Charlie Brooks will ‘never say never’ to EastEnders return

Former EastEnders star Charlie Brooks has not ruled out returning to the soap as Janine Butcher.

The actress, who appeared in the BBC One programme on and off from 1999 until 2014, said she would “never say never” to making a comeback.

Brooks told Christine Lampard on ITV’s Lorraine: “I don’t know what the future holds.”

She added: “I love theatre, I’ve really been enjoying the challenges that brings – meeting new people, I love moving on to new jobs, I love travelling, all of that.

“So they’re two very different things. But you know, who knows?”

Janine Butcher is still considered one of the most memorable characters of Walford, and over the years battled drug addiction, married four times and was accused of murder.

She was not killed off and headed for France in 2014, leaving the door open for her to return.

Speaking of her former co-star Sid Owen, who played her on-screen brother Ricky, Brooks revealed they still have a very close friendship.

“We just spent Easter in France together,” she said.

“He’s usually in the kitchen cooking for me. He’s a vegetarian, I think he has been for quite a while. He’s always been quite healthy. He cooks well, uses all the right ingredients.”

Brooks is set to star in a new play called Monogamy opposite Oliver Award-winning actress Janie Dee, who plays a star chef called Caroline.

The 36-year-old said of the play, by playwright Torben Betts: “It’s an exploration of people and relationships, people that are conflicted by their pasts or have anxieties about the future.

“It’s set in Caroline’s kitchen; she’s a celebrity chef living this incredible, perfect life, and what happens when the cameras stop rolling.

“It’s a look at the present and how they’re dealing with things.”

Of her character Sally, Brooks added: “My character’s heavily-medicated … she’s been through a lot, experienced a lot of loss and sadness.”