Danny Dyer has promised EastEnders fans a typically bleak Christmas on Albert Square this year.
The BBC soap has been off the air for more than three months due to coronavirus but will return to screens next week with a new 20-minute episode format.
The cast are currently filming episodes that will air in November and will shortly begin work on the Christmas storylines, although Dyer does not predict a happy ending to 2020 for the residents of Walford.
"It is Christmas, you know what Christmas is about on the f*cking Square," he told journalists this week. "I'll let you use your own imagination on that one.
"We're due another dark Christmas, aren't we? That's how we roll. We've really took it up a level."
On screen, Dyer's character Mick and his wife Linda (Kellie Bright) have just sold up the Vic and will be seen adjusting to their new surroundings when the soap returns.
"I think when we were first told, a little bit gutted," he admitted. "This is what we know, and it's the hub of the show.
"There's a huge responsibility of running it and the amount you're involved in but I do think it was time for a changing of the guard. And who better than Sharon? Come on.
"I'm having a vast new experience of being in EastEnders and not being in the Vic and I've gotta say, I'm enjoying it. It's nice, I'm working on different sets and with different people. It's almost like coming to a new job."
EastEnders returns to BBC One on Monday at 8.05pm.
> Picture Spoilers: Next week on EastEnders (September 7-11)
