fans were left in tears after they bid farewell to one beloved character during the nail-biting live anniversary special.
On Thursday (February 20), fans up and down the country tuned in for the special which pushed stars to the limits for the live episode.
Fans watched in horror as Sonia Fowler (played by Natalie Cassidy) was forced to give birth as the Queen Vic was reduced to ashes.
Meanwhile, Martin Fowler (James Bye) proposed to Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) while medics worked to save his legs trapped underneath a metal beam.
After years of their on-off relationship, the love birds finally professed their love for each other, with the TV hunk going on to propose to Stacey as medics worked feverishly to free him from the building.
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EastEnders fans were devastated when Martin Fowler died on the show (Image: BBC)
But at the end of the rollercoaster episode, Martin was heard flatlining as Stacey screamed out in agony as she hugged his unresponsive body.
It didn’t take long before fans flooded to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their heartache over the shocking death on the soap.
One user penned: “Martin I’ve loved you for 25 years now rip you’ll be missed so much and remembered will always be in my heart forever [crying emoji] a true legendary character gone forever [two kissing emojis].”
Another gushed: “The first baby born on # Martin Fowler is officially dead [crying emoji, heartbroken emoji] the definition of a legacy character and I can’t believe he’s gone [two crying emojis]. Round of applause to James Bye. It’s hard to be a recast but when I think of Martin Fowler I’ll think of him.”
Fans applauded Lacey Turner’s performance online (Image: BBC)
A third echoed: “#EELive Can’t believe you’ve killed Martin. Once I’ve stopped crying I’ll be writing a very strongly worded letter to Clenshaw!! #EastEnders40 #.”
Meanwhile, others applauded Lacey’s performance in the devatating episode, with one gushing: “I have nothing but pure admiration for Lacey Turner [two crown emojis] Coming back to # a few weeks after giving birth to deliver the performance on her life was incredible. Reaching every fibre of her emotion during a LIVE episode isn’t easy. LACEY TURNER TAKE A BOW [crown emoji, heart emoji, applause emoji]. #EE40.”
Another echoed: “Give Lacey Turner, James Bye and Steve McFadden every single award possible to a professional actor/ actress #.” A third chimed in with: “Lacey Turner DEVOURED in tonight’s episode! She came weeks after birth and still ate her performance up! The screams were so haunting and gave me shivers [heart broken emoji] #.”
airs from Monday to Thursday on One from 7.30pm or catch up on iPlayer.