SOAP viewers were over the moon when Yolande Trueman made a shocking return to Albert Square.
But what exactly happened to the EastEnders icon played by Angela Wynter? Get the lowdown on her.
Angela Wynter reprised her role as Yolande Trueman
Who is Yolande Trueman in EastEnders?
Yolande Trueman, born Yolande Duke, has been a part of the BBC One soap since her EastEnders debut on September 16, 2003.
The character was initially introduced to viewers as Patrick Trueman’s (Rudolph Walker) holiday romance.
Both had met during Patrick’s visit to his homeland of Trinidad, where they enjoyed a steamy affair, a welcome escape for Yolande who was stuck in a marriage with a strictly religious and uptight Victor Duke.
Yolande had grown tired of her husband’s views and traditional customs but when she became convinced Patrick was only interested in a casual fling, she made arrangements to leave.
Patrick interfered and stopped Yolande from exiting the Square by admitting he’d fallen in love with her.
But Victor put up a fight to get his wife back and when he rocked up Walford himself, he offered Patrick £10,000 to let him leave with Yolande by his side.
The soap stalwart refused but a misunderstanding led Yolande to believe he had accepted Victor’s offer.
Incandescent with rage and hurt, Yolande took the money and left alone – but she returned to Patrick and shared the cash with him.
Loved-up and ready for a fresh start, Yolande and Patrick tied the knot before taking charge of some of the Square’s biggest businesses including the local B&B, Trueman’s Motors and the Minute Mart.
In 2008, after an incident at the Minute Mart resulted in a visit from an inspector, Yolande was offered a job in Birmingham.
She was over the moon and accepted but Patrick was less keen and he informed her he would rather stay in Walford.
Yolande left Albert Square on October 3, 2008, to start afresh in Birmingham, surprising everybody by announcing she’d be heading off alone.
Patrick promised to join once their house was sold but he never followed through with his promise.
Yolande sent him their divorce papers on May 19, 2009.
What happened to Yolande Trueman in EastEnders?
As mentioned above, Yolande left Walford for a new life in Birmingham – but she still made sporadic appearances in the Square.
She first reappeared in March, 2017, when Denise Fox (Diane Parish) visited the head office to explain why she made the Minute Mart look bad in the Walford Gazette.
Three months later, she was seen reminiscing with Patrick but eventually left again before being mentioned in August, 2022.
At the time, Suki spoke to Yolande over the phone to renew the lease for the Minute Mart.
Earlier this year, Patrick agreed to help Denzel Danes (Jaden Ladega) take part in a non-fiction writing contest and had to pretend to be in a relationship with Vi Highway.
This culminated in Patrick realising Yolande was the one for him and he left to win her back but returned to the Square alone.
However, Yolande shocked Patrick on Monday, August 7, 2023, when she came looking for him in Walford.
The feisty and vibrant character had considerably changed as she revealed her current partner Antone threw her out after finding out she’d had a fling with Patrick in Birmingham.
Yolande asked to stay with Patrick but he threw her off by telling her he didn’t think it was a good idea.
The pair couldn’t agree, prompting Yolande to get ready to leave again – before Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) got involved, less than impressed by Patrick’s behaviour.
Can he work on his relationship with Yolande?
EastEnders airs from Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
