Michelle Ryan shot to fame at the age of 16 as Zoe Slater on EastEnders, leaving five years later in 2005 to pursue new acting projects. And while many fans are hopeful that the actress will make a return to Albert Square with her on-screen mum, Kat Slater actress Jessie Wallace, and Laila Morse, who plays her great-grandmother, Big Mo, Michelle has instead confirmed she is reprising a role on another big BBC show – Doctor Who. Michelle previously starred alongside David Tennant as mischievous thief Lady Christina de Souza in the show's Planet of the Dead episode back in 2009.
Michelle Ryan with David Tennant in Doctor Who
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The actress will appear in four new stories, which will air in September 2018, called It Takes a Thief by John Dorney, Skin Deep by James Goss, Portrait of a Lady by Tim Dawson and Death on the Mile by Donald McLeary. Of the news, Michelle said it was a "very easy" decision to make. She said: "Being asked to revisit the role of Lady Christina was a very easy decision. Adventure, a sunny climate and mind-boggling scenarios are included in the scripts, everything I remember of my Doctor Who experience."
Michelle added that she was looking forward to working with new actors, which will include Luther star Warren Brown, and Jacqueline King, who will once again reprise her role as Donna's mum Sylvia Noble. "Alas no David Tennant, but there’s a host of new characters to help along the way. I love that we get to see a little more of her heart in the stories, that she does care about the greater good whilst also satisfying her curiosity for life," she said.
Fans hope that the actress will one day return to EastEnders
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Whether Michelle will then make a return to EastEnders is yet to be seen, but it will happen if actress Jessie Wallace has anything to do with it. The pair made headlines after starring in one of the soap's most memorable storylines, in which Zoe found out that Kat was really her mum. Talking to Radio Times, Jessie said: "I think it would be a great storyline if Zoe were to come back. It’d be brilliant. I still get people shouting, 'You ain’t my mother!’ at me and asking me to say ‘yes, I am.'"
