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EastEnders airs two surprise returns after months away in early BBC iPlayer release

Warning: Contains spoilers for Monday's episode of EastEnders, which airs at 7:30pm on BBC One or can be streamed now on BBC iPlayer.

Published: Monday, 16 February 2026 at 11:13 am

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There have been a few faces missing around Albert Square, who have finally returned to EastEnders after a combined 179 days away.

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The first resident to be back on our screens was Big Mo Harris (Laila Morse), who departed in October to stay with granddaughter Lynne (Elaine Lordan) when she broke her leg.

She's missed out on an awful lot – the Slaters have discovered a new addition to their family, Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness), who subsequently framed her mother Zoe (Michelle Ryan) for the murder of Anthony Trueman (Nicholas Bailey), while her beloved great grandson Freddie (Bobby Brazier) also left for pastures new.

There's also been the return of Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman) and her partner Jake Moon (Joel Beckett) to the family fold. Mo was pleased to reunite with Jake, but less than impressed to see Chrissie back in The Queen Vic.

Laila Morse as Big Mo, wearing a grey coat, on the set of EastEnders

Big Mo (Laila Morse) returned in today's episode. BBC / Kieron McCarron

She and Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) kept an eye on the pair while Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) went to track down Jasmine, hoping to lure her home and coax a killer confession out of her.

It's likely that Mo might be back in Walford to celebrate her 90th birthday on Wednesday. Of course, actress Morse is almost 10 years younger, though when the character was introduced in 2000, she was aged up to make it more believable that she could be Charlie Slater's (Derek Martin) mother-in-law.

Could it be time to knock a few years off the matriarch's age?

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Across the road, the Trueman-Fox clan were preparing for Anthony's funeral. Patrick (Rudolph Walker) was dreading the day ahead, with everyone rallying round to comfort him.

His final words to Anthony are still ringing round his head – he told him that he wished he'd died instead of elder son Paul (Gary Beadle), unaware that the grim reaper was just around the corner.

After two months away, Howie Danes (Delroy Atkinson) walked into the living room to pay his respects. He received somewhat of a frosty reception, given the last time we saw him in December, he was shamed by the family for blackmailing Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier).

Howie puts his hand on Kim's leg as they sit on the Trueman's sofa in a scene from EastEnders

Howie Danes (Delroy Atkinson) had an awkward reunion with Kim Fox (Tameka Empson). BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron

As viewers will remember, Oscar had stolen Patrick's betting winnings, and when Howie got wind of this, he took the money for himself to shower partner Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) in gifts.

Although the atmosphere was tense, she looked upwards and offered a smile.

Could there be a Howie and Kim reunion on the cards?

The episode was capped off with the confession Kat needed from Jasmine, but what will she do with this information?

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Authors

Michael Adams wearing a white t-shirt and beige gilet against a white background

Michael AdamsSoaps Editor

Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

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