A bidding war broke out for one of the soap’s most famous locations
EastEnders fans said it’s ‘the end of an era’ as the new owner of the Queen Vic was revealed on the BBC soap.
Several of the show’s biggest characters have held the business’ keys over the years, including Phil Mitchell, Sharon Watts and Mick Carter.
Linda Carter encouraged her mum Elaine Peacock to sell the Queen Vic after deciding that she wanted to give up her shares of the iconic pub and try something new.
While Elaine insisted that she didn’t want to sell the pub, she began re-evaluating her priorities after suffering a double heart attack and she served alcohol to children.
The pub was reopened on VE Day, just three months after the explosion that claimed the lives of Reiss Colwell and Martin Fowler destroyed it.
It was a busy night for EastEnders viewers on Monday (July 21) with two episodes of the programme airing back to back.
The first episode saw the Slaters excited about Kat’s potential move to the Queen Vic after Stacey discovered she’ll receive £100,000 from Martin’s life insurance.
With Stacey wanting to use the money to buy the pub for Kat, they headed to the Vic to face off against the Beales, with Ian determined to add to his business empire.
However, Stacey was stunned to find out that Alfie Moon had information on Zoe’s whereabouts, but needed £50,000 to guarantee her safety.
In the second episode of the night, Stacey dropped the bombshell that she couldn’t lend the money to Kat, leaving her devastated.
Thankfully, Stacey had a change of heart after having an emotional conversation with her mum about doing the right thing.
Following a bidding war between Ian and a developer, Linda admitted that she wanted the establishment to be run by a family, giving Kat and Stacey the keys to the Queen Vic.
In a huge twist, the Slaters agreed to a house swap with the Carters following the sale, with Elaine giving Linda the cruise tickets she bought for Priya Nandra-Hart in a wholesome moment.
Over on the X, previously known as Twitter, fans reacted to the Carters no longer owning the pub and had their say on how Kat and Stacey ended up with it.
@Salvatore_Noir8 said: “Why was I actually crying over Kat and the Slaters getting the Vic. My life is a mess but I’m so happy for them.” @KellieBrightLY posted: “Twelve fabulous years of the Carter landlords. It’s the end of an era.”
@startturntable wrote: “Kathleen Moon now the landlady of the vic once again YESSS #eastenders.” @ohmybuckleys noted: “People happy kat is new vic owner … everybody who owns the vic gets bad luck sooo is it really a win? #EastEnders.”
@rivsktx commented: “Kat Slater the new owner of the vic? LIFE SUDDENLY GOT INTERESTING HELLO #EastEnders.”@XBeautyOfAngelX stated: “Just watched #eastenders I do like that Kat is landlady of the Vic again, but Martins life insurance is not for the Slaters! It’s for his children, when Kat kept screaming for my kids, I’m like what about Martin’s kids! He has Bex & Roman too! it sounds to me it went all to Kat.”
