And while some viewers may find Gillian Taylforth’s return as Kathy Beale in EastEnders a little far-fetched, the actress and the soap’s executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins have explained there was some very real inspiration.
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“It was about going back to our history, bringing back a Beale matriarch who we all want to see”, he said.
And a newly released teaser trailer from the BBC – which you can see below – hints at some of the most major upcoming drama, including how Phil Mitchell forces poor Jane Beale to confess that her adopted son Bobby killed Lucy.
Kathy had been presumed dead for a decade following her auto crash in South Africa, but she made a brief reappearance in February this year for EastEnders’ 30th anniversary.
However, it’s later revealed she faked her death as part of an insurance scam and has now returned from the dead.
The 60-year-old actress said keeping her return a secret had been hard.
The storyline was engineered so her and Phil Mitchell’s (Steve McFadden) son Ben (Harry Reid) could return to his dad in the UK. I had to tell my partner, David, because I was disappearing at 11 o’clock at night and he might have wondered where I was going!
Speaking at an EastEnders press event, Treadwell-Collins said: “The reaction we are holding off is from Ian and Ben”. That’s big, heavy stuff. I’m a dinosaur! When my return first went out, I got something from one of the guys who played one of my sons on Hollyoaks – he texted me saying ‘Mum, Twitter’s gone into meltdown!’ So I went ‘Oh my god is that good?!’ Fortunately it meant the fans are really enjoying it, so I’m pleased.
And the team eventually decided to base it on the true story of “Canoe Man” John Darwin and his wife Anne, who famously attempted a scam to get his life insurance – but got caught out.
Will he manage to persuade Kathy stay or will she flee?
Ian even flew over there to identify and bury her body.
Kathy Sullivan (formerly Beale) is pictured in a light aircraft with her husband, Gavin, about to make a desperate flight out of England.
“EastEnders” boss Dominic Treadwell-Collins has also defended the storyline, insisting a lot of research went into making it realistic.
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The Huffington Post states that he added, “He makes Archie Mitchell look like a Care Bear…”
