With the usual outrageous drama kicking off in Albert Square, it's no surprise to EastEnders fans how shocking the latest stories can be when they hit the headlines.
However, it's never easy when we have to say goodbye to some of our favourite EastEnders characters — and 2024 was a year full of emotional, dramatic and unexpected farewells.
However, as we prepare to say another heartbreaking goodbye to more characters in 2025, let's take a look at who is returning and the newcomers set to call Walford their home...
Who has left EastEnders in 2025?
We have already seen some dramatic exits from Walford this year... here is a roundup of who has departed the Square.
Nish Panesar
Nish's reign of terror finally came to a chilling end on New Year's Day 2025 when he turned Suki and Eve's wedding into a bloodbath. After hitting Denise Fox over the head with a champagne bottle, poisoning Eve and pulling Suki over a hotel balcony into the partying guests below, all four characters were feared dead. However, it was Nish who met his demise, finally freeing Suki and Eve from his elaborate revenge plans.
Who left EastEnders in 2024?
Here is our roundup of each Walford resident that said farewell to the Square last year...
Bobby Beale
EastEnders star Clay Milner Russell, who was the fifth actor to play killer Bobby Beale quit the soap after five years to pursue other roles.
An EastEnders spokesperson confirmed the news in a statement: “We can confirm that Clay will be leaving EastEnders later on this year, and we wish him the best for the future.”
Bobby returned to Walford in 2019 after a stint in a young offenders institute after he killed his sister Lucy Beale and changed his life around by converting to Islam. He also suffered a breakdown and nearly died in the café fire that was caused by his grandfather Rocky Cotton.
Monique and Xavier Knight
Junior Knight's wife Monique (Busayo Ige) and their son Xavier also arrived in the Square and moved into the Vic.
However, Monique is oblivious to the fact that Junior cheated on her with Bianca Jackson and his dad's ex Cindy Beale, but he soon confessed to his infidelity leaving Monique and Xavier to leave the Square once again.
Whitney Dean
Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) bid an emotional farewell to Walford after her fiancé Zack Hudson cheated on her with best friend Lauren Branning.
Following the betrayal, Whitney decided to leave the Square for a new life in Wakefield with Britney and baby Dolly.
Zack begged her not to go and even suggested that he go with them, but when Whitney told him that Bianca was leaving too, Zack revealed that she also knew that he and Lauren slept together and didn’t tell Whitney.
A devastated Whitney stopped Bianca from coming with her to Wakefield and told Lauren that their friendship was over. After saying her final goodbyes, Whitney, Britney and Dolly got on the bus, while Bianca, Zack and Lauren watched from the street with a solemn look.
Nadine Keller
Escort Nadine stunned Jay when she returned to Walford and announced she was pregnant with his baby, but was secretly faking the pregnancy to con him for money.
Jay's adopted daughter Lexi Pearce was convinced Nadine was up to no good and enlisted the help of her great-great-grandfather, Stevie Mitchell. Eventually, a guilt-ridden Nadine left Walford once again in the back of cab, asking Stevie to make sure someone looked after Jay.
Jade Masood
Jade Masood (Elizabeth Green) came back to stay with her dad Dean Wicks in January after having a lung transplant. Following the surgery, Jade was having problems with her mum Shabnam Masood (Rakhee Thakrar), so returned to the Square to spend some time with Dean.
But when cystic fibrosis sufferer Jade told Dean that she was moving to Pakistan with her mum, Dean conjured up a truly sick plan to keep her in the country.
When Jade contracted a chest infection, Dean started opening Jade's pill capsules and emptying the contents down the sink. He continued to cruelly tamper with Jade's antibiotics, wanting to keep her ill to stop her from going to live in Pakistan and stay with him.
Dean is currently in prison after being framed for Keanu Taylor's murder by The Six and also for neglecting Jade.
Jade disowned her dad and told him exactly what she thought of him. Later on, she said goodbye to her friends in the Square and left to meet Shabnam in Pakistan.
Eddie Knight
George's adoptive father Eddie Knight (Christopher Fairbank) was sent to prison for the racially aggravated murder of George's biological father, Henry Kofi Asare.
Eddie committed the heinous crime after his wife Gloria didn't want to let go of George when Henry wanted to take him back and begged Eddie to do whatever it took to keep George.
After his sentencing, Eddie banned George from Gloria's funeral and held the send-off without telling him.
Gloria Knight
Gloria Knight (Elizabeth Counsell) passed away in emotional scenes with her adopted son George Knight by her side after suffering a heart attack in court.
Her husband Eddie (Christopher Fairbank) had been standing trial for the racially aggravated murder of George's biological father, Henry Kofi Asare and was sentenced to prison shortly before she died.
George shared some moving final moments with Gloria in the hospital and forgave her for everything.
Ben Mitchell
Max Bowden left his role as Ben Mitchell after five years in March 2024.
Max has played Ben, who is the son of Walford hardman Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), since 2019 and Ben's exit storyline was set in motion when he was arrested for a previous crime in America during his husband Callum Highway's (Tony Clay) surprise birthday party at the Vic.
Although he protested his innocence, Ben was accused of committing credit card fraud while he was in the US getting treatment options for terminally ill Lola Pearce-Brown (Danielle Harold).
Even though the evidence was stacked against him, Ben was hoping for bail and conspired with his dad Phil to help him flee the country with his daughter Lexi Pearce (Isabella Brown). However, his plan was exposed by the family and in the end Ben was sent to prison in the US for the foreseeable.
Lucas Johnson
Don Gilet returned as Lucas Johnson for a brief stint on the soap after his spiralling ex-wife Denise Fox visited him in prison seeking forgiveness for her involvement in the murder of Keanu Taylor.
Karen Taylor
Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) made a dramatic return to Walford just weeks after her explosive exit last year, determined to find out what happened to her son Keanu Taylor on Christmas Day.
Keanu was murdered on Christmas Day 2023 after Linda Carter stabbed him to death to stop him from killing her best friend Sharon Watts.
The Six conspired to hide Keanu's body in the burned-out café and blamed him for Nish Panesar's attack, claiming that he did a runner after holding them hostage.
Karen was on the warpath to get answers about her son's disappearance and in a bid to stop Karen's trouble-making, she persuaded Phil Mitchell to take back The Arches from Sharon to settle Karen's debt and get her out of Walford for good.
But just as she agreed to leave again, she overheard Kathy and Stacey Slater talking and knew they were hiding something.
She then confronted The Six one by one, before coming to the conclusion that Sharon and Phil were responsible for Keanu's disappearance.
After giving everyone both barrels, Karen told daughter Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) that she knew Phil and Sharon had done something to Keanu. But Bernie insisted that Keanu would be fine, and insisted she stop chasing after him after everything he had done.
Bernie encouraged her mum to go back to Spain and Karen bid an emotional farewell, giving her some money before leaving in a taxi. Karen has since been back for Keanu's funeral, but decided not to stick around in Walford.
Sam Mitchell
After making a dramatic return three months ago following her run-in with drug dealer Camillo in Spain, Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) made an explosive exit from the Square once again.
Phil Mitchell and his sister Sam were at odds after she threatened to tell his wife Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) all about his affair with Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit) if he didn't hand over the £33,000 she inherited from Aunt Sal (Anna Karen).
Phil eventually handed over the cash on the condition that she left the Square. However, when Phil harshly insulted her, she finally had enough of her brother's bullying and decided to exact her revenge anyway.
Sam got up on stage at Phil and Kat's joint karaoke birthday party to announce in front of everyone that Phil slept with Lola's mum Emma.
This was enough for the whole of Walford to turn their backs on her, so she left after giving her son Ricky Jr (Frankie Day) some money from Peggy's and told Zack Hudson (James Farrar) that she would be going to Canada.
Could Sam make another troublesome return at some point?
Who returned to EastEnders in 2024?
Some familiar faces finally made their long-awaited comeback to EastEnders...
Nigel Bates
Paul Bradley returned as Nigel Bates in December 2024 to reconnect with old pal Phil Mitchell. Nigel was last seen in April 1998 when he and his adopted daughter Clare left to start a new life in Scotland with his partner Julie Haye and her son Josh. However, just why has Nigel returned to Albert Square alone? So far we know Nigel is hiding something, but we are yet to find out what!
Chrissie Watts
Fans' pleas were answered and Tracy Ann Oberman made her long-awaited Walford comeback as the legendary Chrissie Watts in autumn 2024.
Chrissie has always been a huge favourite with EastEnders fans and it has been almost 20 years since she was on our screens, with her last appearance airing on December 9, 2005, when she was sent to prison for Den Watts’ murder.
Long-time viewers will remember that Chrissie, Sam Mitchell and Zoe Slater famously buried Den's body under the floor of the barrel store in the Vic, where he stayed for months while Chrissie acted like nothing had happened to Den's daughter Sharon Watts and his son Dennis Rickman.
Chrissie's return saw her clash with Sharon Watts in jail, before she was released and went off into the sunset with Jake Moon.
Jane Beale
Jane's return to EastEnders was a well-kept secret, and fans are thrilled to have her back on their screens. And with Jane's return came the confrontation we've all been waiting for as Cindy Beale came face to face with Jane - the woman who covered up her daughter's murder.
After years of waiting for viewers, Laurie Brett says she was nervous ahead of her short stint back in Walford: "I was quite nervous on the first day, thinking, ‘Gosh, do I remember how to be Jane?’ But even though I was nervous, I’d had quite a lot of time to think about it, having had the scripts for a while, so it was just about getting back into the swing of it.
"When I walked on set and saw Adam (Woodyatt) and Michelle (Collins), and also our director Karl Neilson, who directed the live episode in 2015, plus loads of the crew that I knew, all my worries melted away. There were so many familiar faces who were so welcoming. So, about half an hour in, it was like I’d never been away."
Mo Harris
EastEnders legend Mo Harris (Laila Morse) returned to Walford with her great-grandson Freddie Slater.
Mo left the Square in 2021 to go on a cruise with on/off love interest turned fiancé, Fat Elvis and her latest guest appearance in 2022 saw her and Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) living in a caravan together during Jean's mental health battle, as well as attending Kat and Phil Mitchell's (Steve McFadden) failed first wedding.
Laila Morse said on returning to EastEnders: “I’m delighted to be coming home to Walford to bring Mo back to life. EastEnders holds such a special place in my heart, and I can’t wait to be reunited with my on screen family, who are like my family, as well as old and new faces.”
Freddie Slater
Bobby Brazier has become a huge fan-favourite playing teen Freddie Slater, who is the son of Little Mo Slater (Kacey Ainsworth).
The 20-year-old went on a break from EastEnders as he took time out of his busy filming schedule to compete in Strictly Come Dancing 2023 and reached the final.
Now, he's returned with his great-grandmother Mo Harris after his exit storyline saw his character Freddie attack stalker Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis) in a fit of rage after he walked in on the twisted teacher trying to rape his cousin Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner).
Kim Fox and Howie Danes
Beloved couple Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) and Howie Danes (Delroy Atkinson) left the Square after they were both offered jobs on a cruise for three months.
Howie landed a job as an entertainment manager on the cruise, meanwhile Kim was offered the role of social media manager.
Their departures were only temporary though and both characters are now back on the Square, having returned to find Denzel causing all sorts of trouble by throwing parties and spending all hours in the gym.
Martin Fowler
After Martin Fowler (James Bye) learned that his sister Michelle Fowler (Jenna Russell) was having an operation, he decided to fly to Australia to join her and Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) so he could support them in the aftermath of Michelle's surgery.
In real life, James was taking a break from the soap to star as the Prince in the pantomime Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre but he is now back and supporting his best friend Zack through his break up with Whitney.
Johnny Carter
Johnny Carter returned to the Square last year after five years away, having been recast for the third time with Charlie Suff taking over the role from Ted Reilly.
Prior to this, Johnny was played by Sam Strike when the character first arrived in 2013 alongside his mum, Linda Carter and dad, Mick Carter.
Johnny was last seen in Walford in 2018 after getting a training contract to become a solicitor in Manchester.
The solicitor returned from Manchester, only to find a disheveled Linda in a heap on the floor drunk - and things haven really changed, with Johnny looking after his mum ever since he came back.
Lucas Johnson
Infamous EastEnders villain Lucas Johnson (Don Gilet) made a shock return to the soap after three years when his ex-wife Denise Fox (Diane Parish) paid him an unexpected visit in prison.
Denise had been spiralling following the murder of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) on Christmas Day. Ever since she dropped her 'D' necklace in Keanu's grave underneath the floor of the café, Denise had been losing her grip on reality more and more each day, resulting in a full breakdown.
Lauren Branning
EastEnders icon Jacqueline Jossa made an explosive return to Walford on New Year's Day 2024 as Lauren Branning.
Lauren was at a New Year party in Paris with her son Louie and cousin Penny Branning. Back in the Square, Peter texted Lauren "Happy New Year" while he admitted to mum Cindy he was really missing them.
Fast-forward a year and Lauren was at the centre of Cindy's Christmas 2024 humiliation where her affair with Junior Knight was exposed.
Penny Branning
Penny Branning returned to Walford alongside her cousin Lauren Branning on New Year's Day 2024.
Jack Branning’s (Scott Maslen) daughter Penny is back in the Square after 15 years of living in France with her mum, Selina (Daisy Beaumont) with the character having been recast, with rising star Kitty Castledine taking on the character.
Speaking of joining the show, Kitty said: “I didn’t expect to start my EastEnders journey so soon out of drama school – I can’t believe it! My whole family are EastEnders fans, and I remember sitting on my Nanny Kay’s lap to tune in, and now they get to watch me in Albert Square."
Who joined EastEnders in 2024?
We introduced some new characters in 2024 who now call Walford home...
New Mitchells - Teddy, Harry and Barney
Billy's world was turned upside down when he discovered that his dad, Stevie, had been hiding a secret family. Stevie's son Teddy Mitchell arrived alongside his sons Harry and Barney in search of his dad, but he soon got more than he bargained for when he came face to face with Billy, Phil and the rest of the Mitchell clan.
Actor Roland Manookian, best known for his roles in The Football Factory, RocknRolla and The Rise of the Footsoldier franchise, plays Teddy. Elijah Holloway is Harry, and Lewis Bridgeman plays his younger brother, Barney.
Junior Knight
Micah Balfour joined the cast of EastEnders as George Knight's son, Junior Knight.
George got the shock of his life as he came face-to-face with his estranged son, Junior during an illegal boxing match - but since then the father and son duo have been working hard to mend their relationship, only for it to end up in the gutter again when it turned out Junior had been sleeping with George's ex-wife, Cindy, on Christmas Day 2024.
Who left EastEnders in 2023?
In 2023, we faced the devastating death of fan-favourite Lola Pearce-Brown who tragically lost her life to a terminal brain tumour.
Meanwhile, after a dramatic time on the Square, Ricky Butcher and Scarlett Butcher (Tabitha Byron) left to start a new life in Germany. But who else left the Square?
Rocky Cotton
EastEnders star Brian Conley quit the soap as Rocky Cotton after two years.
Cheeky chappie Tom 'Rocky' Cotton first showed up in the Square in 2021, claiming to be Sonia Fowler's (Natalie Cassidy) estranged father Terry Cant.
Despite his evil scheme to con Sonia out of Dot Cotton's (June Brown) inheritance money, he managed to forge meaningful relationships with the Walford residents. He married iconic matriarch Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) before his life on the Square came crashing down when he was exposed for setting fire to Kathy's beloved cafe as part of an insurance scam.
He desperately tried to make amends with Kathy, but after he got caught up in The Six murder drama on Christmas Day, Kathy was forced to get rid of Rocky by getting him arrested for the cafe fire.
Keanu Taylor
Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) was murdered on Christmas Day 2023 after Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) stabbed him to death to stop him from killing her best friend Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).
After Denise Fox (Diane Parish) smashed Nish Panesar over the head with a champagne bottle to protect his wife Suki, Keanu walked in on The Six standing over Nish's lifeless body.
He accused his ex-fiancé Sharon of killing him and attempted to take their son Albie Watts. As Sharon stood in his way, he saw red when she threatened to get him sent to prison for kidnapping Albie and insisted that the tot wasn't his son.
In a fit of rage, Keanu strangled Sharon and wouldn't let go as the women tried to pull him off her. Desperate to stop Keanu, Linda grabbed a carving fork and plunged it into Keanu's back, killing him.
Meanwhile, Suki managed to resuscitate Nish and he was put in an induced coma.
Karen Taylor
Karen Taylor left Walford alongside Mitch Baker and their kids in December.
The whole of the Square turned against Karen after Phil Mitchell exposed her for staging Albie's kidnapping and stealing his 50 grand ransom money.
Karen took the blame for Albie's kidnap to protect her son Keanu Taylor, who was actually the mastermind behind the whole scheme and forced her into helping him.
Mitch was disgusted that Keanu let Karen take the fall and with Phil out for blood, Karen had no choice but to run away from Walford before she could be sent to prison.
Although Mitch and her devastated daughter Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) tried to talk her out of leaving, Karen's mind was made up and Bernie refused to go with her.
Mitch and Karen rekindled their romance and he decided to stick by Karen as Bailey (Kara-Leah Fernandes), Mack (Isaac Lemonius) and Mia (Mahalia Malcolm) all climbed into Mitch’s van.
As they drove out of the Square for a final time, they spoke about their future and came up with the idea to go to Spain.
Mitch Baker
Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths) made an unexpected exit as he decided to do a runner with Karen.
After failing to convince Karen to stay, he headed to the Vic for a pint with his friends Rocky Cotton and Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman), who reminded him of his love for Karen and made him come to a touching realisation.
The cab driver rushed back home, where he professed his love to Karen and the pair kissed, much to the delight of Bailey, who added that "it was about time."
Mitch changed his mind and decided to go with Karen and the kids, vowing to be there to support them.
Mitch then sped out of Walford with his family in the van, bidding farewell to the East End for good.
Lola Pearce-Brown
Lola Pearce-Brown, who bravely fought for her life ever since her heartbreaking brain tumour diagnosis, passed away at home on Wednesday, May 31.
The young mum's health had rapidly deteriorated and her family were given the devastating news that she had just hours left and that they must say their final goodbyes.
Lola's loved ones bid an emotional farewell to her one last time as her husband Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) and daughter Lexi Pearce (Isabella Brown) stayed by her side during her final moments.
As the clock ticked into the early hours of the morning, Lola sadly slipped away as the sunrise poured in through the window, with Lexi cuddling her in bed and Jay by her side.
Emma Harding
Emma is Lola's long-lost mother who was tracked down by Lola's grandfather Billy Mitchell in January. She managed to rekindle her relationship with her daughter, but soon abandoned her once again after learning that terminally ill Lola only had six months to live.
Unable to cope with losing Lola, she decided that she wasn't strong enough to stick around and told her that she was moving to the US for her job.
Emma made a brief appearance at Lola's emotional funeral and swiftly left the church before anyone could see her.
Ricky Butcher
Sid Owen made his dramatic comeback as the iconic Ricky Butcher in 2023, 10 years since leaving the Square for Germany.
Ricky was called to Walford by Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) who asked him to return to help his sister, Janine who was in a meltdown over her fiancé Mick Carter's relationship with his estranged wife Linda Carter (Kellie Bright).
Since returning to the Square, Ricky rekindled his romance with ex-wife Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) and when it was time for him to return to Germany, he proposed to her and asked her to move there with him.
Sam initially agreed, but turned down his offer after finding out that her 12-year-old son Ricky Jr (Frankie Day) got his friend Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) pregnant and wanted to be there for her family.
A disappointed Ricky accepted her decision and he went back to Germany, taking his niece Scarlett with him after he won custody.
Scarlett Butcher
Scarlett Butcher — the daughter of troublesome Janine, had a turbulent time in the Square thanks to her mum's schemes.
At Christmas, Scarlett exposed all of Janine's evil lies and secrets to the Carter family, which led to a huge showdown between Janine, Mick and Linda.
After the presumed death of her step-dad Mick and Janine sent to prison for her crimes, Scarlett moved to Germany with her uncle Ricky to start a new life away from Walford.
Ash Panesar
Ash Panesar (Gurlaine Kaur Garcha) left the soap after four years. She confirmed her exit on social media by sharing a montage of pictures with her co-stars.
The doctor first arrived in Walford in 2019 and had been at the forefront of many storylines, mostly involving her troubled family, her sexuality and her difficult relationship with her mother, Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal).
She was also a victim of a homophobic attack and temporarily left the Square in 2022 after Suki refused to accept her sexuality.
Ash's final exit was sealed in March after she was offered her dream job in Canada, but her father Nish (Navin Chowdhry) wouldn't let his daughter go without a fight as he demanded that Suki convince Ash to turn it down.
Desperate for her daughter to escape Nish's controlling ways, Suki made sure that she took the job by goading her and telling her that she wouldn't be able to cope. She knew that Ash would want to prove her wrong and go against her mother's words, so accepted the offer.
After an emotional heart-to-heart with Suki, Ash encouraged Nish to give Suki more responsibility in the businesses. She then bid an emotional farewell to her family, before leaving the Square in a taxi.
Lisa Fowler
EastEnders legend Lisa Fowler (Lucy Benjamin) returned to Walford after four years with her granddaughter Peggy Taylor in tow.
Lisa claimed that she was Peggy's legal guardian due to Louise Mitchell's (Tilly Keeper) "uncontrollable behaviour" and blackmailed Peggy's dad, Keanu for large amounts of money so that he could spend time with his daughter.
Lisa's lies soon began to unravel as it was revealed that she had been lying about Louise and was using Keanu's money to fund a gambling addiction. Not only that, but she had also taken Peggy without Louise's permission.
Desperate to get custody of his daughter, Keanu hid their passports in a bid to stop them from leaving the country. Uncovering Keanu's sabotage, Sharon and Martin Fowler gave the passports back to Lisa and she went back to Portugal, leaving Keanu devastated.
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
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