Janine Butcher is returning to EastEnders

After seven years away from Walford, Charlie Brooks is returning to EastEnders full-time as Janine Butcher. According to The Sun, Charlie is set to start filming in the next few weeks, which suggests that viewers could see Janine return to screens in early summer. And she’s sure to cause plenty of trouble!

Janine Butcher EastEnders return 2021

Teasing Janine’s return to the Square, an insider source revealed to The Sun:

Bosses have a huge story planned for Charlie’s return. They are keeping tight-lipped about whether Janine will come back as a reformed character after all the chaos she has caused in the past. She certainly has a lot of history in Albert Square so whether she will be welcomed back with open arms or not remains to be seen.

Promising plenty of drama, they continued:

The potential for Janine is huge. She has enemies all around the Square who she’d gladly go to war with, and she’s shown before she isn’t afraid to kill to get her way. It could have huge repercussions for some of the big names in EastEnders. She’s not going to come back and play nice.

Who is Janine Butcher?

Janine is the daughter of Frank Butcher and the stepdaughter of Pat Butcher, who are both now deceased. She has been married four times and killed both her first husband - Barry Evans - and her fourth husband - Michael Moon. She also attempted to kill her third husband Ryan Molloy after discovering he was having an affair with Stacey Slater and her rich, elderly second husband died of a heart attack at their wedding.

Janine was last seen on-screen back in 2014. After getting away with the murder of Michael Moon, she was seen boarding a train to join her daughter Scarlett and older sister Diane in Paris. Her return may well see her clash with the Slater family. As well as their messy history, she was the one who recently sold their house to the Panesars at the end of 2019, leaving them briefly homeless.