EastEnders spoilers follow.
Charlie Brooks has spoken about reuniting with longtime co-star Sid Owen in EastEnders.
Owen returned this week in the lead-up to Brooks's departure from the soap, with his character Ricky Butcher checking on sister Janine after an alarming warning from Sonia Fowler.
Speaking about the reunion, Brooks revealed that there are some "practical" advantages to working with Owen once again.
"Sid lives down the road for me, so we are sharing lifts," she said. "So on the practical level, it's fantastic! Sid's been there from day one for me since I came into EastEnders, so we've got a really close friendship. It's really nice to have him back for me and especially for the audience.
"I think it's really nice to see old faces and the familiarity and safety that comes with that. It's lovely for viewers, for Janine and for me as well."
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The actress has hinted we may see "a little bit" of the rockier side of the siblings' relationship since Janine always manages to make life more difficult.
"He's basically the only family she's got. There's Diane and Claire, who she can't rely on for one reason or another now," she said. "Janine probably made a ton of drama when she went there after the death of her last husband. So, I think it's nice for Janine to have someone there who's got her back, but whether he will always have her back, we'll have to see."
Viewers will see a softer side of Janine next week when she arranges a lunch so her brother and future husband Mick Carter can get to know each other better.
"I think it's about creating a family, isn't it? Janine wants to make her stamp with her family on the relationship," Brooks said.
"Mick has got so much family on his side, so I think it's important to Janine that he and Ricky connect. And also, I think the dark side of Janine wants to use Ricky now and manipulate him into keeping an eye on Mick and not letting him go off on his own."
Mick manages to charm his soon-to-be in-law enough during their lunch so Ricky tries to convince Janine she has nothing worry about with Linda Carter.
"I think she so desperately wants to believe that nothing's going on and that Mick adores her, and she says that quite openly," Brooks revealed. "But I think you just know, don't you? It's deep-rooted. That is her fear and her panic, especially the confirmation from Sonia when she's seen Mick and Linda together, and it looked very intimate.
"That put the fear of God in her. Her behaviour is warranted, I'd say, in many ways. Had Linda and Mick not gotten close again and had they not really been still in love, then she would have nothing to worry about. Janine would have been happy and secure in the relationship. But they have, and there is a closeness, and that's very evident, and that is why Janine behaves the way she does."
Speaking about the root of Janine's jealousy, Brooks added: "Janine can be open and vulnerable with him, and she can tell him about her past, but she does not have any past with him, and that's something that Linda has. The memories and the closeness are something she will never have."
Both Janine and Ricky are two of numerous characters who will also be present for a tribute to the legendary soap star June Brown and her character Dot Branning next week.
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.
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