EastEnders has welcomed many familiar faces back to Walford in the past year since Ben Wadey took over as executive producer, with more returns still to come. It appears to have become a running theme that Wadey's storylines draw in residents of Walford past. In the past month alone, we have welcomed back a few Mitchells, had a cameo from Whitney Dean, and heard that both Libby Fox and serial killer Gray Atkins are set to make a comeback. We have had cameos from people many characters presumed were dead, short scenes involving characters' voices in AI format, and permanent returns, like those of Zoe Slater and Max Branning. The most recent return is Belinda Owusu as Libby Fox, who will be returning to EastEnders next week. Ahead of her return, here are all the characters that have made a comeback in the Wadey era and those still expected to show up.
Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan)
Zoe Slater made a brief return in the summer and came back permanently in September. When she arrived, 20 years after she was last seen in Walford, it was clear she was hiding something. That was later revealed to be the existence of two children, whom she had abandoned at the hospital after believing the daughter had died. Zoe has since pushed hard to find her children, leading to the arrival of Jasmine Fisher and Josh Goodwin, as well as the return of a few other characters.
Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier)
When Oscar was last on EastEnders, he was a little boy. Now he is a much taller teenager, recast as Pierre Counihan-Moullier. Oscar's return came as a shock to his sister Lauren, who had to pick him up from juvenile detention. Oscar has since found himself in a love triangle between his girlfriend Jasmine and her brother Josh.
Julie Bates (Karen Henthorn)
Chris Clenshaw may have introduced the idea of bringing Nigel's wife Julie back to the Square, but it was under Ben Wadey that she actually made her appearance. Julie was brought to the Square by Jay Brown, who was worried about Nigel and Phil's close relationship as Nigel's health got worse. He called Julie and told her where her husband had rushed off to, bringing Julie back to EastEnders for several months.
Anthony Trueman (Nicholas Bailey)
Anthony Trueman returned to EastEnders in September for his father Patrick's wedding to Yolande. When Anthony stuck around, it was revealed that he was going through a messy divorce and that his ex-wife had accused him of being controlling. Anthony was also revealed to be the father of Zoe's twins, Jasmine and Josh. But his threatening behaviour towards Zoe ultimately led to his death, as Jasmine hit him over the head to save her mum. That was not the end for Anthony though, as his voice made a comeback a few weeks later when his father turned to an AI version of him to cope with his grief.
Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean)
Sharon has returned and left again a couple of times in the Wadey era. The OG Walford woman made an appearance shortly after Zoe Slater's permanent return, as Zoe had claimed that Sharon's dead husband Dennis Rickman was the father of her babies. She left again when it was revealed that Zoe had lied. But Sharon returned for a couple of episodes in the past few weeks, when her sister Vicki Fowler was getting married. Upon her return, she learned that Vicki had an affair with Zack, who happens to be Sharon's brother.
Max Branning (Jake Wood)
Max returned just before Christmas. It was revealed at the time that he had been having a relationship with Zoe Slater before coming back to Walford, but that stopped when Zoe realised he still held a torch for her cousin Stacey. Max's return appears to be permanent, as he has become engaged to Cindy Beale and is the main character in the New Year's episodes.
Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf)
Sam Mitchell made a comeback at the tail end of 2025. She returned amid a breast cancer storyline, as the character found a lump in her breast and was reluctant to have it checked. But, when pushed by her son Ricky, Sam took the plunge and was able to get treated. In turn, she encouraged Denise Fox to get tested when she started experiencing chronic fatigue, which led to Denise's diagnosis with blood cancer.
Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement)
The ghost of Pat returned at Christmas. As part of a heartbreaking episode surrounding Nigel Bates' worsening dementia, Pat and a few other familiar faces were seen in the Queen Vic. Pat died onscreen in 2012 and was last seen as a ghost in 2016, when she helped her friend Peggy Mitchell commit suicide. Ghost Pat turned up again for Nigel, though he did not die until 2026.
Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson)
Like Pat, a ghost version of Barry turned up at Christmas as part of Nigel's hallucinations. Shaun Williamson reprised his role as Barry a full 21 years after he was last on the soap. Back in 2004, Barry had been pushed off a cliff by his wife, Janine Butcher. Janine had married Barry in the hopes of quickly becoming his widow and taking his money, but upon realising he was not dying naturally anytime soon, decided to break up with him. When Barry tried to make her stay with him, she pushed him to his death.
Debbie Bates (Nicola Duffett)
Debbie also returned as a ghost of Christmases past during Nigel's hallucinations. Played by Nicola Duffett, the character was Nigel's first wife and the mother of his stepdaughter Clare. Debbie died in the 1990s, before Nigel met Julie. She featured briefly in the Christmas episodes, as Nigel's dementia caused him to forget that he was married to Julie.
Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman)
The dastardly Chrissie Watts returned at Christmas, where it was revealed that she had orchestrated Zoe's torment alongside Jasmine Fisher. Chrissie, who had been serving time in prison for the murder of her husband Den, still blamed Zoe for her prison stint and used Jasmine to get back at her. She returned again a few weeks later to protest her innocence, when she was accused of murdering Anthony.
Mark Fowler Jr (Stephen Aaron-Sipple)
The actor may be new, but it was a return for Mark Fowler Junior this year. The Mitchell-Fowler boy first reappeared in the show on New Year's Day 2026, when he was seen in the flashforward, but he was simply referred to as 'Man'. Later, it was revealed that this man was in fact Mark. Mark had last been seen in 2016, when he arrived in Walford alongside his mother, Michelle Fowler, and was revealed to be the secret son of Grant Mitchell. Since coming back, Mark has been involved in dodgy dealings and developed feelings for Lauren Branning.
Libby Fox (Belinda Owusu)
Libby first arrived on the Square 20 years ago but left in 2017. Wadey first brought her back for a quick cameo in the New Year's Day Flashforward, in which she had a short scene with Patrick Trueman. She is set to return for a second time during the Wadey era next week. Belinda Owusu has teased that this will lead to tense scenes between Libby and her sister Chelsea, as Libby pushes her to meet with her former grandmother-in-law, Sheila.
Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry)
Nish died on New Year's Day 2025 but Wadey was still able to bring him back for an episode. Navin Chowdhury returned earlier this year as a hallucination of Nish, haunting his son Ravi Gulati after he was drugged. Whilst hallucinating his father, whom Ravi had killed, Ravi ended up beating up his own son. At the time, Ravi had no idea that was who he was hitting, as he thought it was Nish.
Jake Moon (Joel Beckett)
Jake Moon returned for a very short stint earlier this year. He had last been seen driving off into the sunset with Chrissie Watts, after being presumed dead by his family. Needless to say, his return was therefore a bit of a shock to his cousin Alfie. But Jake did not stick around. Thinking that the Slaters were ready to frame Chrissie for Anthony's death, Jake and Chrissie took off in a car.
Clare Bates (Gemma Bissix)
Nigel's stepdaughter Clare also returned under Wadey, though this was in 2026 rather than in 2025 like her mother's appearance. Gemma Bissix returned to the soap twice. The first time, she came back amid Nigel's worsening health and only learned how bad it was upon arriving and seeing him in hospital. The second time was just for a cameo in the episode where Nigel's funeral was held.
Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold)
Lola Pearce made a brief appearance in a video that her daughter Lexi was watching as Nigel neared his death. Lexi had been struggling with Nigel's illness as she was being reminded of the traumatic death of her mum, who died of a brain tumour in 2023. Before she died, she left a series of videos for Lexi, which the teen was watching in March.
Cora Cross (Ann Mitchell)
Cora made a surprise comeback on Mother's Day 2026. She turned up at a Branning family meal and berated Oscar for staying away from her for months. She reminded her grandson that she loved him unconditionally, no matter what he had done. She also showed huge displeasure at seeing Max again, as he had abandoned his grandchild, AJ, with her daughter Tanya.
Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp)
Having previously returned to help his brother Phil get through his depression, Grant Mitchell returned to the Square again as Nigel neared his death. Grant arrived after he was called by his son Mark, who was scared for Phil after Nigel went into a care home. Grant stuck around for the funeral and to help Mark, who had found himself in a dangerous situation after getting involved in a drugs gang. But, as Ross Kemp needed to run off to The Traitors castle, he left again.
Josh Saunders (Jon Lee)
Julie's son Josh made a cameo in the episode following Nigel's funeral. He turned up to support his mum and stepsister Clare through Nigel's death and left that same episode. Josh had last been seen in 1998, when he and his mum moved to Scotland, following fights between his mum and his father, Eliot Saunders. During his first stint, the then teenage Josh dated Clare.
Eddie Knight (Christopher Fairbank)
Eddie returned recently, as he was dying of cancer and did not want to die alone in prison. He manipulated and bribed Nicola Mitchell into convincing his son George into letting him live with them as he lived out his final days. His death came sooner than expected as he was denied water by George and choked to death.
Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty)
Whitney returned for one scene in a recent EastEnders episode to tell Zack off for being such a womaniser. She was last seen in 2024, when she decided to leave Walford with her daughter and her ward. She only came back briefly as Zack was trying to derail Vicki's wedding to Ross Marshall.
Gray Atkins (Toby Alexander-Smith)
Serial killer Gray is expected to return to EastEnders later this year, as Toby Alexander-Smith has reportedly been filming scenes for the show. Gray was last seen being sent to prison for murdering Kush Kazemi, Tina Carter and his first wife Chantelle Atkins. His return is likely to be part of an ongoing storyline involving his son Jordan, who was recently run over by a car and has been in hospital. Jordan is expected to suffer from a series of long-term injuries as a result of the accident, which puts his mother Chelsea in a difficult financial position.
Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner)
Stacey's return from Brazil has not been announced yet, but actress Lacey Turner has said she will be returning to the soap at some point in the future.
