Soap returns from the dead are a risky business! But EastEnders has chanced it again, bringing none other than Cindy Beale back to life, 25 years after her on-screen death.
She was revealed right at the end of Wednesday night’s episode (June 21) as George Knight’s missing wife, Rose. Lounging by a pool, sipping wine, Cindy – or Rose – or whatever she’s calling herself now – ignored a call from her estranged husband.
Cindy Beale returns to EastEnders
We have A LOT of questions about Cindy’s return – how did she fake her death? Why did she fake her death? What has she been up to all these years? Why didn’t she returned when her daughter was murdered, or when her other daughter got pregnant as a teenager, or when her grandchildren were born?
Most importantly, we’re confused as to why Ian would forgive her and reunite with her when she tried to kill him?!
EastEnders certainly have got a lot of explaining to do. But it’s not like they haven’t done this before. In fact, along with the other soaps, they’ve brought so many people back from the dead, they should be dab hands at it by now.
And what about these soap returns? Some of them are brilliant and stun the viewers, while others fall flat and leave everyone scratching their heads.
There are surprisingly quite a lot of them! We’ll reserve judgement on Cindy until we know more, but here’s our ranking of the soapy resurrections, from worst to best.
10. Dirty Den in EastEnders
Den Watts was murdered by a hitman in 1989, and shocked viewers heard him tumble into the canal. Though his body wasn’t found then, it was later recovered and daughter Sharon identified him.
But Shazza must have made a mistake because Den strolled back into the Square in 2003, with the words: “Hello, Princess.” Den’s resurrection, though, wasn’t a big success and he was murdered again in 2005 by ex-wife Chrissie and buried in the cellar in The Queen Vic.
9. Warren Fox in Hollyoaks
Murderous Warren was always up to no good in Hollyoaks, so it was no surprise when his plan to burn down his club The Loft for the insurance money went wrong. His enemies lined up for revenge, and Warren was left in the burning building – and then squashed by a falling mirror.
BUT! Just a year later, Foxy came back to the village, and a few stints in prison aside, he’s still there!
8. Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street
It’s a bit of a cheat this one, because Vera wasn’t resurrected, but the Corrie icon reappeared on the cobbles when husband Jack was breathing his last. Vera and Jack were reunited and shared a dance in the tear-jerking final scenes for the legendary Coronation Street couple.
7. Pat Butcher in EastEnders
Similarly, Pat Butcher returned to see old frenemy Peggy Mitchell on her deathbed. The old friends were reunited and shared some good memories of their time together.
6. Roxy Mitchell in EastEnders
The fans were devastated when Roxy died, alongside sister Ronnie, so they were thrilled to discover Roxy was returning recently.
Sadly it was only in daughter Amy’s imagination in a therapy session but it was still good to see her!
5. Harold Bishop in Neighbours
Neighbours fans were heartbroken when Harold Bishop was presumed to have drowned on a trip to the coast with wife Madge. He was swept off a rock, leaving only his glasses behind.
Five years later when Madge had moved to Brisbane, Harold returned to Erinsborough. He had amnesia and was calling himself Ted. Madge flew to Erinsborough and Harold’s memory gradually came back. Good old Jelly Belly!
4. Kim Tate in Emmerdale
The queen of manipulation, Kim Tate blamed husband Frank for ruining her life after the death of her lover Dave Glover. Out for revenge, she found a woman who looked like her, and paid her to drive around the village in her car – making sure everyone saw her, of course – and then into the quarry.
The plan was to frame Frank for the fake death. But the scheme went wrong – sort of. The woman got stuck in the car and died, giving Kim’s fake death extra authenticity. Frank was arrested for his wife’s murder but he was released and came home to Emmerdale.
He was in for a shock, though, when Kim strolled back into Home Farm. The pair had a furious row and Frank’s dodgy heart finally gave out. Kim calmly watched him die without calling for help. So cold!
3. Denise Fox in EastEnders
In a brilliant bit of storytelling, Denise Fox was ‘murdered’ by ex-husband Lucas Johnson – except she wasn’t. Buckle up, it’s quite a ride! Denise had reunited with ex Lucas, who had reformed from his drug addicted past to become a pastor. Except he was also a killer having killed his wife Trina. Oops.
Lucas killed Denise’s ex-husband Owen Turner on their wedding day. When the body was found several months later, he confessed all to his new wife. Shocked Denise talked him into going to the police, but he was fibbing and instead he strangled her!
Later, Lucas murdered a prostitute and identified a body as Denise, letting everyone believe Ms Fox had taken her own life. There was even a funeral.
BUT Denise was alive! She was being kept hostage by Lucas and everyone was stunned – and delighted – when it was revealed she wasn’t dead.
2. Bobby Ewing in Dallas
The original if not the best, Bobby Ewing’s resurrection started the whole ‘back from the dead’ thing in soap and became a legend in the process! Bobby was knocked down and killed by Katherine Wentworth, who was obsessed with him though he didn’t return her feelings.
But the following season, Bobby’s wife Pam woke up to hear the shower running. Bobby was alive! And everything that had happened the previous season was explained away as being a (very long!) dream while Pam slept.
1. Kathy Beale in EastEnders
Kathy Beale died off-screen in 2006, having moved to South Africa and remarried. But in 2015 there was a surprise in store for EastEnders fans. As we all sat glued to our screens during the live episode that revealed who killed Lucy Beale, there was another twist in the tale!
Phil Mitchell set off from Walford to a secret meeting. When Kathy Beale got out of the taxi and revealed herself the fans went wild! The secret was kept from just about everyone, with only a few key members of cast and crew being in on it!
Read more: Complete EastEnders cast list for 2023 right here!
EastEnders usually airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One
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