Yahoo News 9 soap characters who returned quicker than expected
There's nothing worse in soap than when your favourite cast member announces that they've decided to bow out for pastures new – or worse, gets axed by a producer who doesn't think they have anything left to offer.
Fortunately though, there's always a chance that a recently-departed soap star will find their way back to home turf much more quickly than anyone expected. Here, we take a look back at some of the most memorable quickfire comebacks.
1. Jean Slater (EastEnders) – 2 months away
EastEnders fans were hit by a double whammy of Slater shocks in early 2010, when it was announced that Stacey and her mum Jean would both be leaving the show. While Lacey Turner was keen to try other projects for a while after six years as Stacey, it seemed that Gillian Wright – who played Jean – was being written out against her will. Boo!
Before Jean had even departed on screen, EastEnders gave fans a very pleasant surprise by announcing a last-minute reprieve, confirming that Gillian had been offered a new contract and her character would live on even after Stacey's departure. Hurrah!
As Jean's exit had already been storylined, viewers still saw her leave in January 2011, but she was back on the Square where she belonged by March. It just shows the soap gods can change their minds, so there's hope yet for that Ben Mitchell petition, guys.
2. Mercedes McQueen (Hollyoaks) – 3 months away
When Jennifer Metcalfe announced that she was quitting Hollyoaks in late 2014, it was no surprise that the popular star might want to try other things. However, fans were soon left outraged as her legendary character Mercedes McQueen was "killed off". Viewers couldn't believe their eyes as she appeared to be stabbed and dragged off by an unknown assailant in November 2014.
Just when we were starting to come to terms with not having minxy Mercedes in our lives anymore (and it was a hard task), she made a shock return in February 2015. Jaw-dropping scenes saw Joe Roscoe pay a visit to France and discover that Mercedes was alive and well after faking her own death.
It turned out that Jennifer Metcalfe's exit announcement had been a total fakeout from producers, who'd always planned to bring her back after a short break. We were too busy celebrating to be too annoyed about how they'd deliberately lied to us all.
3. Theresa McQueen (Hollyoaks) – 7 months away
Fans of Hollyoaks' McQueen clan were devastated in late 2013 as Jorgie Porter announced that she was bowing out as blonde bombshell Theresa. Jorgie's main reason for leaving was that she'd signed up for the All-Star series of Dancing on Ice and wanted to concentrate fully on her show-stopping routines, sacrificing her Hollyoaks career for the sake of progressing far in the competition.
Jorgie may have been hoping for a ten-week stint on the ice, but her dreams were crushed within about two hours as she was harshly voted out in the first week. Not afraid to poke fun at herself, she later told us: "I quit Hollyoaks for Dancing on Ice – oops!"
Suffice to say, nobody was surprised when Theresa's prison sentence for murder, written in to explain her exit, somehow only lasted for seven months.
4. Myra McQueen (Hollyoaks) – 7 months away
What is it with the McQueens and never being able to stay away? Myra has come and gone from the village a few times since 2013, but her most surprising reappearance was in 2015. Right at the start of the year in January, Myra waved goodbye to her family at the end of another guest stint, wanting to be with her daughter Jacqui in Alicante while grieving for the apparent loss of Mercedes.
As Myra then mysteriously didn't bother to return when Mercedes came back from the dead, we started to lose hope that we'd see her again anytime soon – but there was great news in the autumn when Nicole Barber-Lane was finally lured back as a full-time cast member again. We wonder if it was the promise of Myra's hunky toyboy lover Diego that convinced her? Although look how that one turned out...
5. Peter Barlow (Coronation Street) – 8 months away
Here's a sad and rare example of tragic real-life circumstances leading to a character coming back much sooner than anyone expected. Chris Gascoyne left our screens as Peter Barlow in November 2014, wanting to pursue different projects for a while. The popular actor always made it clear that he'd come back eventually, but the sad death of Anne Kirkbride meant that he reappeared within just eight months.
Respectful Chris knew that Peter would have to be part of the on-screen send-off for Anne's iconic character Deirdre Barlow, so he reappeared for two episodes in July 2015 for the tear-jerking storyline. He's been back as a full-time cast member since October 2016, after appearing in theatre shows during his time away.
6. Masood Ahmed (EastEnders) – 1 year away
The recent news that Nitin Ganatra will reprise his role as Masood Ahmed went down a storm with fans, but there was also some surprise that he's coming back so quickly. Masood only left our screens in November 2016, after Nitin decided it was time to take on other jobs.
But it seems that EastEnders' new creative director John Yorke is a big fan of the much-missed postman. Masood's return was one of the first announcements he made after taking on the top job.
"It was a lovely surprise to be asked back to EastEnders so soon after I left. In fact I was bowled over," Nitin said recently. "When I was told Masood has still much to give to the show and is missed by the audience, it was hard to refuse." We could have told you that last year, Nitin.
7. Carla Connor (Coronation Street) – 1 year away
You've got to feel for Carla Connor fans, as it really has been difficult to know whether she's coming or going over the past year or so. First of all Corrie announced she was taking a break, then Alison King clarified that it wasn't a break, and now she's been convinced to come back after just a year away from the role. We can't keep up!
Last year, Alison revealed that she was keen to try other parts, admitting that she needed to "creatively be a few other people now and see my daughter a bit more".
Carla left the Street downtrodden and in shame in May 2016 after a disastrous wedding day with Nick Tilsley, but show bosses have promised that she'll be back to her feisty best when she returns to our screens at Christmas. Quite right too!
8. Warren Fox (Hollyoaks) – 1 year away
You can never keep the sly Fox down for long – even when he's dead. When Jamie Lomas decided it was time to leave Hollyoaks in 2009, show bosses knew they had to come up with a memorable exit storyline and killed him off during a deadly fire at his beloved club, The Loft.
When Hollyoaks was going through a rough patch a year later, producers realised they had to do the unthinkable and bring Warren back from the dead, despite having seemingly closed the door on him for good.
Some clever flashbacks were used to fill in the gaps of how Warren had miraculously survived. Despite the show going to such great effort to explain themselves, he left again in 2011 after just a year back in Chester. Fortunately, Foxy's latest stint has seen him back on our screens for nearly 18 months and he's still going strong.
9. Brax (Home and Away) - 6 months away
Home and Away producers had a bit of an obsession where Steve Peacocke's character Brax was concerned, pretty much handing him every major storyline on a plate during his four-year stint in Summer Bay. With this in mind, it was no huge surprise when they asked (or was that 'begged'?!) him to come back just months after his explosive exit from the show.
Brax faked his own death in big scenes which aired in June 2015, but he was back in Summer Bay in December that year for the dramatic season finale episode. With Steve concentrating on a movie career, he only agreed to a guest stint, but it led to emotional scenes as he featured in a two-hander episode with his old flame Ricky. Even then, the bosses still hadn't got Brax out of their systems, bringing him back one last time in 2016.
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