Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) has made an unexpected return to EastEnders, two years since her exit.
The character originally departed Walford in December 2023 after a 7 year stint, alongside partner Mitch Baker (Roger Griffiths), their grandchildren Mack (Isaac Lemonius) and Mia Atkins (Mahalia Malcolm) and Mitch’s daughter Bailey Baker (Kara-Leah Fernandes).
Despite moving to Spain, Karen returned for a number of guest appearances until the following June. These coincided with her suspicions about eldest son Keanu’s (Danny Walters) disappearance, and the later discovery that he’d been found murdered under the floor of the café.
Following his funeral, Karen went to see his supposed killer, Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo), who accused Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) of falsifying her witness statement against him.
Karen questioned her on this, unaware that she was the one who stabbed Keanu to death to stop him from throttling Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean). Linda managed to contain her secret, and Karen agreed to leave, satisfied that Dean was the killer.
Now, ahead of the return of Karen’s former son-in-law Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith), who abused and murdered her daughter Chantelle (Jessica Plummer), Stanley has reprised the role in a voice-only capacity.
In today’s episode, the Fox-Trueman clan prepared for Jordan Fox’s (Jahsaiah Williams) return home, after weeks in hospital recovering from a spinal injury.
Jordan, the son of Gray and Chelsea Fox (Zaraah Abrahams), was hit by Ian Beale’s (Adam Woodyatt) car.
In the aftermath, Chelsea discovered that he would need regular physiotherapy, though the NHS could only provide this weekly. Sister Libby (Belinda Owusu) convinced her to reach out to Gray’s grandmother Sheila (Sheila Ruskin), who could help financially.
Sheila handed over £3,000, and also asked whether there would be a possibility of getting to meet Jordan. Chelsea was unsure, not wanting to upset him, and was also alarmed to hear that Karen was preventing access to Mack and Mia.
With this still playing on her mind, she called Karen, though reached her voicemail.
Later, Raymond Fox (Michael Jose Pomares Calixte) took Chelsea’s phone to play a game with Jordan, meaning that she missed when Karen called back.
The call was accepted, though neither Raymond or Jordan understood the significance of what Karen was saying. She explained that Chelsea should probably give Sheila a wide berth, as she wasn’t sure whether to trust her.
Over at the café, an emotional Chelsea met up with Sheila and, after she provided some words of wisdom, said that she was willing to allow her contact with Jordan on the understanding that she didn’t reveal the familial connection.
Will this be a huge mistake?
Read more:
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- EastEnders boss teases “emotional” Denise Fox scenes from blood cancer storyline after 20 years on the show
- EastEnders wins Soap award at BAFTA Television Awards 2026 as fan-favourite delivers speech amid anniversary
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