Wham , bam, here comes Sam!

When it comes to bringing characters back to the Square in dramatic style, EastEnders does have its preferred scenarios.

The top tier, of course, is resurrection from the dead, as demonstrated recently by Cindy Beale. This one is limited to once a decade, however, for fear of the show’s credibility creaking more than Patrick’s joints on a damp winter morning.

Then we have the cab drawing up on the Square, with a tantalising glimpse of feet stepping out onto damp pavement. Just the other week we saw Dean’s designer trainers creep towards The Vic to make Linda’s Halloween a real fright night.

For Sam Mitchell’s big return to

Walford this week, we have the old ‘chucked out the back of a van by a disgruntled heavy’ option (right).

Of course, this does save us viewers a bit of time. We instantly know Sam’s back, we know she’s in trouble and we know she’ll probably have to get bruvver Phil to bail her out. It’s all pretty textbook really, with Phil left to pay off some drug dealers while wife Kat despairs that things with Sam will inevitably end the same way.

Meanwhile, Sam’s history of messing up repeats elsewhere, too. She’s so tied up with the drug drama that the habitually absent mum once again forgets she has a son, Ricky, on the other side of the Square, not to mention a new granddaughter, Charli, she’s never met. What sort of welcome will Sam get when she finally does rock up? Well, let’s just say if she’s hoping for a ‘World’s Best Nan’ mug this Christmas, Sam will need to visit Amazon and buy her own.

Ian and Cindy are delighted when their pie and mash shop, named Beale’s Eels, opens for business, but the launch day isn’t such a cause for celebration for Dean. Cindy’s sleeping partner ends up having a lot more than 40 winks after an altercation sends him down The Vic’s stairs.