‘EastEnders’ served up the first of its big Christmas surprises this evening (24 December), as a familiar face made a shock return to the Square.
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Viewers were nearly as astonished as Ronnie Mitchell to discover that her ex-husband Jack Branning was back in Walford, as the Christmas Eve instalment of the BBC soap reached its climax.
Jack Branning made a surprise return to 'EastEnders'
The character was seen surprising his ex-wife at the end of the episode, as she celebrated foiling Vincent Hubbard’s plan to kill her cousin Phil Mitchell.
"Merry Christmas, Ronnie," he said, before the show's famous duff-duffs kicked in.
But Ronnie’s happiness could be short lived, as Jack’s return is bound to spell trouble for the Mitchell sister...
Jack's return is bound to mean trouble for Ronnie
It is not currently known what has brought Jack back to Walford, but actor Scott Maslen’s return was kept top secret.
Bosses have promised that there are plenty more surprises to come over the festive period, details of which haven’t been released like usual spoilers.
There is set to be a shock death over the Christmas period, as several key storylines come to a head, including Bobby Beale’s increasingly bad behaviour, the feud between the Mitchells and the Hubbards, as well as the love square between Stacey Branning and Martin Fowler, and Kush and Shabnam Kazemi.
And Jack isn’t the only old face popping up over Christmas either, as Walford favourites Kat and Alfie Moon (Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie) will be paying a visit, setting up the plot which will see them head to Ireland as part of their own spin-off series.
‘EastEnders’ continues on Christmas Day at 8.45pm on BBC One.