EastEnders fans thrilled as Jessie Wallace finally returns to screens seven months after being suspended from set
EASTENDERS fans were thrilled to see Jessie Wallace finally return to their screens as Kat Slater, seven months after being suspended from set.
Jessie was booted off the soap after allegedly boozing on set in January and her character Kat was written out of any upcoming plots before lockdown halted filming.
Prior to her return, bosses held a crisis meeting and decided she would be axed from EastEnders for two months to “sort herself out”.
And last night Jessie made a triumphant return to the BBC soap following its lockdown break, with her character Kat immediately tearing into Martin Fowler and Ruby Allen together.
The feisty market seller was furious at seeing Martin, who is married to her cousin Stacey Fowler, packing on a PDA with fellow Albert Square resident Ruby Allen.
Stacey was forced to flee Walford after she attacked Phil Mitchell.
Seeing Ruby and Martin walking hand in hand, Kat shouted: "Oi! You'll put the punters off their paninis."
To which an equally mouthy Ruby replied, "It's called romance!".
Fans of the soap were delighted to see her back on their screens, with many flocking to Twitter to share their delight.
One viewer wrote: "@bbceastenders yesssss bringing back Kat, I can’t wait for the return of Kim and Stacey".
"I’m so glad @bbceastenders is back! I’ve missed it so much! Also, it’s great to see @JessieWallaceUK back! The show wouldn’t be the same without the iconic Kat Slater!" wrtote a second.
"Why is Ruby shocked? She’s dating her best friend’s husband ffs. If it wasn’t for social distancing Kat would’ve dragged her by her hair through the whole square,” reasoned another.
And a fourth added: "The one liners from Kat during that argument, I love it! Classic Kat.”
Although EastEnders made its big return to screens last night, it scored an audience of just 3.35m.
The BBC soap was forced to take a three-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic, but filming resumed in June.
Despite a big push, the BBC soap couldn't manage to match its ITV rivals with Emmerdale attracting 4.51m viewers and Coronation Street being watched by 5.31m.
The figures don't include catch-up services and all soaps enjoy a large bump in time shift figures.
The new episodes have been filmed with cast and crew adhering to social distancing guidelines, with the use of screens, body doubles and CGI to film intimate moments.
The viewers who did watch were overjoyed at the soap's return last night.