There’s a revolving door on Albert Square at the moment as returning exec John Yorke continues to make a number of changes.
He’s axed a few characters including the Branning sisters, Ben Mitchell and – announced yesterday – Johnny Carter.
He’s also been working hard to get some old faces to return. First it was confirmed Tamzin Outhwaite will be back and now The Sun have reported he’s landed the comeback of another fan favourite.
Although it has yet to be confirmed by the show, the tabloid have revealed that Jessie Wallace, who plays Kat Moon (nee Slater), will be on the soap once again.
Jessie, 46, left the show in 2016 along with onscreen husband Alfie, played by Shane Richie, as she searched for a long lost son in Ireland.
The pair then starred in spin-off show Redwater, which ended with a cliffhanger over whether both were still alive after Alfie had a risky op on his brain tumour and Kat was involved in a boat crash.
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Show insiders say getting Jessie to agree to return has been one of John’s top priorities since he was made the boss again last month.
He introduced the Slater family when he was last in charge in 2000 but now Stacey, played by Lacey Turner, is the only one left.
An insider told The Sun: “John loves the Slaters. A lot of people thought he might bring some of them back.
“He believes they’re long-standing favourites who should be at the heart of the show and thinks Kat’s return will be a hit.
“Nobody knew if she or Alfie would return so it looked like they had been killed. This will surprise fans.”
During her time on the soap in 2000-05 and then 2010-16, Jessie had some of the most memorable storylines as promiscuous Kat.
It was revealed her sister Zoe was actually her daughter in one of the soaps most famous scenes where, during an argument, Zoe shouted that she can’t tell her what to do as, “you ain’t my mother!” to which she screamed back, “yes, I am!”
In another gripping storyline, she thought her son Tommy had suffered cot death, only to later learn that he was alive and well and being raised across the Square by Ronnie Mitchell, who had swapped him for her own dead baby.
Over the years Kat has also lost and found love numerous times with Alfie, given birth to twins, run the Queen Vic and survived a house fire.
Could her return mean more of the Slater family come back? Her father Charlie won’t return as he was killed off in 2016 but the door could be opened to her sisters Lynne, Little Mo and Belinda, or even gran Big Mo or daughter Zoe.
And what about Alfie and more of the Moon clan?
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Shane Richie told The Sun that if he was offered the chance to return, he would take it in a heartbeat.
He said: “I loved being there. I’ve got a lot of friends that are still there. If I got the phone call to come back, I’d love the idea.”
So do we!