Albert Square witnessed the murder of one of their most universally-loathed villains today. Whilst the BBC has kept a tight lip on who the murderer is (to be revealed only during Eastenders' first-ever live episode on 19 Feb 2010 to commemorate the soap's 25 anniversary), this is my personal list of Top 5 suspects:

Bradley Branning: He is evidently angered after being told by Stacey that it was Archie to raped her. Having confronted Archie, Brad also had the murdered's blood on his shirt on the night of the murder.

Janine Butcher: Archie's ex-fiance (and partner-in-crime) was finally chucked out of the Vic on the night of the murder, after he broke his engagement with her whilst declaring that she was just a pawn in his game.

Ronnie Mitchell: The prodigal daughter (particularly after both her children were killed by Archie), she has always been on the warpath with her father. She was also the one who found the body, claiming that Archie died in her arms. She's somehow softened up to him after his death. Is it true remorse or plain guilt?

Ian Beale: Archie has been blackmailing Ian for the set-up affair with Janine. Ian broke into the Vic on the night of the murder to retrieve the laptop which contained the evidence. Did he do anything else when he was there?

Peggy Mitchell: Archie's current legal wife, Peggy has been pushing for the signing of the divorce papers following their breakup. Archie finally signed the papers on the night of the murder, but Peggy never filed it and instead kept referring to Archie as her 'husband' after his death. And we know how she loves the Vic more than anything else in the world...