Fiery character Bianca Jackson is to return to EastEnders and be reunited with her father David Wicks, the BBC has announced.
Bianca, who is played by Patsy Palmer, 52, last saw her father David 10 years ago, after his relationship with her mother Carol Jackson, played by Lindsey Coulson, broke down following their failed wedding attempt.
The BBC says Bianca will make her return “in the coming months”.
The character left the show in June after she unceremoniously outed sister Sonia Jackson and her boyfriend, Reiss Colwell, for stealing money from his comatose wife in front of horrified onlookers in The Queen Vic pub.
Sonia has since forgiven Bianca after Kat Slater intervened to make her aware of Bianca’s recent struggles, but the pair have not seen or spoke to each other since.
David, played by Michael French, has since been living in America, but last month the BBC announced he would be returning to Walford this year “for a short stint”.
French’s character is yet to make his return to the show.
The father and daughter duo have had a complicated relationship during the show’s history, but the BBC says they “undoubtedly love each other”.
However, Bianca is said to not be aware of her father’s return.
Speaking of her return to the show, the BBC said: “With a whole heap of unfinished business to resolve, and having previously implored Sonia to steer clear of brother-in-law turned murderer, Reiss, it’s safe to say that Bianca is a woman on a mission.”
Bianca made her first appearance in EastEnders in November 1993, before leaving Walford in 1999 after an affair with her mother’s boyfriend at the time, Dan Sullivan.
The character returned in the 2002 spin-off, EastEnders: Ricky And Bianca, before returning to the main soap in 2008, and then exiting again in 2011, after Palmer became pregnant.
Since then Bianca has made a number of returns to Walford, with her last appearance on June 12, 2024.
The BBC has not revealed the exact date that Bianca will make her latest return to Albert Square.
