EastEnders viewers could soon get a blast from the past as Michelle Fowler returns to Albert Square… with a new face.
After 21 years of trying to woo Susan Tully back to EastEnders, producers have reportedly now opted to recast the role of Michelle Fowler with Olivier Award-winning stage star Jenna Russell stepping in.
According to The Sun, Michelle's big comeback could air as early as in Saturday night's Christmas Eve episode (December 24).
Jenna Russell accepts her Olivier Award
© GETTY IMAGES DAVE M. BENETT
(Jenna Russell accepts her Olivier Award)
An insider described the recasting of EastEnders original Michelle as a curveball designed to prove that the soap "still keeps viewers on the edge of their seats".
An EastEnders spokesperson would only say: "Viewers can expect a lot of surprises this Christmas, but we don't comment on future storylines as this will spoil the enjoyment."
Jenna Russell is a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company and has a been fixture of both stage and the small screen for over 30 years, having memorably appeared in Doctor Who, Minder and most recently played Sister Morgan in Call the Midwife.
Her Michelle Fowler predecessor Susan Tully originated the role in 1985, and the character spent the next decade making one awful decision after another until she set off for America.
In her decade on the soap, Michelle caused troubled for practically everyone by having a fling with best friend Sharon's father Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) and later feuding (and hooking up) with Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp).
Since leaving Albert Square in 1995, Susan Tully retired from acting to become a successful director of TV hits Lark Rise to Candleford, The Musketeers and even EastEnders.
Earlier this year, outgoing EastEnders producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins revealed that he'd most wanted to bring back Michelle Fowler during his time on the soap.
"There's one character that I wanted to get back and that was Michelle," he said. "And I did try. Sue Tully and I emailed back and forth, but she's a director now.
"I briefly considered a recast, but it just didn't sit right. And you never know, maybe someone else can woo Sue Tully to come back."
It looks like current producer Sean O'Connor felt differently about a recast…
EastEnders' Christmas Eve special airs on Saturday (December 24) at 8.25pm on BBC One.
Digital Spy
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