EastEnders lines up Karen Taylor return visit just weeks after exit

EastEnders has confirmed a surprise return for Karen Taylor during Tuesday, February 6‘s episode, following her son Keanu’s shock Christmas death.

EastEnders writer John Greening confirmed the comeback news on Twitter/X, writing in a since deleted tweet: “Directed by me… Finishing touches added last week.”

Karen was last seen fleeing Walford after taking the blame for her grandson Albie’s kidnapping. She then started a new life with Mitch Baker and their children (minus daughter Bernie) in order to avoid paying Phil Mitchell back the £50,000 ‘ransom money’ they owed him.

She later made a brief Christmas cameo via a video call, telling Bernie that it was unsafe for her to return to the square while Phil was still around.

Of course, Keanu was killed by the Six (Linda, Stacey, Kathy, Suki, Denise and Sharon) who later covered their tracks by disposing of his body and telling the police he’d done a runner after holding them hostage and attacking Nish Panesar.

But The Six have since been struggling to cope with what they did.

Karen will further rattle The Six by making her surprise return to the Square, seeking answers about her son’s disappearance. Shaken, Kathy and Stacey team up to convince her of their version of what happened in the Vic.

Will Karen believe The Six’s version of events… or will their lies begin to crumble?

Following the news of her exit, Karen actress Lorraine Stanley revealed her desire to be able to potentially return to the soap in the future, telling The Sun: “I hope the door will be left open for Karen.”

Revealing the decision for her character to be written out was a “mix of emotions” she added: “I was sad, it was a mix of emotions, it’s sad but it’s exciting as now I can go and do what I want. You can get a bit relaxed there and a bit comfortable. So I want to be out of my comfort zone.”

EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.