A QUARTER of a century after she was bumped off by scriptwriters, EastEnders’ Cindy Beale is being brought back from the dead.
But it won’t be the first time a seemingly deceased TV favourite makes a dramatic return.
Cindy Beale is following a soap tradition returning from the dead in EastEnders
A funeral was screened on Emmerdale for Kim Tate, who was later discovered alive
In 1996, it turned out Emmerdale’s Kim Tate hadn’t died – it was just a lookalike.
In soapland anything is possible, as Sarah Arnold shows with these other spectacular – and often implausible – returns.
BOBBY EWING – Dallas
Bobby Ewing’s comeback from the dead on Dallas is the most famous of all time
HUNK Bobby’s 1984 demise in a shower preceded soapland’s most iconic return of all time.
Months later, broken hearts were mended – and a ratings slump ended – as Patrick Duffy, now 74, returned.
It had all been just a dream by fiancée Pamela, of course.
MERCEDES McQUEEN – Hollyoaks
Mercedes McQueen was found ‘living it up’ on Hollyoaks when she was feared dead
THE glamourpuss was stabbed in a frenzied knife attack in November 2014 and her body discarded.
But she returned three months later, when it emerged that Mercedes – played by Jennifer Metcalfe, 39 – had actually been “living it up in the French Riviera”.
KATHY BEALE – EastEnders
Kathy Beale is a back as a regular on EastEnders after making her return in 2015
CAFE owner Kathy, played by Gillian Taylforth, 67, was thought to have died in a crash in 2001 after starting a new life in South Africa.
But it was revealed to be an insurance scam when she came back from the dead in 2015 – and she’s stayed ever since.
As ex Phil would say: “Leave it out!”
HAROLD BISHOP – Neighbours
Harold Bishop came back from the dead twice on Aussie soap Neighbours
AUSSIE stalwart Harold was swept out to sea in 1991.
But five years later he was found suffering from amnesia and living as a tuba player called Ted.
Harold, played by Ian Smith, 84, came back from death a second time, being resuscitated after a heart attack in 2008.
PAT PHELAN – Corrie
Pat Phelan received a second lease of life on Coronation Street
SCHEMING builder turned murderer Pat lost his grip on a rope and plunged to an apparent watery end at a port in 2018.
But Pat, played by Connor McIntyre, 62, returned later that year after he’d fled to Ireland.
We have to assume he didn’t swim there.
ROXY MITCHELL – EastEnders
Roxy Mitchell recently made a surprise return and actor Rita Simons wants more
SHE was a stalwart of the Square until 2017 when she drowned alongside her sister Ronnie.
Roxy, played by Rita Simons, 46, made a surprise return this year as a figment of her daughter Amy’s imagination during a family therapy session.
What would Freud have made of that?
PAT BUTCHER – EastEnders
Pat Butcher made a re-appearance as a ghost on EastEnders
WITH most of the soap characters that return from the other side, it turns out they were not dead after all.
But Pat Butcher, played by Pam St Clement, 81, came back as a fag-chuffing ghost in a storyline that saw Albert Square legend Peggy Mitchell meet her maker in 2016.
‘NASTY’ NICK COTTON – EastEnders
‘Nasty’ Nick Cotton was found very much alive after faking his own death
THE residents of Walford are like cats with nine lives.
Long-suffering mum Dot was told that Nick, played by John Altman, 71, died in 2014.
But by the end of that year, the baddie – who had been in and out of the show since 1985 – was back, saying he had faked it.
