Cindy Beale has been revealed as Rose Knight on EastEnders in a shock twist – but there's so much more we need to know.
In huge scenes this evening, it was confirmed by soap bosses that Rose Knight is in fact Cindy Beale, as Michelle Collins made her much-anticipated return to the BBC soap after a quarter of a century off our screens.
We now know she is very much alive but there is so much more to find out about what happened to her in the 20-odd years we presumed she was dead. As Michelle makes her return as Cindy, we look back at what happened to lead up to this moment and what's coming up in the future for Cindy Beale and her new 'family', the Knights.
When did we last see Cindy?
Cindy arrived in Albert Square in 1988, where she started by working on her mum's market stall helping to sell a few hats. A few romances later, she ended up marrying Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt).
However the pair have a huge chequered history, with Cindy organising for someone to kill Ian. She got arrested for attempted murder, when they managed to persuade the police about her involvement in what happened.
Pregnant with Nick's baby, she made her last appearance on the BBC soap in person in April 1998. On the 5th November in 1998, Ian is given the news that Cindy has died in childbirth but her daughter survived, with Cindy's sister Gina getting custody of the little one.
What happened to Cindy?
As far as we all knew, Cindy had passed away in childbirth as she welcomed her daughter into the world.
However, we now know that was a complete lie – and she is actually alive and well. We don't know, though, what happened to her in the past two decades but it has been confirmed she has been living in France.
What happened in between then and now is still a mystery, but we will no doubt find out soon what has been going on.
What's Cindy doing now?
As the episode aired this evening, Cindy was seen living a wonderful lifestyle in the French countryside, but there is much more to be found out about what she's doing, why she's there and who else is involved too!
She was obviously married to George Knight, so we will no doubt find out more about his history with her as well as what happened in the 20 years since she 'died'.
We know the police are involved somehow with it all, with fans long suspecting she is in witness protection, but what has Cindy been hiding, where has she been hiding and what does this mean for her future?
How does Ian Beale fit into the Cindy storyline?
Soap bosses have confirmed Ian is back too – but all will become clear very soon.
"What will become much clearer is how they got back together, just over a year ago, and how she really relied on Ian. At the end of the day, he’s hopelessly in love, isn’t he?," executive producer Chris shared.
"Yes, she tried to kill him but he’s had six marriages and I think love is blind when it comes to Ian."
