BIG SURPRISE AHEAD!!! EastEnders boss reveals more surprises to come after legendary returns
There was a lot to celebrate over in Albert Square this weekend, as EastEnders scooped the ‘best soap’ award at the BAFTA’s for the second year on the bounce.
Executive producer, Ben Wadey took the reigns of the show last year following Chris Clenshaw’s super successful stint that took it to new heights, with his first year as the head honcho of BBC’s flagship soap proving a successful one.
Celebrating alongside cast members Diane Parish (Denise Fox), Jessie Wallace (Kat Moon) and Michelle Collins (Cindy Beale), Ben was quizzed on the potential of more Walford legends returning after the show boss has brought back a slew of icons from the past, including Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), Max Branning (Jake Wood) and Grant (Ross Kemp) and Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf).
‘I would keep your eyes peeled in the next few weeks, there might be some surprises on the horizon,’ Ben teased in response.
EastEnders returns under Ben Wadey
Zoe Slater
A comeback 20 years in the making that just about nobody saw coming, the first big return overseen by Ben was Zoe.
Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) determined to track his step-daughter down by hook or by crook, with no idea just how much trouble she’d bring with her, or how dark her life had become.
She was searching desperately for her two children, one she’d left at the hospital and another she’d believed had died at birth, later revealed to be Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) and Josh Goodwin (Joshua Vaughan).
Zoe’s since dealt with a sadistic stalking campaign, a violent clash with baby daddy Anthony Trueman (Nicholas Bailey), and being wrongfully imprisoned for his murder.
Oscar Branning
Ben brought back a very-much grown up Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier) as a troubled anti-hero.
Highly sarcastic, highly sexed and with his dad’s propensity for finding himself out of his depth in relationships, Oscar is currently at the centre of a love triangle with Zoe’s twins, Jasmine and Josh.
Chrissie Watts
The wicked with of Walford, the oh-so-glamorous but oh-so-cruel Chrissie came back twice, her first appearance revealing her as the vicious mastermind behind Zoe’s stalking, having joined forces with her vengeful daughter, Jasmine.
Chrissie later returned again, this time allied with the Slater clan to force a confession from Jasmine, before finally departing with her long-suffering true love, Jake Moon (Joel Beckett).
Max Branning
The Max that returned is, thankfully, the Max that we all know and love – sometimes to hate – as Ben decided to reintroduce his patented blend of shoddy-parenting, skirt-chasing and utter chaos back into the Walford recipe.
Max has instantly become the centre-piece of the show, with a special New Years Day flashforward episode dedicated to where he’ll end up in a years time, which, unsurprisingly, includes having two women on the go and his long-suffering children in jeapordy.
Ben, Sam and Grant Mitchell
Ben – Wadey, that is – made the decision to formally draw a line under the beloved Ballum pairing between Callum Highway (Tony Clay) and Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden), bringing the latter back for a short stint that saw the two separate for good.
Sam returned as part of a breast cancer plot, which has seen the Mitchell princess, infamous for her deeply selfish, manipulative nature evolve into a vulnerable, caring and matriarchal successor to her much-missed mum, Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor).