Gillian Taylforth has spilled the beans after it was revealed Kathy Beale attacked former daughter-in-law Cindy (Michelle Collins) in tonight’s explosive EastEnders.

After aiming a gun at her estranged partner Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) – who was holding the missing locket she believed was the final clue to nailing her walloper – he revealed that their son Peter (Thomas Law) was actually responsible.

Cindy was in disbelief that he would ever do that to her, and it became clear that something wasn’t exactly ringing true.

Kathy burst in, and admitted that she had stolen the locket from Cindy’s unconscious body after wielding the shovel, wanting to put an end to her many years of dastardly behaviour.

‘I was convinced it was going to be either Ian or Peter’ admitted Gillian, now that the news is out.

‘I thought the tables would have turned and Ian would have a go at getting his own back on Cindy, or that Peter would have reacted on behalf of his dad.

‘I even thought it could have been Junior (Micah Balfour) at one point as Cindy humiliated him in the pub and he was lurking in the shadows on Christmas night.’

In a moment shown during tonight’s Lock-In after show, which was hosted by Joe Swash for BBC Three, we saw outgoing executive producer Chris Clenshaw gather the potential suspects to reveal the culprit.

Speaking of the moment, Gillian added: ‘Chris asked us all to come in for a meeting so he could tell us altogether which was great fun.

‘We wouldn’t usually all find out as a group, but with it being the anniversary, they wanted to tell us together.

‘None of us knew anything before that point, but apparently they all thought it was me anyway!

She continued: ‘I had a tiny suspicion it could have been Kathy, only because it’s no secret that there is no love lost between her and her daughter-in-law, but I was shocked when I found out!’

A horrific series of events soon followed the revelation, as Ian and Cindy rowed in the street.

He pleaded with her to agree to his deal – a lifetime of financial freedom – to keep Kathy’s involvement a secret.

Cindy was having none of it, which resulted in her pushing him in front of Reiss Colwell’s (Jonny Freeman) car. He swerved, and crashed into The Queen Vic pub.

Denise decides, you choose. How to vote

To access the vote, viewers must have a BBC Account. You can register for an account at BBC.co.uk/account, on or before February 19.

The vote will officially open at 8:30pm on Wednesday February 19 at BBC.co.uk/EastEnders. It will close at 7:10pm on Thursday February 20, so the result can be incorporated into the live episode, which will broadcast at 7:30pm from BBC Elstree Centre that very evening.

A number of gas bottles ignited, with flames tearing through the building.

‘Tonight’s episode is just the beginning of what’s to come, it doesn’t end here’ teased Gillian, and honestly we don’t think we can wait 24 hours to find out what comes next!

‘Kathy has seen Ian be hurt by Cindy time and time again, and so I think she finally thought, enough is enough.

‘[She] knew that Cindy would try and worm her way back into Ian’s life at the next chance that she got because she always does, and ultimately Kathy did what she did to protect her son.

She added: ‘Ian is a fool in love when it comes to Cindy, and Kathy couldn’t let him get hurt by her again. Don’t forget that Cindy tried to kill Ian, so in Kathy’s eyes, it’s payback.’

EastEnders continues with an hour-long instalment tomorrow at 7.30pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you.

Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage.

MORE: Almighty EastEnders crash as killer strikes again in explosive twist

MORE: EastEnders fans pray Cindy has inadvertently saved Phil’s life

MORE: Cindy to expose attacker as wedding outcome confirmed in EastEnders 40th anniversary