EastEnders airs surprise return as character is back from the dead

Coming face-to-face with Sharon (Letitia Dean) while she sees out her week-long stint in prison for being in contempt of court, Chrissie's return to our screens has been quite the rollercoaster ride of emotions as she set out on a revenge mission against Sharon and then later confided to her about her miscarriage.

Well, things are set to take an even more surprising turn in tonight's episode (which is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer) as Chrissie prepares to leave prison after 19 years behind bars.

While much of the episode sees Sharon and Chrissie have quite the heart-to-heart over Chrissie's murder of husband Den Watts (Lesley Grantham) in December 2005, the episode also sees Chrissie reunite with a former flame for quite the Albert Square send-off.

In the final scenes of the episode, we see a now free Chrissie drive up to the Queen Vic in a vintage red convertible car but has a mystery man by her side.

That's right, it's none other than Jake Moon (Joel Beckett).

In an unusually quiet moment on the square, we see the car park right by the cafe – something only Elaine (Harriet Thorpe) spots as they loop round. When parked up, Chrissie gets out of the car now in heels and a dress, and looks up at the Queen Vic.

Getting out beside her, Jake also looks up at the pub when Chrissie says: "Just had to see it one last time. Fancy a swift half?"

But stopping for a drink wasn't part of their plan as Jake says: "19 years I've waited to get my hands on you again. A cheeky half in the Vic is not what I had in mind."

Getting back into the car, the pair take one final look at the pub before driving off into the East End sunset. Just as they drive away, Jake's cousin Alfie (Shane Ritchie) just so happens to leave the pub, none the wiser that his relative was just a few steps away from him.

Of course, Jake first arrived on the square back in 2004 and had a fling with Chrissie, getting back together later on but having their relationship interrupted by the pretty major revelation that Chrissie had killed Den.

Read more:

• Jamie Borthwick confirms if he'll take break from EastEnders for Strictly 2024
• EastEnders airs historic Chrissie Watts bombshell in early BBC iPlayer release

But while Chrissie was in prison, Jake didn't give up on their relationship. That is until he proposed to her and Chrissie revealed her plan to plead guilty to Den's murder, later telling Jake to never visit her in prison again.

In a bit of a mix-up of names, Jake's exit was left open-ended from EastEnders, as viewers assumed he had been mistakenly killed by one of Johnny Allen's (Billy Murray) henchman.

After deciding he was going to leave Walford, Jake was intercepted by a man and we were left to think he had been killed. But, as is often the case in EastEnders, they do have a habit of bringing back familiar faces.

While we wouldn't expect Jake or Chrissie to come back to the square, seeing as they're set for a new life together elsewhere, we just can't really rule anything out.

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.