Lisa Faulkner made a return to acting in Thursday’s EastEnders and viewers welcomed her back on screen.
The former Holby City and Spooks star arrived in Albert Square as businesswoman Fi Browning whose job is to whip the Queen Vic team into shape.
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She made an impression as soon as she arrived, rescuing Lady Di who was wandering around the streets on her own, and immediately getting on the wrong side of Shirley Carter when she returned the dog.
Shirley then managed to spray Fi with the champagne she was cracking open to celebrate the family’s better fortunes.
The bad impressions didn’t stop there when Fi assumed Shirl was the cleaner and told her she was a “whizz with a mop”, to which a furious Shirley responded:
“I’m Shirley Carter, licensee.” Oops.
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While she may not have impressed the Carters, she certainly made her mark on the viewers.
She may only have had a few scenes so far, but her casting is already a popular one.
It’s only been 8 minutes but I can tell I’m going to love @lisafaulkner1 in @bbceastenders.. welcome to Albert square
— MichaelAnthonyBarron (@Mr_Mike_Ant) April 27, 2017
I am loving Fi Browning already! @lisafaulkner1 Fantastic scenes from you #EastEnders x
— Michelle [PB] ✌ (@mishybabez_) April 27, 2017
really enjoying @lisafaulkner1 in @bbceastenders best character introduction in years
— Mark (@Lad45Mark) April 27, 2017
Since her last major acting role, Lisa has won Celebrity MasterChef and been working as a cook and recipe writer.
Lovely to see @lisafaulkner1 back on our screens in @bbceastenders . Great actress and not a bad chef either! ☺
— Julie EwingTeamSE#68 (@Punkygirl1968) April 27, 2017
It’s good to see @LisaFaulkner1 acting again;). You can definitely be a multi tasker! I wonder if Fi can cook as good as you LOL? x
— Faizal Perager (@man18united) April 27, 2017
#eastenders Lisa Faulkner got to bbc half hour early and ended up in #eastenders …#masterchef is at eight Lisa
— Julian Hilaire (@julianhilaire) April 27, 2017
Someone else couldn’t resist a joke about Lisa’s gruesome Spooks exit which saw her head forced into boiling oil.
So amazing to see @lisafaulkner1 back on TV! Just stay away from the deep fat fryer as we all know that didn’t end well! #eastenders
— UKnowMeAsMark (@ThatManIsBack) April 27, 2017
Lisa responded to all the lovely tweets thanks everybody for their kind words:
Thank you for all the lovely tweets about @bbceastenders ! Really appreciate them all! ☺️
— lisa faulkner (@lisafaulkner1) April 27, 2017
And her partner, MasterChef judge John Torode, also chimed in in response to his girlfriend, telling her she’s “ace” with a love heart. Aw, how sweet is that?
That's because you are ace ❤️ https://t.co/Oo4guLMrUZ
— John Torode (@JohnTorode1) April 27, 2017
Lisa will be back on screen tonight and we’re sure she’ll continue to impress.