Albert Square just isn’t quite the same without Grant Mitchell.
Walford’s favourite tough guy hasn’t been in the soap for 10 years and we’ve missed him.
Fans were delighted to see him return from Spain for a brief stint to say his goodbyes to Peggy.
But being the quintessential East End hardman, he’s got unfinished business on the show.
Even though his soujourn on the square was short-lived, it looks like he’s going to be back for more this summer.
Ross Kemp, who plays Mitchell, teased his character’s imminent return and it doesn’t look like we’ll have to wait too long to see his boat race again.
From learning my lines in the sun yesterday to @bbceastenders today. No spoilers but Grant's back…soon #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/BRshzjO7um
— Ross Kemp (@RossKemp) June 6, 2016
Barbara Windsor, who plays Peggy, persuaded Kemp to come back and do some scenes around her terminal cancer storyline.
Kemp, who has been away filming a special 90-minute documentary on ISIS from the frontline in Iraq and Syria set to air this summer, told Radio Times it was strange coming back after a decade away.
He said: “I’ve been doing something very, very different to acting for the last ten years so there was a natural concern I guess .… maybe even a fear of letting people down.
“But with the help of Steve [McFadden], Tish [Dean] and Barbara [Windsor], the main people I worked with when I was back, it was great. We all got on. We have a lot of history together and a lot of respect for each other.
But if anyone thought Grant had matured after his 10-year spell away from the square, Kemp set them straight: “Grant hasn’t changed. There’s lots of suppressed violence and lots of tears.
“Maybe even some unsuppressed violence. There’s lot of raging, crying and slamming of doors … and, of course, lots of emotion.”
You just know there will be fireworks.
