A familiar face to long-time Coronation Street fans is set to appear in Weatherfield soon, as Ryan Thomas returns in the role of Jason Grimshaw.

Ryan appeared on the soap between 2000 and 2016. He was last seen heading for Thailand after being manipulated by the murderous Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre), who was Eileen’s boyfriend at the time.

In the intervening years Ryan has become a reality TV star, winning both Celebrity Big Brother and Dancing On Ice. He also hosts the game show 99 To Beat alongside his brother, Waterloo Road’s Adam Thomas.

Viewers will see Eileen Grimshaw’s jaw drop when her first-born son appears at the wake for her sister Julie. Jason’s appearance in Weatherfield will be a welcome support for Eileen, who has been going through a terrible time lately.

Julie’s brief return to Weatherfield was bitter-sweet as Eileen soon discovered that her sister was dealing with a terminal illness and had only a short time to live.

The sisters made the most of the time they had, but when Julie recently died while on an outing to a lake with Eileen, suspicion soon arose that Eileen might have assisted in Julie’s death by giving her an overdose of pain medication.

So while grieving for her sister, Eileen has also been battling the cloud of suspicion over her, including pointed remarks from the likes of Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford).

As well as this, she hasn’t been getting on well with partner George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley) who’s failed to support her at crucial times recently. Prior to her death, Julie insisted that George wasn’t the man for Eileen and she should find someone who truly made her happy.

In a new spoiler video, people are playing Julie’s dream game at her wake. George tells Eileen that his dream is to marry her. It’s an awkward situation for Eileen who is put on the spot and struggles to know how to answer.

Luckily she doesn’t have to, as Jason walks in at just the right moment.

Reflecting on his decision to return, Ryan Thomas said, ‘When they told me Eileen was leaving, it felt right to be a part of that storyline for her and revisit where it all started. It’s been the perfect storyline and a real memory I can cherish. It felt like the old days, we’ve all been in the canteen, having lunch together and I had real fun.’

He confirmed that it was Sue Cleaver who asked him to be part of her exit storyline, after she made the decision to leave the soap after 25 years playing Eileen.