Tonight’s episode of EastEnders (Monday, February 5), saw Karen Taylor make a return to Walford towards the end of the evening.
She returned on the day of the café reopening in a bid to find her son Keanu Taylor.
Karen’s back – stunning everyone in The Square – but how long is she planning on sticking around for?
EastEnders: Karen returned to Walford
Over in Walford this evening, Kat and Nish re-opened the café after the renovations were finished.
Bernie had been hoping to get her old job back and tried to impress Nish so that he’d employ her.
Nish was impressed by Bernie and decided to give her a managing position, leaving Bernie thrilled.
However, Nish soon lashed out when Bernie accidentally started to play an old voicemail message from Keanu.
It wasn’t long after this that Karen made herself known, returning to Walford after leaving at the end of last year.
Phil caught sight of Karen and was livid with her, having originally forced her to leave after she’d nicked his £50k.
EastEnders: How long is Karen back in the soap for?
In August 2023, Karen Taylor actress Lorraine Stanley revealed that she was leaving her soap role and was looking forward to becoming ‘a jobbing actor.’
After reports that she had been axed from the soap, Lorraine took to Instagram and shared: “Hey everyone! I’m so grateful for all of your lovely messages this past week.
“Thank you to @daranlittle for creating the Taylors and to the BBC for giving me the opportunity to play such a fabulous character. @bbceastenders I’ll be sad to be saying goodbye to Karen Taylor and will miss all the cast and crew at Eastenders.
“However I’m looking forward to my next chapter and excited about being a jobbing Actor again & starting new ventures. Again your kind words of support have been amazing!!!
“I’m going to miss my Taylor/Baker famalam @clair_norris @danny_walters & Roger @matthew_james_morrison ….Much love xxx”
With this in mind, fans believed that Karen’s departure was permanent last year. However, she surprised fans by returning back just months later tonight.
But, is this just a brief return for Karen? Or, has Lorraine Stanley already made a permanent return to the BBC soap just months after her initial exit?
Read more: Complete EastEnders cast list – meet them all here
EastEnders usually airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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