2020 has been a year of monumental change for the entire world - but that is especially true in Walford, which has witnessed more comings and goings than the toilets at Charing Cross.
In all, 14 main characters have departed - or are on the verge of departing - EastEnders in 2020 (including at least four in body bags) and here, we round up every major exit from Albert Square this year.
© BBC
Dot Cotton
Actor: June Brown
First appearance: July 4, 1985
Last appearance: January 21, 2020
The exit: The first exit of the year turned out to be the most seismic of the lot as EE legend Dot said goodbye to Walford to visit family in Ireland. The break was originally intended to be a temporary one, but 93-year-old Brown shocked producers in February when she announced on a podcast that she will "never go back".
Door: OPEN
© BBC
Louise Mitchell
Actor: Tilly Keeper
First appearance: November 6, 2001
Last appearance: January 24, 2020
The exit: Having given birth to her daughter Peggy (and avoided smothering her with a pillow) and having endorsed the murder of baby-daddy Keanu, it finally all got too much for Louise and she decided to leave Walford with her mother Lisa.
Door: OPEN
© BBC
Lisa Fowler
Actor: Lucy Benjamin
First appearance: December 7, 1998
Last appearance: January 24, 2020
The exit: Lisa left for Portugal with her daughter Louise and new granddaughter Peggy following Keanu's supposed murder, with Phil temporarily in tow. Lisa had only been back on the Square for six months and was left horrified when her best friend Mel was flattened (in slow-motion) by a heavy goods vehicle on the M4.
Door: OPEN
© BBC
Dennis "Denny" Rickman Jr
Actor: Bleu Landau
First appearance: August 13, 2012
Last appearance: February 21, 2020
The exit: Having learned that his mum's Sharon getaway plans also involved her toyboy lover Keanu, Denny decided to join the Vic's doomed boat party on the Thames. Locked in a room by Ian as revenge for his bullying of Bobby, when the boat hit trouble and starts taking on water, Denny drowned.
Door: CLOSED
© BBC
Keanu Taylor
Actor: Danny Walters
First appearance: June 15, 2017
Last appearance: February 21, 2020
The exit: Having faked his own murder, Keanu reappeared in Walford in an attempt to salvage what he could from his failed relationships with Louise and Sharon. Louise had already fled with their new daughter Peggy for Portugal so he made plans to leave the Square with Sharon - but after Denny died in the boat disaster, she blamed him for what happened and told him to get away from both her and their new-born son Kayden (later renamed Albie).
Door: OPEN
© BBC
Leo King
Actor: Tom Wells
First appearance: September 3, 2019
Last appearance: February 21, 2020
The exit: The son of Whitney's paedophilic abuser Tony King, Leo arrived in Walford and began a relationship with an unsuspecting Whitney. When the truth finally came to light, he became obsessed with her and began to stalk her, secretly spying on her from her attic. Things came to head one day when he emerged and they got in a fight and she stabbed him in self-defence, leaving him dead on her kitchen floor.
Door: CLOSED
© BBC
Daniel Cook
Actor: Ade Edmondson
First appearance: June 25, 2019
Last appearance: February 27, 2020
The exit: Daniel met Jean as both were undergoing treatment for cancer and they soon became romantically involved. Having realised that he was developing feelings for her after being given the news that his condition was terminal, Daniel faked his own death. His plot was eventually rumbled and after many happy weeks together, he died on a bench in the square after learning the happy news that Jean was cancer-free.
Door: CLOSED
© BBC
Bex Fowler
Actor: Jasmine Armfield
First appearance: October 26, 2000
Last appearance: March 6, 2020
The exit: A drugs overdose and the departure of her best friend Louise made Bex realise that she needed to experience more from life than the confines of Walford and she departed the Square to go travelling... just before the coronavirus pandemic struck.
Door: OPEN
© BBC
Chantelle Atkins
Actor: Jessica Plummer
First appearance: March 26, 2019
Last appearance: September 18, 2020
The exit: The daughter of Karen and Mitch arrived in Walford with husband Gray and their two kids in 2019 and initially they seemed like the perfect family. However, it soon emerged that behind closed doors Gray was physically and mentally abusing Chantelle - abuse that only got worse during the coronavirus lockdown. She made secret plans to leave him and run away, but he rumbled the plot and they fought - an altercation that ended up with her dead on the dishwasher.
Door: CLOSED
© BBC
Jags Panesar
Actor: Amar Adatia
First appearance: October 4, 2019
Last appearance: October 9, 2020
The exit: The middle eldest of the Panesar brothers, poor Jags was set up by matriarch Suki to take the fall for Vinny's botched robbery of the club. In the blink of an eye he was duly arrested, jailed and the Panesars got back to life as normal.
Door: OPEN
© BBC
Habiba Ahmed
Actor: Rukku Nahar
First appearance: February 19, 2019
Last appearance: October 22, 2020
The exit: Seemingly the only one in the Square baffled by her lockdown lover Jags's imprisonment, Habiba got fed up with everyone and made an impromptu exit in the back of a taxi.
Door: OPEN
© BBC
Max Branning
Actor: Jake Wood
First appearance: June 27, 2006
Last appearance: TBC 2020
The exit: After every storyline combination that one man in soapland could possibly have, Max will be leaving Albert Square later this year. In typical style, it has been promised that his exit will be "explosive", although it remains unknown if he will be killed off. Max's current storyline sees him at loggerheads with business partner Ian over money that he stole.
Door: ???
© BBC
Tina Carter
Actor: Luisa Bradshaw-White
First appearance: November 18, 2013
Last appearance: TBC 2020
The exit: Sister of Shirley and aunt of Mick, Tina will be leaving Walford - and the Albert - behind her later this year. Again, little is known about her exit, but her current storyline has seen her befriend Square newcomer Frankie, who has since been revealed to be Mick's secret daughter from when he was sexually abused as a child.
Door: ???
© BBC
Kush Kazemi
Actor: Davood Ghadami
First appearance: October 20, 2014
Last appearance: TBC early 2021
The exit: All roads point to Kush's departure being related to a recently-started storyline that has seen him become addicted to online gambling - and somewhat predictably, losing lots of money. At the moment he is managing to keep his habit secret from those around him - including girlfriend Kat - but how long can he keep it up for?
Door: ???
EastEnders continues Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on BBC One.
Follow us on X/Twitter and like us on Facebook for the latest entertainment news alerts.
Media Mole Black Friday Offer: Get Sky Entertainment, Sky Stream & Netflix for just £19 a month + £0 upfront fee for 24 months!
Prices may change during this period. Ends December 3, 2024
