poignant
EastEnders sees return of TWO legends from beyond the grave in touching scenes ahead of 40th anniversary
Longtime viewers were very moved to see these familiar faces once again
EASTENDERS brought back two legendary characters from beyond the grave ahead of the soap's landmark 40th anniversary.
Tuesday's episode saw several Walford residents take a trip down memory lane.
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Original characters Arthur (Bill Treacher) and Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) made a special appearance.
Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) - girlfriend of their son Martin (James Bye) - tracked down an old tape of the pair appearing on game show Cat and Mouse in 1989.
Pauline signed Arthur up as a contestant on the fictitious programme, while she sat in the audience.
Martin and Ruby were joined by friends and family in the Queen Vic as they watched the classic episode.
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In emotional scenes, Martin - the last remaining adult Fowler in the soap - showed his parents to his own children.
This included young son Arthur seeing his namesake for the first time.
Elsewhere, Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) recalled seeing the game show episode when it aired live.
While Ian (Adam Woodyatt) proudly pointed out his relatives to Priya (Sophie Khan Levy).
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Fans were very moved to see Pauline and Arthur - sharing their emotion on social media.
One wrote: "i’m not crying, you are x #eastenders."
Stacey Slater and Ruby Allen's fued over Martin Fowler, Eastenders
Another added: "How lovely to see Pauline and Arthur feature in #Eastenders - a fitting little recognition of two iconic characters as the 40th is marked.
"Brilliant way to do it too. And great seeing a beaming Martin watching them with such joy."
As a third suggested: "@bbceastenders you HAVE to upload Arthur’s game show episode under Classic EastEnders now!!"
Bill Treacher appeared regularly as Arthur for over a decade, from 1985 until 1996.
The actor passed away in November 2022, at the age of 92.
EastEnders' 40th anniversary cameos so far
With the 40th anniversary of EastEnders coming up, fans are looking forward to some more incredible cameos from iconic faces of Walford's past. But who have we had so far?
Tracy-Ann Oberman - Oberman returned as Chrissie Watts, a character she last played nearly two decades ago.
Paul Bradley - Bradley returned as Nigel Bates, a character he last played over 25 years ago.
Micheal French - French returned as David Wicks, a character he last played two decades ago.
Patsy Palmer - Palmer returned as Bianca Jackson, a character she last played in 2019.
Coming up this year...
Ross Kemp - Kemp will reprise his role as Grant Mitchell, a character he first played in 1990. The BBC has described Kemp's storyline as "explosive". Kemp said it was an "absolute honour" to return to the show.
Other aspects of the 40th anniversary celebration include: A wedding between fan favorites, A huge explosion at the Queen Vic, and A live interactive episode.
Meanwhile, Wendy Richard starred as matriarch Pauline from 1985 to 2006.
She sadly died of breast cancer in 2009, at 65 years of age.
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A final poignant touch saw Bill and Wendy credited together for the first time in decades.
EastEnders continues on BBC One and iPlayer.
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