It's a dramatic season ahead for Walford in EastEnders.
Between shock returns, dramatic exits, a double wedding and a whole new family, there is no shortage of chaos in the weeks ahead.
So, we have a sneak peek at what awaits the residents of Albert Square...
EastEnders 2026 autumn preview with boss Ben Wadey
1. Sean Slater is back for good – with a huge story
Of course, one of the biggest headlines for the show lately has been the news that Rob Kazinsky is returning as Sean Slater – and not in a guest spot but as a full-time character. But what brings Sean back now?
"I think Sean is one of those characters who just promises chaos and energy, unpredictability," noted Wadey. "You know, I was such a big fan of the show in the noughties when he was so prevalent in the show, and he's arriving at an interesting point for the Slater clan."
However, the other family that Sean will have dramatic stories with is, of course, the Brannings.
Wadey noted: "You know, he saw Amy as his child briefly, and I think he still holds on to that a little bit. So he's got those connections. He and Max have somewhat of a chequered past. He and Jack are also very complicated. So he's one of those characters that can land back in the show and immediately have conflict or love with everyone."
The other key element of Sean's return will be how much he has matured and changed in his time away from the Square – but not too much.
"I'm really interested in who Sean is at this age, who Sean is as a 40-year-old man, and seeing him grow up a little bit, but not growing up too much, because you still want the fun of classic Sean Slater, and it's been great."
The executive producer confirmed: "He's been filming for a couple of weeks now, and I just get to kind of go in and look at the daily footage and just watching some of those early scenes and being like, 'OK, Sean's back, this is good.' So I can't wait for all of you guys to see him.
"We've got very exciting plans for him that we'll be talking about a bit more down the line."
2. Double wedding jeopardy for Max Branning & Cindy Beale and Kim Fox & Howie Danes
"There's a double wedding coming up, so it's a bit of wedding wars," noted Ben.
Of course, one couple has infidelity hanging over them: "We've got Cindy and Max: The Wedding... what could possibly go wrong?”
Max (Jake Wood) has been having an affair with Priya Nandra-Hart (Sophie Khan Levy), who is now pregnant but engaged to Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).
However, there's the small issue that the pregnancy has possibly been fathered by Max...
Will Cindy (Michelle Collins) discover the truth? Hell hath no fury...
Meanwhile, there are difficulties of a different kind facing Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) and Howie Danes (Delroy Atkinson) as their wedding approaches.
"The Fox-Truemans are going through a difficult time, as you all know," noted Ben. "Denise has been diagnosed with leukaemia and is going through chemotherapy, and there's a real effort, a sustained effort on the Fox-Truemans' part to keep the family buoyant and afloat, and 'Let's do this wedding, and it's amazing.'
"But it's laced with... is it because they need to get it done so that Denise can actually be there and witness the wedding?"
Wadey commented: "I love these scenes because you've got Cindy throwing money at it and Max throwing money at it, but it's not going quite as brilliantly as they would like.
"Kim and Howie can't afford that massive, lavish wedding, and they'll have obstacles in their own way.
"But some of the scenes in a few weeks in September, on the day of their actual wedding, have me crying with laughter."
Will either of the couple end the day married?
3. More returns in time for Linda Carter's exit from Walford
Of course, EastEnders fans were shaken to hear that Kellie Bright is leaving her beloved role as Linda Carter after 13 years with the show.
However, Linda will be on-screen until early 2027, and there will be plenty of story for her before she departs.
Wadey commented: "We've got some other returns actually coming up. You may have read that Kellie Bright is very sadly leaving us after so many brilliant years in the programme.
"Kellie, you know, I'm quite close to Kellie, and she's such a phenomenal actor and Linda Carter is one of the all-time great EastEnders characters, so losing her is such a big moment for the show, and we wanted to make sure we see Linda at her best in her final few months."
To cap this off, Wadey confirmed that all of Linda’s children would be on-screen together before the former Queen Vic landlady leaves Walford.
"So, we'll be welcoming Lee and Nancy back into the fold for a period," revealed Ben, "in a story that I guarantee your jaws will drop when you see the first cliffhanger."
Fans are also aware that Charlie Brooks is on her way back to the show as Linda's nemesis Janine Carter (née Butcher), so where will she fit into proceedings? Will there be heartache concerning Mick Carter (Danny Dyer)?
With it now confirmed that Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff) is also leaving the soap, will it be a positive ending for the Carter family in EastEnders?
4. Denise Fox's family grows with half-brother Darnell Larson, Jr and his daughter Grace
As previously announced, Denise Fox (Diane Parish) will soon be faced with her paternal half-brother Darnell Larson, Jr (Christopher Colquhoun) and his daughter Grace (Krysstina Frempong), after her loved ones go looking for a stem cell match amid her failing leukaemia treatment.
"We have more of Denise's extended family as part of her search to find her stem cell donor," detailed Wadey. "We get to meet her long-lost brother Darnell, who she didn't even know existed, and Darnell's daughter Grace.
"They're really joyous characters because they're quite down to earth and normal, and they're kind of watching Walford from afar, being like, 'This place is mad', and dipping their toe in, not quite sure how they're going to integrate.
"And what it allows us to do is kind of have these slightly 'straight men' within the show, not sure how they're going to fit in and respond to this drama. And of course, we will suck them into it, and they'll end up within our hurricane of joy and drama over the coming months."
Naturally, all of this serves to add to the weight of Denise's plight in her 20th year in the soap - and Diane Parish will continue to portray this weighty story with such gravitas.
"Denise's story continues, which has all of the emotions.
"Some of the episodes next week actually are probably some of the most powerful episodes that I've watched since I've been here, and have a box of tissues ready.
"So I say, Di Parish, and that entire cast, all the family, just are extraordinary in their performances."
Will Darnell and Grace be the answer to Denise's prayers?
5. A dramatic turn in Suki and Eve Panesar-Unwin's story
And what about our beloved Sukeve?
Fan-favourites Suki (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Panesar-Unwin (Heather Peace) are currently grappling with fostering troubled child Ria Virdi (Aaria Sharma), but it hasn't been easy, and it seems things are about to take an even bigger turn.
"Suki and Eve have something big coming up," teased Ben.
He continued: "We have deliberately played out the adoption story very slowly and very realistically because, you know, it's a real-world issue that we'll still go through."
He continued: "We wanted to get that right, but Suki's been a little bit quiet for a little while, and we wanted to correct that, so Suki and Eve have something quite major coming up."
Does this mean that Balvinder Sopal's beloved 'Dark Suki' will be putting in an appearance? And how much jeopardy does this mean for the beloved couple?
6. The Hawkins clan bring the chaos – and they'll grow even more
We've already met Nicola Mitchell's sisters, scatty Gemma (Patricia Potter) and feisty Jodie Hawkins (Anna Constable), along with her icy mother Rose (Marian McLoughlin).
Later this month, we'll meet Gemma's no-nonsense husband Ned Roper (Jamie Bamber) – who has a past connection with Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) – and their cheeky son Ryder (Felix Uff).
Wadey noted: "Nicola is not a bad liar, and she's quite comfortable spinning her own versions of events. And again, what I found really interesting through the story is us seeing Nicola's version, and then us hearing different versions of her past, and what her mum's version of the past is compared to her sister's version of the past, and what I really like about that is it's so true in so many families that everybody has these shared collective experiences and these memories of things that happened many years ago, but everyone remembers them slightly differently, and it just creates endless drama.
"So if you get the characters right and those relationships amongst them right. It means that we'll uncover things that maybe will go in directions that you weren't necessarily expecting."
Nicola also doesn't just have a complicated history with mum Rose - but also with brother-in-law Ned, which will be explored further.
If the addition of a family of five new regular characters in the show wasn't enough – we have a sixth on the way in the form of Gemma and Ned's daughter, Megan, who was already mentioned in her mum's debut episode.
"Megan is out there," Wadey confirmed, "and we will meet her down the line. Not for a little bit. She's got her own storyline happening currently off-screen, but in time it will very much be on-screen."
He teased: "As we were constructing this family, there are stories about what gets passed down through generations, and it means that we have established a character and done quite a lot of work already on what that's going to look like, but I don't think [the cast] even know all the details of it yet. That's an exciting, probably post-Christmas arrival for us."
7. Goodbye, Zoe Slater
While Ben Wadey didn't specifically tease anything in relation to Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), he did mention that Sean will return to the soap during an "interesting point for the Slater clan".
The soap has already confirmed actress Michelle Ryan's departure from the role of Zoe, with The Sun also reporting that Zoe will be killed off.
Where would such a tragedy leave her mum Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) and the rest of the family, including Zoe's recently discovered long-lost children, Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) and Josh Goodwin (Josh Vaughan)?
8. Max Branning's list of enemies grows ahead of New Year's Day 2027
The biggest story of 2026 has been, of course, the build-up to the New Year's Day episode next year following a flash-forward back in January.
We know that Max Branning and his loved ones are set to be targeted on the day of his wedding to a mystery bride and with a mystery pregnant woman in his bed, and soon there will be no shortage of suspects for wanting to harm the Walford legend.
"Of course there is the flash-forward," concluded Wadey of arguably his biggest storyline. "So we have been building to this for well over a year now, and it was so satisfying just watching these final storylines coming together and having the scripts land and getting so excited about them and some of our longest-serving and most talented writers putting their biggest brains across these episodes, and they are quite something."
He concluded: "There's going to be a lot going on, and we're kind of playing a game over the autumn of how many people can Max Branning piss off ahead of New Year's Day, and the answer is quite a lot actually, so you can kind of tick them off on your bingo lists as we go!"
So, place your bets, EastEnders fans...
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