EastEnders faces a massive schedule shake-up, which will delay Cindy Beale’s dramatic return to the soap
EastEnders are in for a massive shake-up this week at the World Championships in Athletics.
The BBC soap is only airing twice this week, postponing the much-anticipated return of fan favorite Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins).
Viewers will only get a dose of the Albert Square drama on Tuesday and Thursday this week, as the BBC dedicates the soap’s slot to live coverage of the Budapest sporting event.
The BBC will broadcast a double bill of each episode by making them an hour long.
In June, it was revealed that Michelle was returning to the soap with her ex-husband Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and their son Peter (Thomas Law).
Chaos! EastEnders faces huge schedule delaying Cindy Beale’s dramatic return ahead of this week’s episodes
She is back! The residents of Walford are in for quite a shock when they come face to face with the supposedly dead Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins)
Fans were led to believe that the mother died in childbirth following a conspiracy to kill her then-husband, but it turns out that 26 years later, Cindy is alive and well and living a glamorous life in the sun.
At the end of last week’s Thursday episode, the soap aired a shocking new trailer that gave eager fans a glimpse of Cindy’s dramatic return.
In the rousing scenes, Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) looked utterly stunned when Cindy entered the house, despite being presumed dead.
The pair famously despised each other after Cindy cheated on Kathy’s son Ian with David Wickes, and it’s been teased that the pair will face each other again upon Cindy’s return.
And their tense argument was teased when Cindy made her grand entrance, while Kathy shared her shock when she said, “You’re dead!”
Clearly no longer ‘dead’, Cindy is about to bring chaos to the BBC soap when she rejoins Albert Square after claiming she’s always wanted to visit.
In the 30-second trailer, Kathy warned everyone about her plans as her daughter-in-law makes her way through Walford.
She wasn’t the only one to warn the residents against her, as Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) reminds Ian that Cindy has always been deceitful.
It’s unclear who Ian is trying to convince, but at one point he insisted, “It’s different this time!”
Dramatic return: EastEnders has released a new trailer that offers a glimpse of Cindy’s dramatic return after years of presumed dead
‘You are dead!’ In suspenseful scenes, mother-in-law Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) looks utterly bewildered when Cindy enters the house
Wow: Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) reminds Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) that Cindy has always been deceitful. It’s unclear who Ian is trying to convince, but he insists, “It’s different this time!”
Cindy presumably died while in prison for hiring a hit man to kill Ian.
But it seems she’s living a double life in witness protection under the name “Rose Knight.”
In another twist, she was revealed to be the absent wife of Queen Vic’s landlord, George Knight (Colin Salmon), and mother of their two daughters Gina (Francesca Henry) and Anna (Molly Rainford).
Elsewhere in the rousing trailer, George was seen looking at a picture of “Rose” – the name Cindy used when she dated him.
The identity of George Knight’s ex-wife, Queen Vic’s landlord, had been kept under wraps, but a teaser at the end of Wednesday’s episode showed Cindy taking George’s call as she sprawled on a sun lounger in France at the pool was.
Stunned: In the trailer, Anna and Gina (pictured) walk through the market, completely oblivious to the fact that after all this time they are about to come face to face with their mother (pictured with George)
George could be seen pouring himself a brandy and playing Seal’s Kiss From A Rose on the pub’s jukebox before the scene cut to Cindy, confirming weeks of suspicion about Rose’s true identity.
In the trailer, Anna and Gina walk around the market giggling, completely oblivious to the fact that after all this time they come face to face with their mother.
Cindy will have some explaining to do as she returns at the end of the month for a week of episodes that will cover the storyline.
The comeback will provide more drama, which will then start in the fall.