But as the residents of Walford celebrate The Vic winning pub of the year, Sharon goes into labour, Peter Beale returns and things take a dramatic turn as multiple lives are left hanging in the balance and one person meets a tragic end.
All of the week's episodes take place across over the same day with Monday, Tuesday and Thursday's episodes focussing on different characters and events leading up to the incident on the boat but each ending with the same moment. Whilst Friday's episode will focus on the immediate aftermath.
Scroll through six more stunning promo shots for the 35th anniversary episodes here...
In Monday's episode, Mick is in no mood to celebrate still reeling from signing the divorce papers, whilst Linda's celebrations come to an abrupt end as she comes to blows with Shirley.
As the party on the boat gets underway, Linda continues to drink and embarrass herself and her family leaving Mick at a loss of what to do.
Fed up of Isaac's behaviour, Patrick suggests to Sheree that the time has come to tell him the truth, but before he has a chance, the party is thrown into chaos.
In Tuesday's episode, Ian contemplates reaching out to Bobby who together with Iqra and Habiba is harassed and racially insulted by a gang who recognise him. As he tries to defend himself, the situation quickly spirals out of control and Bobby is left fighting for his life.
When the news reaches Ian and Kathy, they are devastated to discover he needs emergency surgery. Having spotted the commotion with Bobby, Bex tells Dotty who in turn admits that she’s discovered who's behind Bobby’s bullying. With the news playing on her mind, Bex struggles with the guilt and messages Ian to tell him who's behind his son's harassment.
Spotting the text, Ian rushes off to the party in search of revenge and when Kathy receives an odd call from Ben she calls Peter and begs him to come to the hospital to keep an eye on Bobby. Rushing to Ben, Kathy is horrified by her discovery.
When Ian arrives on the boat in search of the person responsible for harassing Bobby, how far is he prepared to go to protect his son?
With the party on the boat well underway, Denise suggests Jack tells Max that he's been helping Lauren after her split from Peter. But when Max reacts badly, things soon turn nasty and Jack punches Max.
Across the Square, Sonia learns a worrying truth from the police and when Denise spots a distraught Ian who reveals what’s happened to Bobby, their conversation comes to an abrupt end when disaster strikes.
In Thursday's episode we see Ben reach breaking point after being blackmailed by Keanu and determined to get Callum back, goes to extreme lengths to stop Keanu from killing Callum.
With Phil on the war path following what Keanu has done, he takes matters into his own hands and starts his own revenge mission and threatens Karen so that he can find Keanu. Will either of the Mitchells be able to stop Keanu before it’s too late?
After telling Dennis that they’re leaving Walford for good, Sharon bumps into Kathy and after telling her the news her plan is thwarted by a raging Ben. But Sharon’s situation goes from bad to worse when she goes into labour.
As events spiral out of control, Phil and Ben’s revenge plans lead them both to the boat where they come face-to-face with Keanu for the ultimate showdown. And with tensions at an all-time high between the three, their actions lead to disastrous consequences.
During Friday's episode, chaos and panic ensues as everyone struggles to comprehend what has happened. And as the grave situation grows worse, multiple lives are left hanging in the balance and one person is set to meet a tragic end.
These episodes of EastEnders will air Monday 17th, Tuesday 18th, Thursday 20th and Friday 21st February on BBC One