EastEnders airs mysterious return of iconic character in early iPlayer release

EastEnders spoilers follow for Thursday’s episode (5 November), which is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer but hasn’t yet aired on TV.

EastEnders has aired the return of iconic character Janine Butcher, with a big new storyline confirmed to kick off in upcoming episodes.

Janine hasn’t been on screen since her exit at the end of 2022, when she was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for perverting the course of justice. The villain later gave birth to Mick Carter’s baby behind bars.

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It has already been revealed that Janine will return in next week’s episodes, as stunned Linda goes to her for answers about something. However, she makes a surprise appearance in today’s episode, posing some serious questions.

It’s been a frustrating week for Linda, who has been trying to help her son Lee with his excessive drinking. Despite her best efforts, Lee got drunk again and caused a scene by turning up at Nancy’s antenatal class.

Max stepped in to diffuse the tension between the Carters, but when Lee remarked that he’s already got a dad, Max made a harsh comment about presumed dead Mick - leaving Lee furious and Linda conflicted.

With Max told to leave by Linda, in today’s episode Max goes to meet Nancy in the pub. But when he starts badmouthing Lee, Nancy jumps to her brother’s defence and tells Max to stay out of her family’s business.

Nancy and Johnny return home to see Linda and Lee, and Lee apologises to his sister for her actions. The Carters finally come together and decide to get fish and chips as a family.

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Meanwhile, Lauren sees Max in a state in The Vic, and makes her dad a cup of tea back at home. Max explains that he can’t compete with Mick, with Lauren suggesting that Linda will never love him the way she loved her late husband.

Max gets some valuable advice from his daughter, but he ultimately ignores Lauren’s words and refuses to be second best for Linda. As the Carters watch the fireworks in the Square, Max stands nearby and says: "I’m going to make Linda forget that Mick Carter ever existed."

Then, an unexpected scene near the end of the episode gives viewers the first glimpse of Janine (interestingly, still credited as 'Carter'), who is now out of prison.

Related: 10 huge EastEnders spoilers for next week (9 to 12 October)

She sits at a desk in an office opposite a mystery man, who hands her an envelope. Janine looks at the contents and says it's "perfect", and then gives him another envelope in return.

What is Janine plotting, and how will this impact Linda?

Over the summer, Kellie Bright (who plays Linda) announced that she was leaving EastEnders after 13 years on the soap. We don't know exactly when or how Linda will depart, though she did feature in the New Year's Day flashforward episode at the start of this year.

EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.

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