A new year dawns on EastEnders, drawing a close to the dramatic events of 2025. From Zoe Slater’s return and subsequent stalker drama to Max Branning and his own return to Walford, it’s been a year largely dominated by faces from the soap’s past.
But what of those not named Zoe Slater, Max Branning or Kat Moon? From the oft-sidelined Barney Mitchell to Jack’s other daughter, there are several characters we didn’t see much of last year.
With that in mind, here are 7 Square characters who we’d like to see take centre stage in 2026.
EastEnders characters we want to see more of in 2026: Barney Mitchell
It’s been a difficult year for poor Barney Mitchell. Soon after learning that Teddy Mitchell isn’t his biological father, Barney was forced to deal with his brother’s growing drug addiction and his dad’s life sentence.
After all that’s happened, Barney has gone to stay with Zack, allowing their relationship to deepen somewhat. Will Zack continue to step up for Barney? And how will Nicola react to Barney’s absence from her life?
Whatever happens, hopefully 2026 will be more of Barney’s year. And after months of crushing on bestie Avani, he might even get his girl.
Priya Nandra-Hart
Soaps are all about strong women. The fierce and feisty matriarchal powerhouses who hold space, and everyone else together. And Priya is just that. So why she hasn’t been given the chance to shine?
Next year we’d love to see Priya being given a storyline that doesn’t revolve around Ravi. Her backstory remains a mystery. Could there be other Nandra-Harts out there we can meet?
One thing we’ve learnt about Priya is that her bark is worse than her bite. How lovely was that moment between her and Jean on the underground. Goodness knows Jean could do with a mate right now. Could Priya be that person?
Perhaps give Priya a job too. She’s got all the makings to be a brilliant Vic barmaid. We’d also love to see Priya make friends with some of the fellow mums on the Square. Her and Chelsea would get up to all sorts of mischief.
Penny Branning
The recent scenes between Penny and Harry reminded us how brilliant she is. Wise, sassy and actually very funny. So why isn’t she being given better storylines?
Penny’s part of one of Walford’s most important families, she should be front and centre of the action. Lauren and Oscar will undoubtedly feature heavily over the next year now Max is back living in the Square. We’re just hoping Penny isn’t forgotten about.
There’s definitely still a spark there between Penny and Harry too. Will they resume their romance when he returns from rehab? And what would Gina have to say about it?
EastEnders characters we want to see more of in 2026: Vicki Fowler
Vicki Fowler’s return to Walford has been one of the biggest triumphs of 2025, and Alice Haig has been killing it with her performance. She’s just brilliant and it’s difficult to imagine anyone else playing the character.
Vicki and Ross are now back together after all the Joel drama, but there’s unresolved business between her and Zack. Sharon isn’t going to be happy when she comes home to discover her siblings have caught feelings for one another.
Which man is Vicki going to choose?
Will Mitchell
Poor Will has only featured in a handful of episodes this year. We’d almost forgotten he exists.
Despite being a member of the legendary Mitchell clan, Will is rarely ever seen. It’s a shame, because he was really good in that blackmail storyline with Stevie.
Fans are calling out for Will to team up with Oscar Branning. They’ve both recently turned 18, so it’s an obvious pairing. And wouldn’t it be amusing to watch Oscar leading Billy and Honey’s straight-laced son astray?
While we’re on the subject of underused Mitchells. We hope 2026 is the year Billy, Honey and Janet all get some more airtime.
Chelsea Fox
Chelsea is so criminally underused, but we’ve got high hopes 2026 is going to be her year.
Recent scenes saw Chelsea caught up in the drama between Anthony (RIP) and Zoe. Chelsea has dealt with toxic men before – her dad Lucas and ex-husband Gray Atkins to name two – so she had no fear in exposing Anthony’s duplicity to Kat and Zoe.
There’s also rumour that Chelsea could be the woman who Max was marrying in the flashforward. Now that’s a theory we can definitely get behind.
EastEnders characters we want to see more of in 2026 continued: Callum Highway
Cal h. as gone from a fan favourite to glorified extra, but it’s no wonder why.
His dull relationship with Johnny has failed to recapture the passion and intensity of Ballum. 2026 needs to be the year something exciting happens with Callum, otherwise we’ll be booking that black cab for him ourselves.