EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders boss Kate Oates has confirmed that a past character will be returning this Christmas as part of a huge, long-running story.
Kate joined forces with EastEnders' executive producer Jon Sen to tease the show's upcoming return and reveal what fans can look forward to over the coming months.
Speaking to Digital Spy and other media at a virtual press conference earlier this week, Kate insisted that the plans for the festive season were very much underway.
"Very much so!" she said. "We have the second draft of the script stage for this Christmas. We have an exciting return planned and it's going to be part of a huge long-running story that we're going to be playing at Christmas.
"Jon is so organised, we kind of know what we are doing the Christmas after as well. We have really long arcs and that's when you know you're in a good place when making a soap.
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"So not only are we very much on the way to completion for this Christmas, we know where we are going with the following one. EastEnders Christmas is very much on the agenda."
Explaining the decision to drop to 20-minute episodes when EastEnders resumes, Kate said: "We wanted the ambition and quality of the storytelling to be as high as possible.
"To achieve that and everything Jon has talked about, it takes longer – we could make half-hour episodes that aren't as rich and no special touches or we can deliver a better show at this time in this timeframe.
"The channel was so supportive, they are totally behind the show and it was the right call. As things change we will change the approach, but for now it's best for the show, for us and the safety of our team which is the most important thing."
EastEnders returns on Monday, September 7 at 8pm on BBC One.
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