STACEY Slater’s return to Walford will see a dramatic showdown with Ruby Allen in EastEnders.
Stacey has been absent from the Square for months while actress Lacey Turner was on maternity leave but now she’s back with a bang.
And she may not be delighted with the news her estranged husband Martin is living with her best friend Ruby in lockdown bliss.
Executive producer Jon Sen teased: “The big one is Stacey – we have been waiting for her to come back.
“We have really missed her energy in the Slaters so the first two weeks we tease a mystery – where is she?
“Are all of these things on the going on the Square to do with her then she’s back with a bang.
“There are some fantastic Stacey scenes – especially when she finds out about Martin and Ruby.”
EastEnders was last on air on June 16 before filming was halted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
New episodes will be 20 minutes or slightly longer, rather than 30, when it returns four nights a week.
BBC Studios head of continuing drama Kate Oates said: “We wanted the ambition of the storytelling and the quality of the storytelling to be as high as possible, so to achieve that and to achieve everything Jon has talked about and to make it look brilliant it takes longer so we really did have a judgment call to make.
“We could make half-hour episodes that just don’t look as good, that aren’t as rich, that don’t have all these special touches to them, or we could talk to the channel and say we believe we can deliver a better show at this time, in this timeframe, and they were so supportive.”
Oates also teased forthcoming storylines, saying that, following Ian Beale and Sharon Mitchell’s takeover of The Vic, there is the “unexploded bomb” of Ian’s role in Denny Rickman’s death which Sharon is in the dark about.
A big storyline for the Carters is also ahead, which Oates said will expand more on Mick’s anxiety as well as storylines reflecting how tough life has been for some characters during lockdown.
Oates also said there are some “refreshing partnerships” in store which will show off “different character dynamics”.
EastEnders returns to BBC One on September 7 at 8pm.
