EastEnders' Karen is "prepared to die" to get answers about Keanu from Phil

In a dramatic Christmas episode, Karen's son Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) finally admitted to fiancé Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper) that he'd had an affair with her stepmum Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) and was the true father of her unborn child.

To make things worse, Keanu and Louise have just had a baby daughter of their own – and Louise's dad (and Sharon's husband) is the extremely-scary Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).

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"Well, it’s every parent’s worst nightmare isn’t it," Stanley said. "Karen knows what Phil is capable of, so now the truth has come out, all Karen wants to do is protect her son, no matter what. As long as Keanu is safe, away from Walford that’s all Karen can think about at the moment."

She added: "She’s definitely still worried, Phil’s got a network of people all over. She has no idea where he is though – she thinks he’s gone as far away from Phil and Walford as possible, it’s not safe for him. She knows Keanu’s still in danger, she’s fearing for her son’s life. She’s petrified that Phil is going to get to him."

As time goes on with no word from her son, Karen is utterly convinced Phil knows more than he's saying.

Stanley revealed: "When she doesn’t hear from Keanu her worry takes over. She wants answers and is convinced Phil has done something – she’s gunning for him. She wants answers and she’s prepared to die for it."

As for how far she'd go to help Keanu, the actress insisted: "I don’t think there’s anything she wouldn’t do to protect any of her children. Karen’s family is her world and if they need protecting, the lioness in Karen comes out and she’s not afraid of anyone or anything."

In the middle of all this, Karen is organising Chantelle and Gray's vow renewal as a distraction from her family drama.

"She’s throwing herself into everything – anything she can think of so she doesn’t have to think about Keanu and where he is," Stanley said. "It’s all a front though, she’s deflecting and pretending everything is fine, not only for herself but the rest of her family too, so they don’t worry. She can’t distract herself forever though…"

Danny Walters has previously confirmed he is leaving EastEnders, with an executive producer teasing that his storyline "is set to come to a dramatic and blistering conclusion."