Soap

EastEnd Jacksons to reunite

EastEnders' tearaway Jackson family will be reunited when three Walford favourites return to the soap.

Natalie Cassidy (who is currently taking part in the BBC talent show Strictly Come Dancing), Lindsey Coulson and Dean Gaffney will all go back to Albert Square next year ahead of the show's 25th anniversary.

Cassidy, who played Sonia, left Walford in 2007 to start a new life in Manchester with husband Martin Fowler (James Alexandrou) and daughter Rebecca. Of the return, Cassidy stated: "To be reunited with the original Jacksons is a dream come true."

Coulson was the first of the clan to pack up. She was last seen as matriarch Carol in 1999, when the character left to care for her own sick mother.

Gaffney played Robbie until 2004, when he briefly returned to the soap for Sonia's wedding.

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The family reunion is likely to not go unnoticed. Soap watchers last saw Carol and daughter Bianca (Patsy Palmer) together when Carol found out Bianca was sleeping with her boyfriend Dan Sullivan, leading to a showdown in the Queen Vic.

EastEnders' executive producer Diederick Santer said: "I'm so excited to see Lindsey back at EastEnders, and the fact that we've got Natalie and Dean as well makes it extra special.

"This family were the original EastEnders Jackson Five, and I can't wait to see how they've grown and changed. These returns all contribute to the excitement and drama of EastEnders' 25th anniversary."

The infamously loud family first appeared in 1993 and as time went on they found themselves at the centre of some of the soap's biggest storylines, including trumpet-playing Sonia giving birth - without realising she was pregnant - aged just 15.