EastEnders' Tracy-Ann Oberman teases 'explosive' return to BBC soap
The actor is heading back to Albert Square this year
What did you miss?
EastEnders star Tracy-Ann Oberman has dropped a few hints about her "explosive" return to the BBC soap.
The actor's infamous character Chrissie Watts was last seen in Walford in December 2005 after she was locked up for killing her husband Den Watts (Lesley Grantham). But she is set to return to Albert Square later this year, 19 years after she left.
Chrissie's comeback was revealed earlier this summer but the reason for her return has been under wraps. However, Oberman let slip a few little hints as she appeared on The One Show on Wednesday 28 August.
What, how and why?
Oberman was asked if it was an "easy yes", and she teased that the comeback plot was quite a draw. "Do you know, the time was never right and things were never right, it never quite happened," she said.
"But this time Chris (Clenshaw), the new executive producer, rang me. I was free. He told me the storyline. I sat down for 30 minutes while he told it to me and I was like, 'Yeah I'm in, it was so brilliant!'"
The star said she could not have said no given the story, teasing that it was "really good". She added that Chrissie's return would be "explosive".
The actor admitted it was "weird" returning to the set. She then hinted: "There are bits that aren't quite on the set, I will give you that much."
"Also playing that character after 20 years," she went on. "It was like finding a coat in the attic that you remembered that you loved and you put it on. It was really nice."
Read more: EastEnders
Oberman said Chrissie still has plenty of fans despite the time that has passed since she was last in Walford. "I couldn't believe how much love there was for the character, it's been 20 years," she said. "People just still love her and I still get letters going, 'Oh when is she coming back?' And she is!
"For me, that was the brilliant thing about her and where soap is so good, because they write these female characters brilliantly. Strong, female characters."
What did viewers say?
Fans have been counting down until Chrissie's return, which will be in the autumn, and excitement mounted as Oberman discussed it on The One Show.
"Chrissie coming back to EastEnders, exciting times," one fan wrote on X. Another posted: "I can't wait for Chrissie Watts to return to EastEnders. As for @TracyAnnO she hasn't aged at all. I need whatever she's got."
"What will Chrissie do when she returns?" wondered someone else.
The return was announced earlier this summer, with Clenshaw saying in a statement: “Although the character hasn’t been seen on screen for almost twenty years, Chrissie is cemented in EastEnders’ rich history for her murder of Walford’s most infamous villain, and Sharon’s beloved father, Dirty Den.
"I’m keeping tight-lipped on the exact circumstances relating to her return for the time being, but what I can promise is that it’s never quiet when Chrissie Watts is around.”
The One Show airs nightly on BBC One, and streams on BBC iPlayer.
