Will Adam Woodyatt return to EastEnders?

Viewers will of course be aware that Woodyatt is on an extended break from his long-running EastEnders role to facilitate his part in the theatre production Looking Good Dead, which is running into next year.

However, the plot thickened when it was announced that the actor would be taking part in I’m A Celebrity 2021, with fans wondering whether he had quit EastEnders for good.

Ahead of his appearance at Gwrych Castle, Woodyatt then revealed that his contract with the BBC had expired and that he didn’t know whether he’d ever return to Albert Square.

"Why have I finally said yes? Because I am not in EastEnders. That is the honest answer," he said. "I am not in contract with the BBC so I can come and do it. It's the first chance I've had. I'm just quite happy doing what I'm doing at the moment, which is doing I'm A Celeb."

When asked whether he’d ever return to EastEnders, he added: "To be honest with you, I don't know the answer. And it's also not just my decision, it's a BBC decision. There's lots of factors that come into it. I'm just taking it as it comes along. There's no plan."

And now, Woodyatt appears to have confirmed he won’t be returning to reprise his role as Ian Beale in the soap any time soon. Read on for the latest information about I’m A Celebrity 2021 contestant Woodyatt’s return to EastEnders.

Will Adam Woodyatt return to EastEnders?

There’s no official word yet on whether Adam Woodyatt will be reprising his role as Ian Beale in EastEnders.

However, speaking to fellow contestants on I’m A Celebrity 2021, Woodyatt reiterated he doesn’t necessarily plan to return to EastEnders when he finishes with Looking Good Dead next spring.

Fellow contestant Kadeena Cox asked if he’d ever consider leaving soaps behind to try his hand at film acting, with Adam joking: "I'm available as of April.”

Why did Adam Woodyatt leave EastEnders?

Adam left the Square in January 2021 to take up a leading role in the play Looking Good Dead, but he was stopped in his tracks when the production was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. The play is due to resume its UK tour in January and is expected to run until next April.

"I just had another opportunity, there was this play came up and I just fancied doing something different," Adam told Frankie Bridge on I’m A Celebrity 2021.

He then revealed that show bosses had wanted his character to take a break, which he saw as a chance to leave. “The way the storyline is, they needed me to take a break. Yeah... the break’s just got longer,” he said.

Why did Ian Beale leave?

Ian Beale was last seen in January 2021 as he scarpered in the middle of the night after realising his wife Sharon Mitchell had been poisoning him for months.

The iconic character had finally discovered that Sharon knew he was to blame for her son Dennis’ death – and confronted her about the ominous-looking plate of pasta in front of him.

When Sharon admitted that the carbonara would kill him – and that she had been adding poison to his food for months – guilt-stricken Ian gobbled down the pasta in an attempt to end his own life.

However, Ian was later seen very much alive and hobbling to the Tube station, where he disappeared into darkness. No one in the Square knows where he has gone.

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