEnders unveiled its gripping Christmas murder storyline back in February 2023, soap enthusiasts have been on the edge of their seats with all the unexpected developments. As avid viewers are aware, Linda Carter fatally stabbed Keanu Taylor on Christmas Day in an attempt to prevent him from choking his fiancée Sharon Watts upon learning that her son wasn’t actually his. In the aftermath, the six women present during the murder – Sharon, Denise, Suki, Kathy, and Stacey, collectively known as The Six – conspired to conceal the crime and interred Keanu’s remains beneath the floor of Kathy Beale’s café. Yet, as the plot thickened, fans were taken aback by similarities they noticed with a famous American series.

A Reddit user speculated that the creators of EastEnders might have drawn inspiration from the acclaimed US soap opera Desperate Housewives, according to OK!. They pointed out: “So in the show desperate housewives season 8, one of the main women in the show kills a (abusive) man, and just like the six the rest of the ladies help bury him and cover up the murder. Much like the six they spend a lot of time worrying and one of them goes on trial for the murder. At the end of the story, a character that is sick and dying, (just like Nish), takes the blame for the murder and all the women all walk free.”

The post continued: “Not to say this is a bad thing at all, it has been very compelling in both programmes, and these things happen all the time in television. But the storyline was 100% definitely inspired by desperate housewives.” Fellow fans seemed to concur with the sentiment, as one commented: “DH [Desperate Housewives] is my all time favourite show I’ve been saying this from day one and telling everyone how they got away with it too and look what happened! ” Another chimed in: “Omg I literally just watched this episode, started season 8 of my DH rewatch. And now I saw this post. I still often chuckle when I think of the 6 setting the cement inside the cafe.”

In a similar vein to EastEnders, where six women conspire to conceal the murder of a man, the American series Desperate Housewives features Carlos who inadvertently kills his wife Gabrielle’s stepfather, Alejandro, who had previously assaulted her and comes back to cause more trouble. Gabrielle’s pals, Bree, Lynette, and Susan Delfino (played by Teri Hatcher), agree to aid in hiding the crime but ultimately, their friend Karen confesses to the deed as she is terminally ill. The parallels between the two plots are striking, especially as EastEnders’ character Nish (who is terminally ill and married to Suki) just took the fall for Keanu’s murder…