Janine’s colossal EastEnders return story ‘revealed’ and it will change absolutely everything
Are answers on the way?
Though Walford and Westeros are figuratively and literally worlds apart, a particular quote from Lady Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones rings true for EastEnders’ most fatal femme, Janine Butcher.
‘I wonder if you’re the worst person I’ve ever met; at a certain age, it’s hard to recall, but the truly vile do stand out through the years’ said Olenna Tyrell while roasting Cersei Lannister.
Janine, played by Charlie Brooks, stands tall in the pantheon of soap villains as an example of one of the most evil creatures to ever traipse across Albert Square.
A damaged, abandoned and neglected youngster who morphed into a supremely manipulative, cruel, remorseless monster who’s pursuit of financial security and revenge left a trail of bodies in her wake.
It’s why she’s so beloved – in a love to hate way – and with news of her impending return to EastEnders later this year, fans are salivating at the prospect of seeing that eyebrow cock as she delivers one of her trademark vicious barbs.
The only question mark when it comes to why she’s back is who exactly she’ll be interacting with. Her family are all gone, and besides Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick), nobody else on the Square can stand her.
Why is Janine returning?
Despite her propensity for scamming, manipulating and eventually murdering the men in her life, it was clear as day: Janine loved Mick Carter (Danny Dyer).
The finale of the truly toxic love triangle story between Mick, his soulmate Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Albert Square’s premier bitch saw Mick swept away into the sea and presumed dead as he tried to save his one true love.
Is this how we finally learn what became of Mick? Could we see him again? Is Janine the key to unlocking the mystery of his ultimate fate?
Or is she back for Linda herself?
As history has shown, Janine has never given up on a feud, always seeing it through to the bloody, bitter end, something a spell in prison prevented her from seeing through with Linda.
After the utter carnage Janine wrought on our L’s life, she’s finally found some peace and stability, even entertaining the prospect of a new relationship with dishy councillor Clive Masters (Jason Durr) after a will-they-won’t-they dalliance with trouble-on-legs, Max Branning (Jake Wood).
But with her worst nightmare set to reappear, could the peace Linda has found be shattered?
While Clive doesn’t seem to possess the cunning needed to take on Janine, Max certainly does; will the re-emergence of her enemy force her to seek help from him and draw them together again?
What happened in Janine’s last stint?
Janine’s last stint saw her attempt to decimate the once-unshakeable relationship between Linda and her husband, Mick.
Although Janine usually went into battle for money, power or revenge, this time, she seemingly had her heart set on Mick himself, and she all but completely annihilated Linda’s life in her efforts to claim him.
Janine, a predator in every sense of the word, always possessed an uncanny ability to spot someone’s weakness a mile away and was capable of exploiting it to it’s fullest potential, and Linda’s alcoholism was the perfect weapon.
The two went to war and Janine seemingly emerged as the victor, marrying Mick just before Christmas in 2022, though the truth later came out as her house of cards came tumbling down, with the police being called as her nefarious schemes were laid bare for all to see.
With Janine pregnant with Mick’s baby at this point, she tried to flee, with Mick and Linda in hot pursuit.
In the utter calamity that followed, Janine drove off a cliff, leading Mick to dive into the water in an attempt to save her and his baby.
Unaware that Linda had swam to safety, he returned to the depths to find her and was swallowed by the waves.
Charged with perverting the course of justice, Janine was sentenced to five years in prison.
