Sean Slater has returned to Albert Square after a four year absence, and a fresh EastEnders plot that "treads new ground" for his character is on the horizon.
Actor Robert Kazinsky appeared in the BBC soap for just three years prior to his original departure in 2009, though the character remained a fan-favourite and made subsequent guest returns between 2019 and 2022.
This time, the comeback is permanent - and has been seven years in the making.
"It started in 2019 when [head of continuing drama] Kate Oates originally approached me about coming back for a block that involved Sean attempting to take his own life. I came back because I was marking 10 years of Sean leaving, and I really enjoyed it," Kazinsky tells Radio Times this morning, less than 24 hours since his return scenes aired.
"For the first time in a really long time, I felt like, 'Oh my god, I'm doing what I should be doing.' Working with Gillian [Wright] and Lacey [Turner] just felt so good."
He went on to detail how Oates stayed in touch with him, though because he was based in Los Angeles at the time, they were struggling to make further appearances possible.
"It just never was going to happen. I always said that if I was in town, I'd do something quick. And I did once. I happened to be around the corner, and called her the day before. They wrote a scene of Sean with Eve [Unwin] and Stacey [Slater], and when I went back to back home to LA, I did a FaceTime call for the show too.
"I was always trying to do what I could, and then four years ago I left America and I moved back here, and that's when the conversations really started. I sat down with Ben [Wadey, executive producer] and with Kate lots of times over those years, and we would develop some ideas, and we'd have some thoughts."
Sean's timely arrival coincides with the disappearance of former stepdaughter Amy Mitchell (Ellie Dadd), who has fled Walford with her groomer Craig Ingram (Matthew James-Bailey).
But understands that there's something far bigger in the pipeline that will begin to play out within the coming months.
"I had to sit down with Ben, and we really fleshed out what we were going to be doing for the foreseeable," Kazinsky continued.
"Ben had this idea of a storyline that he's always wanted to do that has never been seen before with Sean, and that was a really big hook for me. The storyline will tread new ground for him, and hopefully help a lot of people. It's something completely new and brilliant, and that's what got me back."
But what about those preexisting relationships that Sean has with his family, Jack (Scott Maslen) and Max Branning (Jake Wood)?
"Will the Brannings and Sean Slater ever see eye-to-eye?" Kazinsky seemed to ponder, before laughing: "Not a chance. It's never going to happen. Just there's too much history, and on top of that, there's nothing binding them. There's nothing they would ever have in common."
And could a romance be on the horizon? It is Sean, after all.
"Roxy was the love of his life, but he might have a thing," he explained.
"He might break a heart here or there, but nobody will ever take Roxy's place. I think a lot of people find themselves in the same boat."
Kazinsky has one request to make for his character - to share the screen with sister Stacey (Turner) again. The actress is currently waltzing around the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom, so while we may not see the siblings together for a while yet, there's definitely opportunity for their relationship to be explored.
"Even when we used to go out and party back in 2008, you couldn't get her off the dance floor then. I'm not expecting her to get off one now," he joked.
"The Slaters feel like a real family, but it will never feel complete until we convince Lacey to come back and be a part of it. EastEnders can be a bit depressing for some characters - they always have something so sad to deal with. While Stacey Slater might get pooped on from a great height by every seagull, Lacey Turner is having a great time."
There's plenty of new characters for Sean to interact with too, with Kazinsky teasing that some comedy scenes are forthcoming.
"I've been having a really nice time with Stephen Aaron-Sipple. And some of the silliest things that you're going to see from Sean over the next few months all involve Pierre Counihan-Moullier who plays Oscar Branning.
"We both kind of been looking at each other, going, 'Oh, I see why people said that thing about him being Sean coded.' We approach the scripts in the same way. We've been having a really really good time working together, and I think Sean and Oscar will make people laugh a lot over the next few months."
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