EastEnders legend drops huge hint she’ll return for show’s 40th anniversary six years after quitting Walford

AN EastEnders legend has dropped a huge hint she’ll return for the show’s 40th anniversary - six years after quitting Walford.

The BBC soap first launched in February 1985 and will celebrate 40 years of drama next year.

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EastEnders fans will be hoping show bosses pull out all the stops for the milestone, and that some familiar faces will return for it.

Now actress Bonnie Langford has hinted she could be one of the characters making a comeback for the celebrations.

Bonnie, 59, played Carmel Kazemi from 2015 to 2018, joining just after the show's 30th anniversary.

Carmel lived on Albert Square with her sons Kush and Shakil, but she moved to Dubai after Shakil was stabbed to death in a tragic knife crime storyline.

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Following her departure, older son Kush died in April 2021 after he was pushed in front of an oncoming train by serial killer Gray Atkins.

Despite losing her two sons, Bonnie insists there is still a valid reason why Carmel could return to Walford.

Speaking to , she said: "Anything can happen, and this is the whole beauty of storytelling.

"You can tell whatever story you like, and I would be delighted to, and I've got loads of friends there now as well.

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"I'd love to go and see… I would never put a kibosh on anything, because I think anything is possible.

"It's important, sometimes people want to know what happened - what happened next? So, you never know.

"Carmel has got a grandson, Arthur, still there, and has a lot of history and a lot of friends, but you just don't know, so you never say never!"

More recently, Bonnie has been relishing reviving another role, that of Mel Bush in Doctor Who.

She first played the Time Lord's companion from 1986 to 1987, before reprising the role in 2022.

The fact she's had the chance to play Mel again still astounds her, and is another reason she wouldn't rule out a return as Carmel.

She said: "You know, in light of Doctor Who, you just cannot predict anything.

"Because if someone had said to me 37 years ago, you would be playing this character again, in a different form but, you know, that will be essentially her in 37 years, I would have laughed and gone, 'Are you kidding me? No.' So, anything can happen."

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EastEnders facts and figures

THE beloved British soap has been captivating audiences for decades.

EastEnders follows the lives of the residents of Walford as they navigate love, loss, family drama, and community struggles.

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EastEnders and Doctor Who are both available on BBC iPlayer.