With the usual outrageous drama kicking off in Albert Square, it's no surprise to EastEnders fans how shocking the latest stories can be when they hit the headlines.
However, it's never easy when we have to say goodbye to some of our favourite EastEnders characters — and 2022 was a year full of emotional, dramatic and unexpected farewells.
Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ), Dana Monroe (Barbara Smith), Peter Beale (Dayle Hudson), Jada Lennox (Kelsey Calladine-Smith), Mick Carter (Danny Dyer), Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), Frankie Lewis (Rose Ayling-Ellis) and many more all left the soap last year.
We also welcomed back a number of familiar faces to the Square, from Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) to Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) and Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters).
However, as we prepare to say another heartbreaking goodbye to more characters in 2023, let's take a look at who is returning and the newcomers set to call Walford their home...
Who is leaving EastEnders in 2023?
This year, we faced the devastating death of fan-favourite Lola Pearce-Brown (Danielle Harold) who tragically lost her life to a terminal brain tumour.
Meanwhile, after a dramatic time on the Square, Ricky Butcher and Scarlett Butcher (Tabitha Byron) left to start a new life in Germany. But who else is set to leave Walford this year?
Here is our roundup of each Walford resident saying farewell to the Square...
Lola Pearce-Brown
Lola Pearce-Brown, who bravely fought for her life ever since her heartbreaking brain tumour diagnosis, passed away at home on Wednesday, May 31.
The young mum's health had rapidly deteriorated and her family were given the devastating news that she had just hours left and that they must say their final goodbyes.
Lola's loved ones bid an emotional farewell to her one last time as her husband Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) and daughter Lexi Pearce (Isabella Brown) stayed by her side during her final moments.
As the clock ticked into the early hours of the morning, Lola sadly slipped away as the sunrise poured in through the window, with Lexi cuddling her in bed and Jay by her side.
Ricky Butcher
Sid Owen made his dramatic comeback as the iconic Ricky Butcher last year, 10 years since leaving the Square for Germany.
Ricky was called to Walford by Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) who asked him to return to help his sister, Janine who was in a meltdown over her fiancé Mick Carter's relationship with his estranged wife Linda Carter (Kellie Bright).
His short stint was part of Janine's explosive Christmas exit as he called the police on her when she tried to flee Walford with her daughter Scarlett once her lies and secrets were exposed.
Since returning to the Square, Ricky rekindled his romance with ex-wife Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) and when it was time for him to return to Germany, he proposed to her and asked her to move there with him.
Sam initially agreed, but turned down his offer after finding out that her 12-year-old son Ricky Jr (Frankie Day) got his friend Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) pregnant and wanted to be there for her family.
A disappointed Ricky accepted her decision and he went back to Germany, taking his niece Scarlett with him after he won custody.
Scarlett Butcher
Scarlett Butcher — the daughter of troublesome Janine, had a turbulent time in the Square thanks to her mum's schemes.
At Christmas, Scarlett exposed all of Janine's evil lies and secrets to the Carter family, which led to a huge showdown between Janine, Mick and Linda.
After the presumed death of her step-dad Mick and Janine sent to prison for her crimes, Scarlett moved to Germany with her uncle Ricky to start a new life away from Walford.
Ash Panesar
Ash Panesar (Gurlaine Kaur Garcha) left the soap after four years. She confirmed her exit on social media by sharing a montage of pictures with her co-stars.
The doctor first arrived in Walford in 2019 and had been at the forefront of many storylines, mostly involving her troubled family, her sexuality and her difficult relationship with her mother, Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal).
She was also a victim of a homophobic attack and temporarily left the Square in 2022 after Suki refused to accept her sexuality.
Ash's final exit was sealed in March after she was offered her dream job in Canada, but her father Nish (Navin Chowdhry) wouldn't let his daughter go without a fight as he demanded that Suki convince Ash to turn it down.
Desperate for her daughter to escape Nish's controlling ways, Suki made sure that she took the job by goading her and telling her that she wouldn't be able to cope. She knew that Ash would want to prove her wrong and go against her mother's words, so accepted the offer.
After an emotional heart-to-heart with Suki, Ash encouraged Nish to give Suki more responsibility in the businesses. She then bid an emotional farewell to her family, before leaving the Square in a taxi.
Ryan Malloy
After returning to the Square for a brief stint, Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott) left Walford as quickly as he made his shocking comeback.
Following the news that his 12 year old daughter, Lily was pregnant, Ryan came back to the Square to rekindle his relationship with his estranged daughter.
Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) was far from happy to see her former lover back in town and it wasn't long before the pair were at each other's throats, especially after it was revealed that Ryan wanted to take Lily away to live with him and his wife in Wakefield.
Lily initially took him up on his offer but she soon sent him packing after she overheard him viciously insulting her mum. A furious Lily swooped in to defend Stacey and wanted nothing to do with her dad.
Ryan left Walford, before telling Stacey that he would be cutting down his child support payments.
Emma Harding
Newcomer Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit) is Lola's long-lost mother who was tracked down by Lola's grandfather Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) in January.
She's managed to rekindle her relationship with her daughter, but some fans believed that she had a sinister ulterior motive to her arrival.
Actress Patsy confirmed that she had left the soap on Instagram, where she revealed that her severe chest infection was on the mend and thanked the cast and crew of EastEnders for her time on the soap.
Emma left the Square on Wednesday, March 30 after learning that Lola only had six months to live. Unable to cope with losing her daughter, she decided that she wasn't strong enough to stick around and told Lola that she was moving to the US for her job.
A furious Lola was left heartbroken that her mum was abandoning her again.
Jed
Jed (Bradley Jaden) was introduced to the soap as Sonia's lodger after she was hit with a mammoth inheritance tax bill when she inherited Dot Cotton's (June Brown) property.
She was worried that she would have to sell the house in order to pay it off, but Sonia's lover Reiss (Jonny Freeman) suggested the idea that she find a lodger to help with her financial issues.
This eventually led to Jed's arrival, but he was soon evicted by a jealous Reiss after Sonia couldn't cope with his living lifestyle and failed to pay the rent. Sonia's now-boyfriend Reiss has since moved in.
Christmas 2023 flashforward episode — who is dead?
EastEnders revealed that someone will be murdered this Christmas in a special flashforward episode which saw six Walford women — Stacey, Suki, Linda, Sharon, Denise and Kathy all standing over an unknown corpse at the Vic.
In a surprise twist that EastEnders has never done before, the episode flash forwarded to Christmas 2023 where a wedding was taking place at the Vic. It was soon revealed that Sharon was the bride as she was wearing a blood splattered wedding dress.
Stacey could be seen with blood on her hands, Denise was holding a broken bottle of champagne and a man was seen lying dead on the floor of the pub. Sharon checked the man's pulse and confirmed the nightmare news that he was dead.
There were some clues scattered around the flashforward scene to give us hints to who has been killed, with a picture of Lola on the bar, a knight in armour and some amber cufflinks the deceased male was wearing.
But who is the Walford male who has met his grisly demise? Could it be Suki's husband, Nish? Sharon's former lovers Phil or Keanu? Evil rapist Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) after he was mentioned by Linda and Kathy, or could it even be someone we've not met yet?
Vi Highway
Vi Highway (Gwen Taylor) was introduced in 2021 as the grandmother of Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ) and Callum Highway (Tony Clay).
She arrived in Walford for Callum's wedding to Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) but her steely attitude and quick-witted remarks did not go down well with a lot of the residents.
Vi left the Square in March to become a live-in nanny for Stuart and Rainie Highway (Tanya Franks) after they were struggling with their baby Roland.
Sam Mitchell
After her explosive return last year, fans were devastated to hear that soap legend Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) decided to leave the Square again after being offered a job by her ex-fiancé Don to run a hotel in Spain.
Despite the protests from her brother Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and her ex lover Jack Branning (Scott Maslen), Sam accepted the job so that she could help financially support her son Ricky Jr's (Frankie Day) new baby and help the family in the long run.
After refusing to turn up to her leaving drinks, Ricky had a change of her heart and said goodbye to his mum as she promised to keep in touch from Spain.
"I love you, mum," Ricky said, before the pair hugged and Sam left in a taxi.
It has since been confirmed that Sam's exit is only temporary and she will return later this year.
Finlay Baker
Finlay Baker (Ashley Byam) made an unexpected exit from the Square after being blackmailed by the Panesar family following Vinny Panesar's failed revenge plot against Eve Unwin (Heather Peace).
After overhearing at the Vic that Eve would be driving Finlay's sports car to Brighton, Vinny broke into the garage and cut the brakes.
Luckily for Eve, Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) put a stop to Vinny's murderous scheme, but Finlay soon rumbled Vinny's antics when he found his necklace at the scene of the crime.
Finlay threatened to go to the police and after discovering that Eve was the intended target, he set out to tell her everything.
However, Suki and Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) put an abrupt end to his plan and threatened to hurt his brother, Felix Baker (Matthew Morrison) if he didn't leave Walford for good.
Finlay demanded money from Suki in exchange for leaving the Square and threatened to expose their secret to Eve. A spooked Suki gave in to his demands and handed over the cash.
He then had a final drink at the Vic with his family and bid an emotional farewell to Walford as he drove away in his late dad's old car.
Who is returning to EastEnders in 2023?
While we say goodbye to some beloved residents, we'll also be welcoming back some of our favorite EastEnders characters...
Martin Fowler
Martin Fowler (James Bye) returned to the Square on Wednesday March 15 after working abroad in Turkey for a few weeks following the discovery that his adoptive daughter Lily was pregnant.
His return saw him flush with cash for a change and after finding out about the rift between Stacey and Kat (Jessie Wallace), he advised her that being stubborn about Kat's offer only left the whole family worse off.
Stacey listened to Martin's wise words and agreed to apologise to Kat. But in true Slater style instead of putting their feud to bed, the ladies ended up in another slanging match!
Shirley Carter
Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) temporarily left Walford after her son Mick's devastating Christmas exit.
Heartbroken Shirley was grieving the presumed death of Mick after he got lost at sea and even lashed out at Mick's new step daughter Scarlett due to Janine's evil actions.
After making up with Scarlett, Shirley bid an emotional farewell to her best friend Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) as she told her that the Square no longer felt like her home.
Shirley then closed the pub and left with bulldog Lady Di to stay with her daughter Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley) as she needed to get away from Walford.
It has not yet been confirmed when Shirley will be returning to the soap, but we'll potentially see her back at the Vic later this year.
Duncan Boyd
EastEnders character Duncan Boyd (David Gillespie) returned to the Square almost 34 years since he first stepped foot in Walford.
With Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) having lived in Albert Square for more than three decades, it's no surprise that a face from her past could make an unexpected appearance at any moment — and this time it was in the form of vicar Duncan.
He returned to unknowingly officiate baby Albie’s christening and Duncan was stunned when he arrived at the Vic and quickly realised that his former lover, Sharon, was the little boy’s mother.
Soon enough, his and Sharon's past romantic history came to light, who were even engaged to be married many years ago.
Jo Cotton
Although she was only in one episode, fans fell in love with Rocky Cotton's feisty long-lost wife Jo Cotton (Vicki Michelle) who unexpectedly showed up at Kathy Beale's (Gillian Taylforth) door earlier this year.
Jo then made another explosive comeback to Walford as she returned to stir up more trouble for her ex-husband and his fiancé Kathy.
Rocky was stunned when his estranged wife Jo made an unwelcome return to the Square to taunt him with their divorce papers, but he was left rattled when Jo shared a message from 'his boy' Jasper.
After mistakenly believing that he had a secret son, Kathy confronted Rocky over Jasper and she was stunned to learn that Jasper was actually his pet parrot.
Realising how much Jasper meant to him, Kathy bought the parrot off Jo and she left shortly after becoming £600 richer.
Lisa Fowler
EastEnders legend Lisa Fowler (Lucy Benjamin) is returning to Walford after four years — and she's not alone.
Lisa was last seen in the Square four years ago after some shocking bombshells were revealed in the Mitchell family and she fled to Portugal with her daughter Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper) and granddaughter Peggy Taylor, who is the daughter of Keanu.
But in an explosive twist, troubled Lisa returns with granddaughter Peggy in tow, leaving Keanu and his fiancé Sharon stunned.
We'll have to wait and see on why Lisa is bringing Peggy back to Walford and where Louise is now, although big trouble has been promised for her return.
Lucy said of reprising her role: "I can't wait to make my return as Lisa Fowler again after leaving for Spain with Louise and granddaughter Peggy, back in 2019. No doubt, in true Lisa fashion, she will bring with her plenty of drama for many of the characters on the Square, which is why playing her is such a delight."
Cindy Beale
After weeks of speculation, the bombshell was revealed that Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) is also Rose Knight, the mysterious ex-wife of Queen Vic landlord George Knight and mum to his daughters, Gina and Anna, who had mysteriously vanished nine years ago.
The legendary character was killed off 25 years ago after supposedly dying during childbirth in prison. However Cindy's true whereabouts were exposed in a huge twist.
We discovered that Cindy had been living under the name Rose Knight after going into witness protection back in 1998 when she gave the police information on her prison cellmate.
Since starting a new life as Rose, Cindy ended up in Marbella and met George where the pair got married and had two daughters, Gina and Anna.
But nine years ago, Cindy/Rose left her family once again, and is now living in France with her ex-husband Ian Beale and selling baguettes on a market stall.
Now, she's set to cause more havoc in the Square when she makes her explosive comeback and hopefully we'll discover why she abandoned her husband and their two daughters all them years ago.
Ian Beale
Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) will also be returning to Walford with his ex-wife Cindy following the bombshell discovery that they were living in France together.
He left the Square in 2021 after his wife Sharon tried to poison him in revenge for the death of her teenage son Denny. He made a brief return in December 2022 for Dot Cotton's funeral.
With many enemies made throughout his 30 years living on the Square, Ian's return is sure to be an unwelcome one by many of the residents.
Peter Beale
Following the revelation that Peter Beale was also living with his parents Ian and Cindy in France, he is set to make his way back to Walford with Ian and Cindy later this summer as Thomas Law reprises the role.
Thomas played the role of Peter between 2006 and 2010, appearing before Ben Hardy (2013 – 2015) and most recently Dayle Hudson who played the role between 2020 and 2022.
Speaking of his return, Thomas said: “Over the years, I had hoped for a return to the Square although I never thought it would happen so it’s an absolute delight to be back in Walford as Peter Beale. It’s been great to see familiar and new faces, and I can’t wait to explore the character again in the wake of Cindy’s return — it’s an exciting time to return!"
Yolande Trueman
It’s been almost six years since she last stepped foot in Albert Square but Yolande Trueman is on her way back to Walford, as Angela Wynter has reprised her role. For more info head to ➡️ https://t.co/J7gyTu6j2B #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/UxoODsbZTLJune 30, 2023
It has been revealed that Angela Wynter will return to EastEnders as Patrick Trueman's (Rudolph Walker) ex-wife, Yolande Trueman.
Yolande first arrived on the Square in 2003 as Patrick’s love interest before later becoming his wife. During her five years in Albert Square, Yolande became a firm fan favourite and wherever she went drama followed including an ongoing feud with love rival Pat Evans.
However, when Yolande was offered a job at Minute Mart HQ, she couldn't turn down the opportunity and she packed her bags and left the Square, leaving Patrick behind. The pair later divorced in 2009.
Having briefly reprised her role in 2017, Yolande is now heading back to Walford to reunite with her ex-husband Patrick who went searching for her at the start of the year.
Angela Wynter said on returning to the soap: “Yolande is back in The Square! I have been really looking forward to playing her again and have had a beautiful time on set so far. I can’t thank the cast and crew enough for the warm welcome back!”
Who is arriving to EastEnders in 2023?
In exciting news, we'll also be welcoming some new faces on the Square — but how will they get on amongst the drama of Walford?
The Knight family
With a new family comes new drama, as the Knights are set to take over the Vic as landlady Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) struggles to manage the boozer since losing the love of her life Mick Carter (Danny Dyer).
While Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and the Panesars have been battling to share the iconic pub with Linda, they're clueless to the fact that Linda is secretly teaming up with her mother, Elaine Peacock, who will be bringing her new lover, George Knight, and his two daughters, Gina and Anna, to the Square.
Colin Salmon will be taking on the role of George Knight, "a tough-talking and fiercely protective doting dad who heads up the Knight family," while Harriet Thorpe will be playing Elaine, Linda’s "larger than life" mother, who is no stranger to running a pub.
Francesca Henry, joins the soap as Gina, while her sister Anna, will be played by Strictly Come Dancing 2022 runner-up Molly Rainford. The new family also bring with them their beloved Chihuahua, Tyson.
Speaking of the Knight family, Chris Clenshaw said: “The arrival of the Knights brings a new dawn to Albert Square. George Knight is a charming rogue and an old-school gent who dotes on his two daughters, Gina and Anna. George will take up residence in The Queen Vic when he joins his beloved Elaine, a powerhouse of a land-lady who knows just how to have fun.
"The couple will be joined by feisty, determined and demanding Gina, who is as sharp and cool as cut diamonds but with a temper that blazes like fire, whereas younger sister, Anna is fun, loveable, and big-hearted, but don’t underestimate her. George, Gina and Anna have been bound together for years and arriving in Walford is the fresh-start the Knights are looking for.
"We’re thrilled to welcome this hugely talented group of actors; Colin Salmon, Harriet Thorpe, Francesca Henry and Molly Rainford who will be immediately thrown into the heart of the Square, and we can’t wait for everyone to meet them.”
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
