EastEnders fans reckon they have worked out when Shirley Carter is returning – and it’s not long.
The soap favourite, played by Linda Henry, first rocked up to Walford back in 2006. And it didn’t take long for her to become one of the soap’s most-loved characters.
What’s more, Shirley has been involved in several tumultuous storylines over the years, including the murder of best friend Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison). She also has a complicated family life, with her son Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) originally thought to be her brother.
However, in December 2022, Shirley left the soap – leaving fans gutted. She said her goodbyes after her son Mick went missing at sea after trying to save Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Janine Butcher (Charle Brooks).
Shirley struggled to deal with what happened and decided to take a break from Albert Square. But late last year, Shirley’s other son, vile rapist Dean (Matt Di Angelo) made his return.
And as fans will recall, the sicko ended up getting arrested in April for the murder of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters). Dean didn’t actually murder Keanu as it was Linda who stabbed him to stop him from strangling Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean).
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Linda, Sharon and the rest of The Six then went and framed Dean. Since then, he’s been locked up behind bars – with the Six seeming to have gotten away with it.
But now, viewers are certain that a return is on the cards for Dean’s mum Shirley. On a Reddit thread, fans shared their predictions on 2024 and 2025 storylines. One user penned: “I want Shirley to return, maybe she’s mad about Dean being fitted up for murder and trying to get to the bottom of it.”
A second agreed and mused: “ Shirley returns late November to find what actually happened on Christmas. Nish really does have cancer and dies on Christmas 2024.
“Suki confesses just before he dies. Somehow Shirley overhears and uses what she hears to find new evidence that clears Dean. Dean is released on NYE.”
A third chimed in and wrote: “Dean’s trial will probably be early next year around the 40th. Still hard to call but I think he may well end up going down for it.
“Provided Linda Henry hasn’t quit she will ‘Shirley’ have to have reappeared by then. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with her. I don’t think Linda could cope lying to Shirl.”
