Ricky Champ is set to reprise his role as Stuart Highway in EastEnders, three years after his departure.
The older brother of Callum Highway (Tony Clay), Stuart first arrived in Albert Square in 2018, tracking down his childhood best mate Mick Carter (Danny Dyer).
After playing a series of bizarre pranks on the Carter clan, he explained that he was part of a paedophile vigilante group, and roped Mick into helping confront an offender.
He then told Callum that he took on the role as a result of being abused as a child, and wanted justice for other victims.
It later transpired that he had tortured Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) when she was young, and he started a hate campaign against her.
After forcing Mick to breaking point, he broke up his marriage to Linda (Kellie Bright) and was almost killed.
Towards the end of his time in the Square, the character mellowed. Viewers saw him struggling with postnatal depression following the birth of his son Roland, all the while battling breast cancer.
Stuart and Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks) reunited after a tough period in their marriage, and resolved to start afresh outside of Walford. In truly chaotic scenes, the duo stole a hearse from Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) and rode out of the area.
Now Ricky is set to reprise the role for what Metro understands is a very short stint.
In a real soap cliché, The Sun reports that Stuart will ‘ruffle a few feathers’ upon his return.
The circumstances surrounding his arrival are currently unknown, though it’s likely that it will involve the ongoing affair between Callum and Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff).
As fans have seen, the pair have been unable to keep their hands off one another – but have vowed to keep their distance after Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) found out.
Phil is, of course, Callum’s father-in-law. Phil’s son Ben (Max Bowden) has been absent for over a year, having been extradited to the States for a fraud charge.
During their estrangement, Callum has seemingly coped well, but in upcoming scenes he can’t resist sending flirty messages to Johnny… something which Jay has warned him about.
Will Stuart’s return concern Callum’s new love?
