Soap characters who made shocking returns

Theresa McQueen (Jorgie Porter) - Jorgie Porter decided to quit 'Hollyoaks' when she was cast on 'Dancing on Ice' in 2013. She was booted off the reality show on the first week, which was reportedly a lot sooner than the actress anticipated. The character went to jail, only to return with a baby bump!

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Steph Cunningham (Carley Stenson) -

Carley Stenson played Steph Cunningham in 'Hollyoaks' from 2000 to 2010. Cancer-stricken Cunningham left in a dramatic fashion. She saved her children from a fire at the local Italian restaurant but then went back into the restaurant and let herself burn alive.
She made a brief return in 2011 as a guardian angel trying to stop Doug Carter from committing suicide.

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Freddie Rocoe (Charlie Clapham) - Freddie Roscoe's quick lapse from 'Hollyoaks' was possibly the shortest departure and return ever. In a matter of a day, he died and was then resurrected.

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Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas) - Warren Fox is another character who has come and gone from 'Hollyoaks'. He spent years in prison for the murder of Louise Summers, his ex-fiancee. Fox returned in 2016, under the new name of Mike Jones and with girlfriend Maxine, who was unaware of his dark past.

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Clare Devine (Gemma Bissix) -

When Justin Burton and Warren Fox left 'Hollyoaks' in 2013, the soap saw the return of the villain, Clare Devine. Gemma Bissix has won multiple awards for her portrayal of Clare Devine.

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Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) - Metcalfe is back! The actress will reportedly reprise her role of Mercedes McQueen in 'Hollyoaks' this August.

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Ross Owen (Stuart Manning) - Mercedes McQueen's ex-husband, Ross Owen, is also allegedly returning to the show this summer.

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Sinead O'Connor (Stephanie Davis) - According to Digital Spy, soap star and reality star Stephanie Davis will to return to the borough of 'Hollyoaks' in the autumn, three years after the actress was fired from the show.

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Kim Tate (Claire King) - Claire King joined the cast of 'Emmerdale' in 1989 and left a decade later. Manipulative Kim Tate was a heart-breaker who died in a 1997 car crash, only for the town to later find out it was a look-a-like prostitute Tate had paid to impersonate her. She eventually dashed off for good when suspected of murdering her husband in 1999.

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Joseph Tate (Ned Porteous) - Porteous played the part of a rascal school boy with a tragic family life for a decade until 2005. In 2017, the 'Emmerdale' character returned to the Dales as a revengeful young adult.

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Emmerdale - Debbie Dingle (Charley Webb) - Debbie Dingle had been hiding with her children in France for a year when she made the shock return to 'Emmerdale' in 2017. She had not quite managed to chase away her troubles, so came back to ask her family for help.

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Leyla Harding (Roxy Shahidi) - Harding is currently on maternity leave, but 'Emmerdale' fans are wondering whether the star will be back anytime soon. The way she left things on the show means she may come back with a dramatic story line.

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Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) - He was Grant Mitchell on 'EastEnders' for nine consecutive years until 1999. He returned in 2005 for a few appearances until 2006. A decade later, Grant came back when his mother's cancer returned.

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Steven Beale (Aaron Sidewell) - Steven Beale left Albert Square in 2002 to go find his biological father in New Zealand. Aaron Sidewell took on the role in 2007, only to leave in 2008. He reprised his role in 2016, but left the show for good in 2017.

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Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) - Patsy Palmer played outspoken and feisty Bianca Jackson on 'EastEnders' from 1993 until 1999, when she decided to leave the show. She reprised her role in 2008, as a jobless single mother who lost her children. She got back on her feet with a job and her children back, and married her old flame, Ricky Butcher. But when things went south again, Jackson left Albert Square with her children. Patsy Palmer left 'EastEnders' in 2014.

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Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) - Jessie Wallace's character has come and gone from Albert Square on various occasions. The actress first took on the role in 2000, and left in 2004 for maternity leave. She reprised her role in May 2005 only to leave again in December 2005. She came back in 2010, left in early 2012 but returned again a few months after, left in 2015, came back again, then left again... confusing, we know! After just over two years away, Kat Moon returned to 'EastEnders' in March 2018.

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Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) - Peggy Mitchell was named the UK's top soap matriarch by Inside Soap in 2009. The 'EastEnders' landlady was portrayed by Barbara Windsor from 1994 to 2016 (that's 22 years!). The star told the writers to write her character out of the show in 2010, but ended up coming back for another three years in 2013, before her character's cancer got the best of her.

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Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement) - Pam St Clement left the show in 2012 after more than 25 years on 'EastEnders', when Pat Butcher died of pancreatic cancer. But even St Clement made a shocking return! In 2016, she appeared in dying Peggy Mitchell's dream.

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Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) - Stacey Slater fled Albert Square after murdering her rapist. After six years on the show, Turner left 'EastEnders' in 2010 to "try something new". However, Turner returned to her full-time role of Stacey Slater in 2014.

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Denise Fox (Diane Parish) - A few weeks after viewers had been convinced Denise Fox was dead in 2010, it was revealed that her husband, Lucas Johnson, had kidnapped her and faked her death.

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Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) - Perhaps one of the most jaw-dropping returns on 'EastEnders' was when Sharon Watts reappeared in 2001. Watts was one of the soap's original characters who had left Albert Square in 1995 after her marriage to Grant Mitchell fell apart due to her infidelity with his brother. Letitia Dean left the show again in 2006, only to return in 2012.

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Colin Russell (Michael Cashman) - Michael Cashman's 'EastEnders' character was the first openly gay character in soapland. Russell's hiatus of 27 years ended in 2016, when he popped up to invite his old friend Dot Branning to his wedding.

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Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter) - Angela Wynter officially left 'EastEnders' in 2008, when Yolande Trueman headed to Birmingham for a fresh start. She shocked fans with a brief appearance in 2017, when she was seen confronting Derek Harkinsin and reuniting with ex-husband Patrick Trueman.

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Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) - One of the original 'EastEnders' characters, Kathy the soap in 2000 and viewers were convinced she died in an off-screen car crash in 2006. In 2015 she returned and we learned that she faked her death for insurance money.

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"Dirty" Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) - The Queen Vic lost its first landlord when Dirty Den was shot in 1989. But 15 years later more than 16 million viewers watched his long-awaited homecoming. He was written out again in 2005, when his estranged wife Chrissie Watts killed him with a doorstop.

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Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) - Digital Spy reports that Ruby Allen will return to 'EastEnders' this year after a 12-year-break!

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Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) - Alfie Moon has already popped up on 'EastEnders' a few times since claiming to quit in January 2018. But the chances of him coming back for good are still uncertain.

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Vera Duckworth (Liz Dawn) - Veronica "Vera" Duckworth first appeared on 'Coronation Street' in 1974. Her character died in 2008. Vera Duckworth made a guest appearance in 2010 as a ghost comforting her dying husband. Liz Dawn passed away in 2017 at the age of 77.

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Soap characters who made shocking returns

Including upcoming returns!

30/07/18 | StarsInsider

CELEBRITY Soap stars

You thought they were gone for good, but some characters make a shocking return! Click through this gallery to find out which characters (and the actors who portrayed them) left our favourite soaps only to dramatically return.