BBC/YouTube Share By Joel Harley Nov 14 2025 By Joel Harley Nov 14 2025 As soap announces Pat's return, 9 more times EastEnders characters came back from the dead Celebrating Walford's most haunted Features Pat Evans Roxy Mitchell Share By Joel Harley Nov 14 2025 By Joel Harley Nov 14 2025 EastEnders announced a very special Christmas treat this week, with the return of Pat Evans to the soap. Pat will return to Walford in December, where she’ll reunite with Nigel Bates as his dementia symptoms intensify. But wait… isn’t Pat dead? Well, yes, but death isn’t always the end in soapland. Just ask Cindy and Kathy Beale, still strutting the streets of Walford, decades after their own terrible deaths. From spooky apparitions to hallucinations and faked-deaths, here are eight more EastEnders characters who’ve returned from the dead. … well, technically nine, if we’re counting Pat twice. This isn’t ghost Pat’s first rodeo (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Nine EastEnders characters who came back from the dead 1. Pat Evans (2016) Pat’s return for Nigel isn’t the first time the earringed-one has come back to haunt Albert Square. In 2016 – four years after her own death – she appeared at Peggy Mitchell’s death bed as she lay dying from cancer. Article continues below Read all the latest spoilers It may have all been in dying Peggy’s head, but it was a touching reunion for the old love rivals, and a welcome return from EastEnders legend Pam St. Clement. But with Nigel in the grip of his dementia symptoms, might Pat’s return herald a similar fate? The ghost of Pat returning to escort a beloved character from this Earthly realm is becoming a thing, and we’re all for it. Just call her Pat Evans, Angel of Death. Roxy returned with some kind words for daughter Amy (Credit: BBC) 2. Roxy Mitchell Viewers have never quite forgiven the soap for killing off Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell. The BBC attempted to redress the balance somewhat in 2023, as Roxy’s daughter, Amy, attended a therapy session where she reflected on the loss of her mum. In that moment, Amy was visited by the apparition of Roxy, played by actress Rita Simons. As mother and daughter shared a touching heart-to-heart, EastEnders succeeded in reminding us why killing Roxie and Ronnie had been a massive mistake in the first place. It was lovely to have her back, but that hasn’t stopped fans from hoping the soap will retcon Ronnie and Roxie’s deaths for good, next time. Angie Watts appeared to daughter Sharon on the soap’s 40th (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Nine EastEnders characters who came back from the dead continued 3. Angie Watts Queen Vic landlady Angie Watts reappeared in a cameo no-one could have expected, marking the soap’s 40th anniversary this year. As Sharon became trapped in the rubble of The Queen Vic (thanks Reiss/Cindy), she saw the specter of her mum, the one and only Angie Watts. “It’s not time for us to be together yet, darling,” she said, giving her daughter the strength she needed to hold on until rescue. Keanu ‘returned’ to torment Denise (Credit: BBC) 4. Keanu Taylor Not all EastEnders ghosts are friendly ones. No, Keanu returned to torment Denise as she suffered from the guilt of his death last year. Being a core part of The Six’s murder and cover-up of Keanu’s death, Denise coped less well than most, and began seeing visions of the man they’d killed and buried under the café. As Denise’s mental health crumbled under the pressure, the Six feared that their terrible secret would be exposed. As for Denise, she was soon admitted to a mental health institution after her guilt manifested as full-on psychosis. Dirty Den came back for real – before promptly being murdered again (Credit: BBC/YouTube) Nine EastEnders characters who came back from the dead continued 5. Dirty Den Watts Entering the faked-their-own-death half of the list, Dirty Den leads the way with his iconic 2003 return. After being tracked down by daughter Vicki, Den returned to Albert Square, where he set about philandering and scheming like he’d never left. This included sleeping with his son’s girlfriend in an attempt to get her pregnant, and attacking his ex-wife, Chrissie Watts, in The Vic. Den met his second, more permanent end in 2005, when he was killed by Chrissie – who had help from Sam Mitchell and Zoe Slater in covering up the crime. Some say his ghost haunts the barrel store to this very day… Cindy wants to make Max pay (Credit: BBC) 6. Cindy Beale Queen of the faked death, Cindy Beale returned to Walford in 2023. Reuniting with ex-husband George Knight (who had coincidentally just moved to Albert Square, along with their children), Cindy revealed that she’d taken the name ‘Rose’ as part of a witness protection scheme in which she’d ratted on an old cellmate. Now back with Ian again, Cindy resumed daily life in Walford – which, Cindy being Cindy, meant cheating on Ian again. But has Cindy really put her old life behind her? With the arrival of mysterious Jasmine in Walford, it seems that her time behind bars is about to come back to haunt her. Kathy also faked her own death (Credit: BBC) Nine EastEnders characters who came back from the dead continued 7. Kathy Beale It’s odd that it happened once, let alone twice. But three times? Before Cindy and after Dirty Den, there was Kathy Beale. She was presumed dead after a 2006 car crash, but in 2015, the soap revealed that she’d faked her own death as part of an insurance scam at the behest of abusive husband Gavin Sullivan. Fatboy made a brief cameo in 2023 (Credit: BBC) 8. Fatboy Fan favourite Fatboy was killed off-screen in 2015, in a tragic case of mistaken identity. He was kidnapped by Ronnie Mitchell’s thugs, who locked him in a car boot and then crushed alive. A horrific end to one of the soap’s most likeable figures. Fatboy briefly returned in 2023, in a flashback to Cindy’s time in witness protection. Still dead then, although a cryptic card delivered to Dot Cotton’s funeral did give fans hope that Fatboy might have survived his grisly fate. Jake survived his fate to live happily ever after with Chrissie Watts (Credit: BBC) 9. Jake Moon One character who definitely did survive his off-screen death is Alfie’s cousin, Jake Moon. Viewers last saw Jake being led away by gangsters in 2006 – to his presumed death. However, the soap revealed that this wasn’t the case last year. He was waiting outside as Chrissie Watts walked out of prison last year. After a brief spin around Albert Square, the pair rode off into the sunset together, very much alive and well. Read more: Who’s leaving, joining and returning to EastEnders? Complete list of cast exits, arrivals and returns. Share Good to Know Share By Joel Harley Nov 14 2025 By Joel Harley Nov 14 2025
