Blue's Lee Ryan finally made his much-anticipated appearance in EastEnders on Tuesday night, sending Twitter into a meltdown. The singer's character, ‘Woody’ Woodward, arrived in Albert Square as the new bar manager of the Queen Vic. His turbulent first appearance was in typical EastEnders fashion, seeing him arrive on a motorbike, before quickly making himself at home behind the bar while the Carter family attended Sylvie’s funeral. Having been sent by Linda to help take care of the running of the pub while both her and Mick are away, he was greeted with a less-than-warm welcome by the rest of the clan. However, over on Twitter, viewers were more than happy to see the former Blue singer on their TV screens, including celebrity fan Zoe Ball. Commenting on his appearance, the presenter wrote: "Already loving Lee Ryan aka Woody in @bbceastenders @BBCOne." Others couldn’t help but have fun with word-play following his arrival, making reference to both Blue and the bands’ popular song, All Rise. "Lee Ryan is in Eastenders now? Well that's a bit out of the blue," wrote one, while another quipped: "All rise! Blue’s Lee Ryan just turned up in Eastenders."
Lee Ryan made his debut appearance on the iconic square on Tuesday night
Back in February, Lee spoke of his excitement at joining the iconic soap. The 33-year-old said of his character: "Woody is a brilliant character and the best role I could have wished to play. It's clear he has been leading a full and colourful life – I can't wait for people to see what he's like. Everyone at EastEnders has been so welcoming. I know some of the cast already, so I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun."
Dean Gaffney is set to make a return to the popular soap as Robbie Jackson
Meanwhile, EastEnders star Dean Gaffney has confirmed his return to Albert Square as hapless Robbie Jackson in the coming weeks. The 39-year-old, who starred in the popular BBC One soap from 1993 until 2003, has shared his excitement over reprising his legendary role. In a statement, the actor said: "I'm really happy to be back. I'm so lucky to be given the chance to work again with such a talented group of people. A big thank you to Sean and the team. I think it's going to be a lot of fun."