EastEnders Odds: Clare Cut For Walford Return; Mitchells In Frame For Comebacks
EastEnders bosses appear to be big fans of recruiting former characters at the moment, and there is another familiar face on the way back to Walford.
Karen Henthorn was recently confirmed to be reprising her role as Nigel Bates' (Paul Bradley) wife Julie Bates - 27 years after she last stepped foot in Albert Square.
Ahead of the show's 40th anniversary in February, Karen was linked with a return on betting sites after her voice was heard on-screen when Nigel listened to a voicemail message from Julie.
Karen Henthorn is reprising her role as Nigel’s wife Julie Bates this summer - 27 years after she was last seen in Albert Square. Head to the #EastEnders Facebook page for more info! @BBC @BBCOne @BBCiPlayer. pic.twitter.com/kmkZLZ8seg
— BBC EastEnders (@bbceastenders) June 26, 2025
While she didn't return for the explosive anniversary episodes, EastEnders have now confirmed Julie will be back to see her estranged husband amid his dementia battle - which she is none the wiser about at first.
Karen said: "Julie has got some awful surprises ahead of her after the initial relief she feels to discover Nigel is still alive.
"It’s been great to film with Paul and Steve (McFadden), who are such lovely actors, as Julie discovers Nigel’s dementia diagnosis and why he chose to hide it from her."
Bates Hat-Trick
News of Karen's return as Julie has sparked further speculation that Nigel's daughter Clare Bates (Gemma Bissix) could also be back soon amid her dad's dementia plot.
Gemma has been cut from Evens to 4/9 favourite on betting apps to return to the BBC One soap later this year.
However, she may need to leave Hollyoaks first.
EastEnders Odds: Character To Return In 2025
Character | Odds | Probability |
Clare Bates (Gemma Bissix) | 4/9 | 69.2% |
Max Branning (Jake Wood) | 1/2 | 66.7% |
Little Mo Slater (Kacey Ainsworth) | 8/15 | 65.2% |
Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) | 4/7 | 63.6% |
Sean Slater (Rob Kazinsky) | 8/13 | 61.9% |
Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons) | Evens | 50% |
Emma Harding (Patsy Kensit) | 6/4 | 40% |
Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) | 7/4 | 36.4% |
Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) | 2/1 | 33.3% |
Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) | 3/1 | 25% |
Aunt Babe (Annette Badland) | 4/1 | 20% |
Spencer Moon (Christopher Parker) | 9/2 | 18.2% |
Mickey Miller (Joe Swash) | 5/1 | 16.7% |
Robbie Jackson (Dean Gaffney) | 6/1 | 14.3% |
Arthur 'Fatboy' Chubb (Ricky Norwood) | 7/1 | 12.5% |
Tiffany Butcher-Baker (Maisie Smith) | 8/1 | 11.1% |
Amira Masood (Preeya Kalidas) | 9/1 | 10% |
Cindy Williams (Mimi Keene) | 10/1 | 9.1% |
Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) | 12/1 | 7.7% |
Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) | 16/1 | 5.9% |
Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) | 20/1 | 4.8% |
She recently reprised her role as character Clare Devine - who fans thought had been killed off - on the Channel 4 soap.
Gemma has admitted she wasn't asked back for EastEnders' 40th anniversary episodes, but she was full of praise for Paul's latest hard-hitting plot.
She told The Sun: "I think they did fantastic with their 40th birthday celebrations. They brought so many characters back from the '90s.
"I think that Paul Bradley is doing fantastically well with his dementia storyline."
Mitchells Back En Masse
While Phil Mitchell has been caring for Nigel, he may have a couple of other Mitchells for company in Albert Square soon.
The character's son Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) is into 4/7, from 6/4, to return to Walford this year.
It comes after his estranged husband Callum Highway (Tony Clay) kissed Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff) earlier this week, despite Callum still being married to Ben.
Some fans believe this could be the catalyst for Ben's return to Albert Square.
Max portrayed Ben between 2019-24, and it's thought new show boss Ben Wadey is keen to bring his namesake back this year.
A source previously told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: "Ben had a list of characters he wanted to bring back and Ben Mitchell was one. It’s taken a little while to sort out, but Max will be back filming on Albert Square later this year."
Another Mitchell family member, Roxy, has also been linked with a comeback.
Following Rita Simons' Hollyoaks departure, fans have been speculating that she could make a return to Walford (Evens).
However, it would have to be in some sort of dream sequence or hallucination, after the character died on New Year's Day in 2017.
Sean's Social Hint
If Roxy was to return in someone's dreams or nightmares - the lucky, or unlucky, person could be Sean Slater.
The characters were married in 2008, but things went south when Roxy lied about the paternity of her daughter, Amy, and Sean discovered on Christmas Day 2008 that Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) was Amy's dad.
Rob Kazinsky has been heavily linked with a return to the Square in recent months, and he has been cut for a comeback once again.
It's now just 8/13, from 10/11, that Rob returns to the soap to reprise his role as Sean Slater.
This comes as some eagle-eyed fans discovered new EastEnders executive producer Ben and Sean Slater actor Rob both follow each other on Instagram.
While this could be coincidence, it has led to increased speculation that Sean might be back in the Square soon.
Other characters in contention for an EastEnders return include 1/2 chance Max Branning (Jake Wood), and 8/15 shot Little Mo Slater (Kacey Ainsworth).
Kacey's price was clipped of late after Michelle Ryan's character Zoe Slater recently returned to Walford.
* Reminder: These are hypothetical odds provided by industry experts.
