Cindy Beale was brutally attacked and left fighting for her life in a dramatic Christmas Day episode, but now fans think they’ve worked out who the perpetrator was

The person responsible for Cindy Beale’s attack in EastEnders has been ‘exposed’ by fans.

EastEnders brought in millions of viewers as Cindy Beale got her comeuppance after being exposed as a cheat. However, fans were left stunned when she was violently attacked and left for dead in a dramatic twist at the end of the BBC show.

Viewers were on the edge of their seats on Christmas Day (December 25), as Cindy – played by Michelle Collins – was seen unconscious after an explosive instalment in Walford. Cindy’s love rat ways were discovered after a recording was accidentally played to the punters at the Old Vic, leading to a dramatic outburst.

Things blew up when her daughter-in-law Lauren Branning told everyone on Albert Square that Cindy had been unfaithful to fiancé Ian. It was then exposed that she had in fact been sleeping around with Lauren’s ex-hubby, George Knight’s son, Junior – in a horrific twist.

George rushed to help Cindy but set up a fake alibi(Image: BBC)

An emotional Cindy was pushed over the limit, and all hell eventually broke loose, with Cindy lashing out at her family for not supporting her. Not even her own children were spared, as Peter Beale, Gina and Anna Knight were attacked in Cindy’s huge rant.

Cindy, desperate to salvage her relationship with Ian, pleaded with him to move with her to France, leaving Walford for good. But Ian had a trick up his sleeve, and lured her in, before rejecting her when she leaned in for a kiss, kicking her out of the family home and proceeding to have an emotional meltdown.

A huge whodunnit has been launched as Cindy went under the knife for emergency surgery(Image: BBC)

But the worst was yet to come for Cindy as – with nowhere go and only a couple of suitcases to her name – she was struck by an anonymous attacker. After being hit by a shovel from behind, Cindy was left unconscious in the middle of Walford, and a huge whodunnit was launched.

In the latest episode which aired on Boxing Day (December 26), Cindy was rushed to hospital for a CT scan on her head, but doctors had admitted that the outlook was “not looking good” for her. While she was getting looked over, Walford erupted into suspicion as a number of people had plausible motives for striking Cindy, with Ian becoming the prime suspect.

Junior was seen “lurking in the shadows”(Image: BBC)

After receiving her scans, doctors told Cindy’s family that she had suffered “blunt force trauma to the head”, and was being rushed to the operating theatre for emergency surgery. The injuries were said to be so bad that she was put into a medically induced coma as she was “not out of the woods”.

Denise Fox told George she saw Junior “lurking in the shadows” as people gathered around Cindy in the Square, acting suspiciously as people rushed to help her. George later caught Junior rapidly packing a suitcase and gathering his passport before an apparent attempt to escape the country to Dubai.

George admitted he didn’t have an alibi and decided to fake one, getting friend Kojo to back him up. And he also pulled out a white shirt covered in blood, potentially incriminating evidence.

Fans think it was Anna(Image: BBC)

Anna, Cindy and George’s daughter, could also be responsible for the attack. When Elaine walked in to her kitchen and saw Cindy and George’s daughter Anna, Junior’s half-brother, desperately washing her hands and in a panic.

Fans now have been left guessing as to who they think could be responsible for the sinister attack on Cindy, with many viewers speculating on social media. One user explained: “Her mother is exposed as sleeping with her brother, and Anna reacts with a degree of nonchalance. What is this?”

A second account added: “It makes sense, Anna Knight whacked Cindy”, but other fans were not so sure – believing that Bobby Beale could be behind the attack. The pair had relationship, as Bobby killed Cindy’s daughter Lucy in an eerily similar attack back in 2014.