EastEnders star Tony Clay has explained the reasons behind his character Callum Highway’s suspicions regarding The Six.

A barnstorming Christmas Day episode saw the mystery of The Six revealed, with Stacey, Kathy, Suki, Sharon and Denise all witness to the murder of Keanu Taylor

by Linda Carter.

The ensuing months have seen the group attempt to cover their tracks whilst harbouring some guilt following Dean’s wrongful arrest for the crime, with the story coming back to the fore this week as Karen returned for her son’s funeral and visited Dean in prison.

Upcoming scenes will see Callum speak to detectives investigating the case after becoming suspicious of Sharon and Linda, with Tony explaining his character’s motivations.

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“It’s been a bit of a storm for him,” the actor said. “He’s had a lot to take on in a short space of time so I think he feels a little bit lost at the moment. I think the reason he starts snooping around Keanu’s case is so he can throw himself into his work.

“He’s trying to distract himself, and he’s trying to be there, and be present for Lexi and everything that she’s got going on. He knows it’s not easy for her, so he has put his feelings aside to focus on her and make sure she’s okay.

“She [Linda] makes a comment about Dean that Callum thinks is a bit suss. I think Linda’s façade slips at that moment. As much as Callum would not want to believe that she could be involved – he loves her dearly and she’s a big part of his life – a part of Callum thinks what she says is odd.

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“The policeman part of Callum also doesn’t want anything untoward happening. He’s glad to see Dean in prison, but he wants to make sure it’s for the crimes he’s committed.”

He added: “There is a part of him that does turn a bit of a blind eye to it because he doesn’t want to see anything happen to Sharon and Linda, but equally he is throwing himself into his work and so he’s going on every single lead because he’s trying to keep himself distracted and busy.

“Ordinarily, it would be out of character for Callum to be hellbent on catching Keanu’s killer given their history. I think he’s just latching on to anything that will keep him focused and pre-occupied so he doesn’t have to think about his true feelings relating to Ben’s absence.”

Whilst Callum is intent on unearthing the truth, he won’t necessarily get everything his own way: “Johnny and Jack both know about Christmas and what happened,” Tony explained. “So they both try in their own ways to deter Callum from going any further in his investigation.

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“There’s a really nice scene between Callum and Johnny where Callum opens up and admits that he does miss Ben. Jack also puts him on a new case, so Callum has got a new distraction, and he also feels like he’s got his suspicions off his chest for now.”