Linda Carter has been having a tough time on EastEnders, and during the 40th anniversary she made her return to rehab after she was admitted for her alcohol problem. Upon her return, the Queen Vic was destroyed in a devastating explosion, which has now left her out of a job.

As her mum Elaine and friend Kim told her to get back in the dating game, Linda refused and instead, tried to set up her son Johnny with The Albert barman Felix. However, when things backfired and Johnny told her to stay out of his life, Linda had a change of heart and went to Kim for help in dating.

During their heart to heart, Linda told Kim that she was “honestly not sure if she’ll ever find anyone who holds a candle to the person she lost,” referring to her ex-husband Mick. Mick, who was played by Danny Dyer, exited the soap in 2022 after a dramatic car chase which also involved Linda and Janine Butcher. After jumping in the sea to save them, Mick was presumed d.e.a.d, however his body was never found.

Now, as Linda’s dating storyline plays out, fans have noticed she still has Janine’s number saved on her phone. As she went to ring her son Johnny, fans noticed she still had Janine’s name sitting in the contacts.

Fans noticed Linda still had Janine’s contact in her phone

Posting a screenshot of the moment on X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan penned: “Deeply obsessed with Linda still having Janine in her contacts list #EastEnders.”

A second penned: “Obsessed with linda still having janine’s number #eastenders.”

Another wrote: “It’s totally bonkers at first thought, but surely she must need to keep in contact given Janine had Mick’s kid and thus a half sibling to their kids [… not that she’s out of prison yet / with a phone, lol].”

Mick d.i.e.d saving pregnant Janine and Linda in 2022

Janine is currently in prison for perverting the cause of justice, and gave birth to Mick’s son while in prison. Could the reference during Linda’s dating storyline hint towards a return for Mick? Could Kim be successful, only for Mick to return when Linda’s finally moved on?

Danny Dyer has recently fuelled rumours of a return to the soap, as he revealed he’d be keen to go back to the soap during the 40th anniversary. Speaking on The Late Late Show, the actor said: “I do get a lot of people asking if I’d go back and I’ll be honest, I would have gone back if they’d have asked me, but they didn’t ask me. I think they’ve got the hump with me now, I don’t know why!”

He continued: “I think, because I’m not coming back for 40th I think I missed the boat – it needs to be something special, I think, for Mick to come back.” Could Linda ‘moving on’ be the special reason?