"Allo Princess" - Sharon Watts to make EastEnders comeback this August

She’ll be heading back to Walford after the Olympics in a hugely dramatic week for the soap, starting on Monday 13 August, in which seven episodes will be aired.

After being romantically involved with Phil Mitchell on and off for decades, Sharon's coming back to E20 in search of his help. But her return will coincide with Shirley uncovering the truth about who killed Heather, which could spell big trouble for Phil...

EastEnders executive producer Lorraine Newman said: "An exciting week packed full of dramatic twists and turns lies ahead for the audience and the justice they have been desperately waiting for has finally arrived."

BBC1 controller Danny Cohen expressed high hopes for the soap’s dramatic post-Olympics return to BBC1, saying: "Following the Olympics on BBC1, viewers can look forward to more TV gold on the channel as EastEnders returns home for seven explosive episodes in one week and Sharon's dramatic return to the square. Not to be missed!"

Characterised as slightly spoiled and over-dramatic, Sharon Watts appeared in the very first episode of EastEnders in 1985 and left the soap a decade later, before returning for sporadic appearances between 2001 and 2005.

During her first stint, she was involved in a long-running storyline known as Sharongate in which she married Grant Mitchell and embarked on an affair with his brother Phil, a saga which culminated in one of the soap’s most-watched episodes.