EastEnders boss teases return of legendary Albert Square characters for 40th anniversary
EastEnders have already brought back legendary characters like Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins). But in a recent interview, soap boss Chris Clenshaw has revealed he doesn’t plan on stopping there.
Whilst chatting with The Sun he said: “As we head towards our 40th year, I think the nostalgia element means a lot. Into the autumn and the end of the year, we’ve got quite a few treats coming up.”
When asked if that meant a return for long-departed characters, Chris responded: “Maybe. It all depends on the story and where the characters are. But it has to come from character, it has to come from story.”
He also revealed that Christmas and the anniversary storylines are ‘already in the works’.
EastEnders began on 19 February 1985 and so the 40th anniversary will kick-off in early 2025.
Many faces are expected to return like they have before for special episodes, such as Dot Cotton’s (played by June Brown) funeral in 2022.
Past characters Colin Russell (Lord Michael Cashman), Mary 'The Punk' Smith (Linda Davidson), Lofty Holloway (Tom Watt), and Disa O'Brien (Jan Graveson) all returned.
Meanwhile, fans believe Bonnie Langford (who played Carmel Kazemi) could return to Walford soon. She appeared in the soap back in 2015 and in a devastating set of circumstances, lost both her on-screen sons Kush (Davood Ghadami) and Shakil (Shaheen Jafargholi).
Bonnie has spoken before about a possible return where she said anything can happen and that it’s important in certain storylines to know what happens next.
She also pointed out that Carmel still has family in Albert Square with her grandson, Arthur.
One of EastEnders’ biggest recent returns was Cindy Beale who came back to the soap last year after 25 years away. In 1998, Cindy had been sent to prison, and was killed off-screen.
However, it was revealed Cindy was never really dead and had been moved to witness protection, where she met George Knight (Colin Salmon).
In the shocking return episode, Cindy was seen living in France with Ian as well as Peter Beale (Thomas Law). Jacqueline Jossa (Lauren Branning) also returned for the episode, and later came back to Walford on a permanent basis.
Speaking about her return last year, Michelle said: “The hardest thing was not being able to tell anyone about it. I’ve always had it, over 26 years ‘when are you going back? We love Cindy!’. And now it’s like, I am going back, it’s actually happening, but I couldn’t tell anyone.”
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
