Ex EastEnders star Dean Gaffney has sparked hopes among fans that he could be set to make a return to the BBC One soap after he was spotted alongside his former co-stars.
The 44-year-old rose to fame on the soap after his debut in 1993 as Robbie Jackson, before his last scenes in 2019.
Dean became a household name after joining EastEnders as schoolboy Robbie, who was always seen with faithful Alsatian Wellard.
He left Walford in 2004 to look after son Sami, who had been in an accident in India, but reappeared in 2010, 2015, and from 2017 to 2019.
Yet the actor has now sparked speculation that he could be back once again after he headed out for lunch with his former co-stars Natalie Cassidy and Jamie Borthwick.
Sonia Fowler actress Natalie shared an image of the trio to her Instagram, which showed Dean with an affectionate arm around the two actors in a selfie to mark their reunion.
She captioned the post: “When you have the January blues the only thing to do is have lunch with these pair.
“Laughed so much I nearly wet myself. Love you both @jamie_b10 @deangaffney1,” alongside a love heart emoji.
The picture sent fans wild as they speculated whether Dean could be making a return to Albert Square to play Robbie once again.
One fan asked: "An epic return to EastEnders??" Another added: "Is Robbie coming back to EastEnders? Great photo btw"
A third said: "Three legends right there xx,” while a fourth penned: "Bring back Robbie!!"
It comes after Dean last year said he is determined to return to EastEnders, so he can rack up 1,000 episodes.
Dean said: “I’ll get that 1,000th episode because I will probably go back. I’ve been back and forward, like a yo-yo on EastEnders five or six times.
“Probably the most of any actor on the show. My first stint was just under 11 years, I think I got to about 700 episodes then.
“It’s very easy to rack up those episodes if you’re in them. But unless you’re Danny Dyer and you’re in the Queen Vic you’ll not be in every episode.”
Dean said of being in a soap: “It’s a very easy gig. All they ask of you is to be on time and know your lines.
“Because you get paid per episode now, most people will have a look [at the scripts] and go, ‘Brilliant, I’m in the episode but I don’t have much. I can play golf.’”
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One
