TV tough guy Ross Kemp is to rejoin EastEnders, the Mirror can reveal.
The Albert Square favourite - who plays hardman Grant Mitchell - is returning to the crisis-hit BBC soap after six years in exile on ITV. Beeb executives are finalising a hefty new contract with Ross, 40, and will make an official announcement shortly.
An insider said: "We're just tidying up the fine print on the deal, but we're good to go.
"Ross created one of the most powerful television characters ever and viewers have been wanting him back since the day he left. We're delighted and very excited."
Ross will be reunited in the autumn with his screen brother Phil, actor Steve McFadden - who appeared back in the Square last night for the first time in 18 months.
Their TV mum Peggy - Barbara Windsor, 67 - will rejoin the cast in August.
BBC chiefs predict the Mitchells' reunion will revive the ailing soap's fortunes.
"The Mitchell brothers go together like bacon and eggs," added the insider. "To have them back again is pure TV gold."
Ross quit EastEnders in 1999 after 10 years and defected to ITV in a "golden handcuffs" deal worth more than £1million.
He exited Walford in dramatic style - surviving a high-speed car crash into the river Thames.
Ross hinted last year that the lure of Albert Square was still a temptation. "You never say never in the job I do because you never know what's around the corner."