Ben Mitchell is set to return to EastEnders later this year, with a sixth actor playing the beloved character.
The son of Phil Mitchell (played by Steve McFadden) was last seen sailing away from Walford on a ferry with a wad of stolen cash in January 2018.
Actor Harry Reid, who played the young mechanic for four years, will not be reprising his role this year.
Replacing him is former Waterloo Road and Casualty star Max Bowden, who is said to begin filming for the BBC soap this week.
A TV insider told The Sun: “Ben is a really popular character among EastEnders fans and has been at the heart of some of the biggest storylines in recent years.
“It’ll take viewers a bit of time to get used to another face playing him, but they’ve had plenty of practice over the years when it comes to his character.”
At the beginning of the year, EastEnders boss, Kate Oates, teased surprise returnees and massive storylines for the year 2019.
Answering fans’ Twitter questions during a Q&A session on the soap’s official page, the producer revealed: “I’ve got so much planned.
“2019 is going to be a really big year. We’ve got some fantastic long term arcs for you guys. The storylines will be really rich and diverse.”
Kate mentioned there would be a “long-running saga” with the Mitchell family amid Sharon Mitchell’s (Letitia Dean) affair with Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters).
She also let slip there would be a huge mental health plot surrounding Jean Slater (Gillian Wright), who has bipolar disorder.
“She’s going to have a challenge coming her way where we look at her mental health through her physical health,” she shared.
“So I’m excited about that one too.”
Of the return of past characters, she shared: “We’ve got some great returnees planned.
“You may know that Lola is coming back so I’m really looking forward to seeing her in the Square.”
She continued: “We’ve got a couple more secret returnees coming. One is coming back in Spring that I’m really excited about.
“It’s going to be a fairly short stint but I think it’s going to have a really huge impact so they’re part of my big plans for 2019.”
Also, the former Coronation Street producer is bringing two new sisters into the Ahmed family, as she is in favour of “championing diversity”.
In Addition, the 40-year-old hopes to have more LGBTQ characters in the long-running soap and dished: “We’re looking at opening a new gay bar on the square.”
EastEnders continues tonight on BBC One at 8pm.