Sid Owen is reportedly set to make a dramatic comeback as EastEnders, reprising his role as Ricky Butcher.
The 50-year-old actor is said to be returning full-time as the loveable mechanic after ten years away from Walford, The Sun reports.
He is said to be starting filming on the BBC soap next month alongside Charlie Brooks, who plays on-screen sister Janine, and ex wife Sam Mitchell, played by Kim Medcalf.
A source told the publication: “Bosses have an exciting storyline planned for his return, involving lots of key players.
“Ricky is an iconic character from Albert Square’s early days, and has been hugely popular over the decades. He has lots of unfinished business.
“The sky’s the limit for script writers. An autumn of bumper storylines is on the cards.”
After appearing alongside Al Pacino in 1985 film Revolution, Sid was cast as dopey Ricky Butcher in EastEnders in 1998 and became famous for Bianca screaming his "Rickyyyyy", playing the role on the soap from 1988 until 2012.
He left EastEnders for the first time in 2000 to make a pop career bid, releasing a cover version of Michael Jackson's 'Good Thing Going' which reached No.14 in the UK Single Chart.
The actor returned to EastEnders for the Ricky and Bianca spin-off episode in 2002 and stayed as a regular until his character was axed in 2004 for a lack of storylines.
Sid returned to EastEnders for the final time in 2008 then left for good four years later, going on to appear in the 2012 series of Strictly Come Dancing and The Jump in 2012. The same year he said he had quit acting for good because he was living in France.
He told The Sunday Mirror at the time: "I've retired. I'm now living permanently in France, where I have been on-and-off for the last ten years, and I'm running my restaurant.
"I haven't quite made my millions but I'm happy doing that and I'll never be back."
He added: "I'm done with the UK and I hope that you will never see me on your TV screens again because I'm done and I've retired. I much prefer the lifestyle I have now."
However, a 2021 bid to get Sid back on the soap was reportedly scraped over a row about pay.
It was understood the actor had hopes on a certain figure but it was completely out of the ballpark for what the BBC were prepared to pay him.
Hard core fans were disappointed old favourite Ricky Butcher will not be returning to Albert Square, particularly after his on-screen sister Janine, played by Charlie Brooks, had been written back into the soap.
