EastEnders fans have taken to social media to share their praise for a recent episode of the BBC soap and the ‘phenomenal’ performance from Linda Carter actress Kellie Bright.

The character was at the centre of last night’s episode, as her family tried to get her to go to rehab.

Linda has struggled with alcoholism for five years, and in recent months she has spiralled even further as her mental health deteriorated.

Following the return of Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), the murder of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) and the subsequent coverup, Linda struggled to cope and turned to alcohol as a crutch.

In recent scenes, she turned violent as Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) tried to get her to accept help, before blaming her for encouraging her drinking.

It wasn’t just Elaine who was affected, as young Ollie revealed to Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff) that he knew Linda’s problems stemmed from her drinking.

Johnny was devastated to find that Ollie had drawn a picture of Linda drinking, and tried to give it to her as a wake up call – though Linda failed to acknowledge it until after she had stormed out of the pub, having refused Elaine’s help.

In a shocking turn of events, Linda continued to drink, before dying on a bench in the rain.

In the scenes that followed, her family and friends gathered for her funeral, and it was clear that Linda’s death had torn the family apart.

As Johnny began to follow in his mum’s footsteps by drinking, Nancy Carter (Maddy Hill) turned on Elaine, blaming her for Linda’s death.

However, it later transpired that Linda hadn’t died, but had been imagining what would happen if she continued to drink.

Terrified of dying and being hated by her loved ones for her decisions, Linda agreed to get help, with Elaine promising to support her.

What a powerful episode, Kellie Bright was outstanding as always, i hope she gets a few weeks off after filming all these scenes it must be draining. #Eastenders

— Miss Val (@Missval_X) December 17, 2024

The episode left a lasting impact on fans, who praised Kellie for her ‘outstanding’ performance in the moving episode.

Others called for her to win a number of prestigious awards, as well as agreeing that she’d earned a break.

Fans also praised the episode itself, pointing out that it was a difficult watch, but a very important story to tell.

‘Kellie Bright, what a phenomenal piece of work she should get every acting award there is including an Olivier, a Golden Globe and an Oscar,’ Mike wrote, while Natalie simply said: ‘Amazing episode.’