EastEnders Charlie Brooks has revealed all on her return to the BBC soap as Janine Butcher, amid a new storyline for Linda Carter ahead if actress Kellie Bright’s exit
20:15, 05 Nov 2026Updated 20:17, 05 Nov 2026
EastEnders’ Charlie Brooks says returning to her role as bad girl Janine Butcher “feels like home”(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
EastEnders’ Charlie Brooks says returning to her role as bad girl Janine Butcher “feels like home”.
The actress, 45, returned to the soap last night (Thu) four years after the character was arrested for perverting the course of justice and jailed. Viewers saw her eyeing up the contents of a mystery brown envelope, teasing what tricks she may have up her sleeve this time around.
Brooks, who first played the role in 1999, aged 17, said: “I always love coming back to Janine. She’s an exciting character to play, and it’s always fun to discover what she’s been doing and what she’s been up to as an actress.
“Seeing everyone back at the studio, and working with Kellie [Bright] again, has been amazing.” Asked what to expect from her character’s return, Brooks says: “I don’t know if anyone wants to see a reformed Janine ever, so we can rest assured that we are leaning into the true nature of who Janine is. As always, it’s about survival for her.”
Despite all the drama that follows her character, she says Janine is fun to play. She said: “I always like trying to understand a little bit more about her each time I play her, and I think the ‘why’ is so important.
“She’s a lot of things, but she’s also a super fun character to play. She’s very camp, and I have a lot of fun with her. Janine is also deep, and she’s got a lot going on, so it’s always interesting to explore that.”
The character’s return will lead to a bombshell discovery for her former rival Linda Carter, ahead of actress Kellie’s exit from the soap after 13 years. Linda hasn’t seen Janine since her arrest in 2022.
Linda had been framed for a drink-drive crash, and the truth only came out after the tragic death of Janine’s husband, Linda’s ex Mick Carter, played by Danny Dyer. Mick is believed to have drowned after being swept out to sea, after saving pregnant Janine following a car accident.
Mick had returned to the water to save his true love Linda, unaware she had already reached the shore. Brooks said: “One of the reasons I was coming back was to be part of Kellie’s storyline as we had such a great time working together last time.
“I’ve known a lot of the cast for many years, and that brings a nice sense of familiarity and peace when I go back. It also allows playfulness because it’s familiar and it feels safe.
“Being in that environment and having done it since I was 17 is why I feel like I can be quite brave with Janine because I’m surrounded by great people.”
EXCLUSIVE: The Celebrity Traitors is heating up with the semi-final airing tonight, but a former star believes that one of the Traitors will have to turn on another, in a huge twist
A former star of The Traitors has questioned whether Maya and King Kenny could hang James Acaster ‘out to dry’(Image: BBC)
A former star of The Traitors has predicted a major twist. Tonight’s episode will see at least one Faithful banished from the castle, in yet another devastating blow for the Faithful.
So far, only two Traitors have been banished from Ardross Castle, leaving the team of Faithful shrinking by the day. In yet another twist, the Faithful unknowingly branded the three Traitors – Maya Jama, James Acaster and King Kenny the most trustworthy stars.
But what they didn’t know was that Kenny was later given a chilling double vote for the roundtable, after he and his fellow Traitors worked out who their next victims would be. This series has seen Maya come out on top, with many of her banished and murdered co-stars believing that she could potentially win the programme.
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Former contestant Andrew Jenkins, who appeared on series two of the BBC show, also believes that Maya could go all the way. “Maya Jama has 100 per cent got what it takes, and all of them, to be honest,” he said. He went on to add: “The three traitors have all got a good case because they’ve all been voted the most trustworthy, so they’re all doing really well.”
However, Andrew believes the Traitors will turn on one another before tomorrow night’s final. He commented: “I think the biggest obstacle is going to be that they turn against each other. I think one of them will have to turn against the other one. But they’ve got no heat on them from any of the faithful. So I think Maya Jama is playing a really good game.”
But after James A refused to take part in a task which would benefit the Traitors last week, Andrew says he empathises with the comedian. Both James and Andrew started off on the show as Faithful, before being recruited by The Traitors. “You’re trying to play so many games,” he said.
Speaking in connection with Buzz Bingo, Andrew went on to add: “You’re trying to take the heat off you, you’re trying to be part of a team, and it’s hard trying to juggle it all. So I do understand. I can see it from both sides of the fence. And yeah, he probably has put a bit of a target on his back now. Do Maya and King Kenny trust him now? So he could be hung out to dry now.”
This year has also seen increased paranoia in the castle, with EastEnders hardman Ross Kemp initially fearing he’d been murdered after a co-star merely touched him. However, he was later murdered in plain sight by James A and Maya, who bored him so much he yawned.
“It’s hard,” Andrew said of the paranoia inside the castle, adding: “It is really hard. You get paranoid because you’ve seen previous series. You know how other people have been murdered, so you’re going to suspect things. Nobody wants to drink from any cups; nobody wants to do anything. You get really paranoid.”
Tonight will disclose whether the brutal roundtable voted in favour of Joanne McNally or Sharon Rooney being banished from the castle, as the Faithful and Traitors once again go head to head ahead of tomorrow’s final.
The Traitors airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 8pm.
As Coronation Street villain Idris Nazir takes cruel action against Underworld owner Carla Connor-Swain, actress Alison King has revealed ‘devastation and disaster’ ahead
00:00, 27 Oct 2026Updated 00:02, 27 Oct 2026
Carla Connor-Swain will be cruelly targeted by a Coronation Street villain(Image: ITV)
Carla Connor-Swain will be cruelly targeted by a Coronation Street villain very soon.
Now, actress Alison King, who has played Carla for 20 years, has teased “devastation and disaster” ahead. While Carla’s wife Lisa Connor-Swain will be there to support her, Carla faces rough times.
With her business, Underworld, facing ruin, villain Idris Nazir goes out of his way to steal it from her, including by sabotaging her plans. Soon, Carla has a fight on her hands with her livelihood at risk.
Ali shared: “She’s trying her absolute best to keep a lid on how stressed she is so she doesn’t panic everyone. But with inflation, everything is tight.
“The orders haven’t been coming in, and they haven’t been winning the contracts they wanted. She’s keeping it under her hat, but they are really struggling.
“She’s been trying to be strong and deal with it on her own, but she’s had a lot coming at her. I think she’s taken her eye off the game a bit and hasn’t been as invested.
“We also haven’t had the full team together, Sarah’s been awaiting her trial. There’s been a lot of turmoil for everyone.” Lisa’s there for Carla, but it leads to tension between them, with Ali adding: “Lisa is very literal, so she says things coming from a place of love, but it really rubs Carla the wrong way.
“Carla is learning to deal with that and understand what Lisa actually means, but she hated the thought of that. The factory is a huge part of Carla’s identity, it’s everything to her. It’s that or nothing.
“She lives very much in the present, and that fight-or-flight mode keeps her going.” Of course Idris is doing his best to get to Carla, with him after Underworld. Ali said: “Idris instantly rubbed her up the wrong way.
“Just the fact that he chimed in as if he knew anything about her, the way he speaks to her, and how he carries himself, everything about him annoys her right from the off. It was very abrupt, and there was almost literal hatred there from the start.
“She doesn’t know she’s underestimated him yet because she doesn’t realise he was behind [what happens]. Carla fights fire with fire and isn’t frightened of someone like him, but she underestimates just how nasty and manipulative he can be.
“Her instincts about bad people are usually spot on, but at the moment, he doesn’t scare her because she doesn’t know what lengths he will go to.” Carla hopes to salvage things before they are lost though.
Ali said: “Everything is on track if she can get this massive order out. That would tide them over into the next contract, and they’d be fine. This new client is someone she’s been wanting to work with for ages, and she knows anyone in the industry would vouch for Underworld’s track record. She’s really looking forward to working with him.”
But things change as devastation strikes, while fans will have to wait and see what happens. Ali went on: “She loves her workforce, they mean everything to her. They’re like her children, especially after giving her the most beautiful wedding.
“So having to let them down, especially financially right before Christmas, is absolutely devastating for her. She’s completely gutted. She’s devastated. She keeps it to herself for as long as she can before having to confess that the insurance won’t cover it.
“She simply overlooked it because her head was full with everything else, Sarah, Betsy, and keeping things running. Given past trauma like the roof collapse, it’s a massive trigger for her. At this point, she genuinely thinks it was just a terrible, tragic accident.”
Carla will not go down without a fight though. Ali said: “Running it with someone else wouldn’t be her first choice, but if it’s her only option to keep everyone above water, she’d do it. What’s driving her to save it is the panic of having no plan B, not wanting to play second fiddle to Lisa, and feeling a massive responsibility toward her staff and being a role model for Betsy.
“But she does not want Idris involved at any cost.” Ali has enjoyed playing Carla’s “vulnerable” side in the scenes too. She said: “Bringing vulnerable Carla out of the box reminds everyone of who she really is.
“Every time she goes through a crisis like this, she comes back a bit more understanding and empathetic toward others, even if she still loses her temper along the way!” On her future if Underworld does close, she added: “Her default seems to be helping Roy in the cafe, I would love that, she could live the dream running a cafe.
“But she likes the day to day cut and thrust of running the factory so it might not keep her satisfied for too long. She isn’t ready to slow down.”
The “Rookie” actor appeared in a short video posted Sunday to the show’s Instagram Stories with her temporary partner, Alan Bersten — who is filling in for suspended pro Val Chmerkovskiy — to promote their upcoming routine.
“Hi, everybody,” Dewan said while standing beside Bersten during rehearsals. “It’s ‘Dedication Night’ and we are dancing a Viennese waltz to ‘Unchained Melody’ by the Righteous Brothers, the greatest, most romantic song ever.”
The “Step Up” star shared on social media that she is dedicating this dance to her mother.
“My mom has always been my biggest cheerleader,” Dewan wrote in her Sunday Instagram post. “The one who believed in me before I even knew what was possible for myself. Who encouraged me to dream big, to keep going, and most importantly, to never lose sight of who I am along the way.”
She added: “There’s something so beautiful and full circle about getting to honor the woman who first encouraged my love of dance, through the very thing she helped me fall in love with.”
The short teaser was shared shortly after it was announced that Chmerkovskiy would be suspended for a week for posting a message on TikTok that seemed to reference Will Smith‘s infamous 2022 Oscars slap. That incident involved Smith rushing the stage and slapping host Chris Rock with an open hand after the Oscars host made jokes about Jada Pinkett Smith.
“Keep my wife’s name out your … mouth!” Smith shouted at Rock afterward.
Chmerkovskiy’s since-deleted TikTok post appeared to be in response to judge Carrie Ann Inaba‘s harsh critique of the performance by pro Jenna Johnson, his wife, and partner Harry Shum Jr. during Tuesday’s “Super Bowl Night” episode of the show.
“You almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night,” Chmerkovskiy reportedly wrote.
“DWTS” producers BBC Studios responded with a widely reported statement that the “well-being of everyone who works on Dancing with the Stars is non-negotiable. Val’s social media post was inappropriate and does not reflect the values or standards expected of anyone connected with the show. As a result, he will not participate in next week’s show.”
Chmerkovskiy has since apologized for his remark, saying in a statement provided to Deadline that he had merely reacted on “instinct” to “defend [his] wife.”
“In a moment where my instinct was to defend my wife, I made a poor decision to reference a meme to ‘keep my wife’s name’ out of the conversation, without stopping to think through what else that reference could imply, which was genuinely never my intention,” the statement read. “Carrie Ann certainly didn’t deserve to get caught in the middle of my bad judgment, and I hate that she was.”
The dancer also reportedly posted an apology to his Instagram Stories on Thursday.
“I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for my recent post,” he wrote. “I have reached out to Carrie Ann to apologize directly and personally, and I also want to apologize publicly as I understand my words affect so many outside of our internal DWTS family.”
Bersten, who is filling in this week as Dewan’s partner, was previously paired with celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis before they were eliminated earlier in the season.
Amy Dowden has teased her comeback to Strictly Come Dancing after it was confirmed she would be replacing injured Delta Goodrem, who is unable to dance this week
21:51, 14 Oct 2026Updated 21:51, 14 Oct 2026
Amy is returning to the Strictly dancefloor this weekend(Image: BBC)
Amy Dowden has teased her comeback to Strictly Come Dancing as she’s set to replace injured Delta Goodrem.
Singer Delta has been forced to miss this year’s Icons Week after breaking her rib. She has been forced to pull out of the show this week and will get a bye to the following week as per the rules.
It has been confirmed that Amy will dance with Kai. Vogue Williams said on Lorraine today: “It’s good to see her back, but she’s going to be dancing with Kai, and supposedly to Dolly Parton’s Jolene. I mean, that’s going to be so good.”
Now, footage has emerged of Amy – who was first out the competition with Chris Appleton – reacting to the group dance. “I really think this Icon’s Week is going to be phenomenal,” she said as the group prepared to dance to a Madonna number.
Today, Delta shared an update on her own health. Taking to social media, she wrote: “Just wanted to come on here and say a big Thank you to everyone who has sent messages and wrote lovely comments the last couple of days, I see them all.
“Not the start to the week I’d hoped for but your support has meant the world. Also special big thank you to my amazing dance partner @kaiwidd who I will miss dancing with this weekend but I am so beyond grateful for his guidance and friendship through it all.. as well as the wonderful Strictly team!!”
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Delta had previously said she was “absolutely gutted” to be out the show for the week, and hoped she’d be back the following week. She told fans: “I’ve been loving every second of this experience, so having to sit this one out is heartbreaking – especially after the high of Saturday night.
“I cannot tell you how much I love being a part of this magical show. I’m going to focus on resting and recovering, and hopefully I’ll be back on that dancefloor very soon. Thank you so much to everyone for all the love and support. It’s so appreciated. I’ll be cheering everyone on from the sidelines this week!”
