EastEnders star Charlie Brooks has news for fans over a possible Janine return

Most of the past EastEnders cast seem to have an opinion on outgoing show boss Sean O’Connor and his temporary replacement John Yorke.

Charlie Brooks, who played Janine Butcher, is the latest to be asked her thoughts on the situation and whether now John’s back in charge she’d consider a return to the soap.

O’Connor left abruptly after a year at the helm of the show. Many of his storylines had been slated and, overall, viewers were unhappy with the direction the show was going in.

The official line was that Sean’s feature film project had got off the ground sooner than he’d thought, but rumours have been swirling he was actually sacked.

Charlie has revealed she’s a huge fan of incoming boss John Yorke (Credit: FameFlynet.uk.com)

Whatever the reasoning behind his departure, Charlie has revealed she’s a big fan of the interim boss: “It’s brilliant and it’s good for the show,” she told Soaplife. “John’s a genius at what he does.

“I was there during his earlier ‘reign’ and Janine was his baby, really. He so invested in her storylines.”

Sounds like a hint she’s coming back to us…

“It’s not immediately in my plans. Never say never – I’ll say that!” Ah, that old chestnut.

Read more: EastEnders Linda Carter permanent return date confirmed

Charlie was hugely popular with fans (Credit: BBC)

Charlie played Janine between 1999 and 2014 and was involved in several memorable storylines including when she married Barry Evans and subsequently pushed him off a cliff.

Her exit saw her acquitted after murdering husband Michael Moon and heading off abroad to find herself another rich man to fleece for all he had.

Read more: EastEnders legend – and we mean legend – ‘signs up’ for Celebrity Big Brother

Speaking about leaving Janine behind, she told the magazine: “I love [her], but I have to fight to leave her behind.

“It’s a constant battle to get people to see beyond her. It’s 13 years since she pushed Barry Evans off that cliff, but it’s what people still say to me all the time.

“I do wonder what the writers and storyliners could do with her. She’s done so much, so where would she go next? What might pull her back to the Square?”

Charlie was crowned Queen of the Jungle in 2012 (Credit: Instagram/@itvimacelebrity)

Charlie took time out of EastEnders to head into the jungle for I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! in 2012, and walked away the eventual winner of that year’s show.

While many thought she might end up in Strictly following her permanent exit from Walford, she’s in fact poured her energy into doing more theatre.

The actress is about to start a three-month tour of How the Other Half Loves and said: “It was my plan to do more theatre and I have. It’s great to have the freedom to do other stuff.”

While it sounds like an EastEnders return is not on her shortlist at the moment, could John Yorke make her too tempting an offer to refuse?