EastEnders fans were surprised when they saw Danny Dyer make his highly-anticipated return to Walford on Thursday night. The Queen Vic landlord was in for a shock when he caught his daughter-in-law in bed with new bad boy, 'Woody' Woodward, played by Blue singer Lee Ryan. In newly-released pictures from Friday's upcoming episode, it is clear that Mick is furious as he punches the newcomer, who's dressed is his beloved pink dressing gown. Unable to do anything, Whitney watches on from the sideline.
Danny's return to the BBC soap comes six weeks after he took an extended break. The actor flew to South Africa to recuperate after reportedly suffering from "exhaustion" in February. Of his character's return, an EastEnders source previously told The Sun. "Danny is going to be straight back into the thick of it when his character returns to our screens and his character Mick Carter immediately finds a new enemy. Mick is left seriously riled when Walford's new villain Woody rocks up on the square - and even lands a job alongside him in the Vic. There's going to be ongoing beef between the two hardmen and eventually it all kicks off."
EastEnders star Danny Dyer returns as Mick Carter – see the first photos
Meanwhile, on Friday's episode of Lorraine, Blue singer Lee opened up about what it was like to film with Danny. He explained: "I loved it, I was like 'I'm acting with Danny Dyer, how cool is that?' When we were doing the scene which is on tonight, he gets really… he goes for it, he's very intense. At some point I was like a bit… [I'm] overwhelmed by this, what am I going to do?"
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The singer-turned-actor's cameo will be coming to an end soon, and reflecting on his time on the show, Lee added: "I was so lucky to get such a great character. He's mischievous with a good heart. He just wants to be liked. It's been the most amazing experience. I was nervous when I first started. I walked into the Queen Vic and I was just giggling. It was so weird. I have had people shouting at me in the street over sacking Tracey though. They have been yelling, 'Bring Tracey back' and I want to say that it's just a show."