EastEnders star Tracy-Ann Oberman’s brutal attack on the soap has resurfaced after it was revealed she will make a surprise return later this year.
The 57-year-old actress will reprise her role as Chrissy Watts for a short run this fall, nearly two decades after her last appearance.
While bosses have undoubtedly welcomed Tracy-Ann back to the soap with open arms, the actress has previously criticised the show’s gruelling schedules and demanding storylines following her departure.
Tracy-Ann also questioned the wild storylines bosses had planned for her character, which saw her murder her father ‘Dirty Den’ Watts.
She told The Radio Times in 2006: ‘Each executive producer brought in new writing teams. It was a challenge, especially when the storylines made you laugh out loud. You imagined the writer was on crack when he wrote it.
EastEnders star Tracy-Ann Oberman’s brutal attack on the soap has resurfaced after it was revealed she will make a surprise return later this year
The actress, who will reprise her role as Chrissy Watts (pictured), previously criticised the show’s gruelling schedules and demanding storylines following her departure in 2005
In 2006, after having her first child, she also said The mirror: ‘You could say I’ve left EastEnders and got my life back.
‘I don’t think it was possible to have a baby when I was working on that show.
‘In my first year I was in 139 out of 146 episodes, so I was riding this huge wave. There were a bunch of other people working just as hard – Jessie Wallace, Shane Richie, Nigel Harman – and we were all walking around with our faces ashen.’
MailOnline has contacted an EastEnders representative for comment.
It was announced on Wednesday that Tracy-Ann is returning to EastEnders after almost twenty years, reprising her role as the infamous Chrissie Watts.
Chrissie last appeared in the BBC soap in December 2005, when she was sent to prison for the murder of her husband Den Watts, played by Lesley Grantham.
She first joined the soap in April 2004 and quickly became a prominent figure, earning a long list of enemies including Kate Mitchell (Jill Halfpenny) and Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace).
But her biggest storyline is when she kills herself in self-defense in the special 20th anniversary episode of the series, Dirty Den.
It was announced on Wednesday that Tracy-Ann is returning to EastEnders after almost two decades, to reprise her role as the infamous Chrissie Watts.
Chrissie last appeared on the BBC soap in December 2005 (pictured), when she was sent to prison for the murder of her husband Den Watts, played by Lesley Grantham
The infamous moment was watched by a whopping 14.34 million people, with almost 60% of potential viewers tuning in.
Along with Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) and Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), Chrissie attempted to cover up the murder by burying Den under the floorboards of The Vic bar.
For months she managed to get away with her crime, living with Den’s beloved adopted daughter, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), and his son Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman).
But when Sam drunkenly dug up the body, she was held responsible for the murder, until Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) returned to help their sister and discovered the truth, after which Chrissie was sent to prison.
Tracy-Ann spoke enthusiastically about her return to the soap: ‘Chrissie Watts was such a great character to play – a victim or a villain.
‘She’s a real fan favourite, so when Chris Clenshaw asked me to come back and revisit her and see what’s happened over the last 19 years, I jumped at the chance.
“The scripts are fantastic and I hope the audience will enjoy her as much as I enjoyed playing her again.”
Executive producer Chris Clenshaw said: ‘I’m delighted to welcome back the hugely talented Tracy-Ann in the iconic role of Chrissie Watts.
Chrissie first joined the soap in April 2004 and quickly rose to prominence, with her biggest storyline seeing her beat ‘Dirty Den’ to death in the show’s 20th anniversary episode (pictured with Leslie in 2004)
The infamous moment (pictured) was watched by a whopping 14.34 million people, with almost 60% of potential viewers tuning in
Although the character has not appeared on screen for almost twenty years, Chrissie is a fixture in EastEnders’ rich history thanks to her murder of Walford’s most notorious villain and Sharon’s beloved father, Dirty Den.
“I’m not keeping any details about the exact circumstances surrounding her return just yet, but I can promise that it’s never quiet when Chrissie Watts is around.”
This comes after Chris announced that a number of much-loved characters would be returning to the soap next year to mark its 40th anniversary.
EastEnders was created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland and premiered on 19 February 1985.
In recent years, the soap has delighted fans with the return of Kathy Beale, Cindy and Peter Beale and Lauren Branning.
Showrunner Chris has already hinted that more familiar faces will be visiting Walford in the run-up to the anniversary.
He told The Sun: ‘As we head into our 40th year, I think the nostalgic element means a lot. We’ve got a lot of goodies in store for the autumn and the end of the year.’
Asked if that meant long-gone characters would return, Chris replied coyly: “Maybe. It all depends on the story and where the characters are. But it has to come from the character, it has to come from the story.”
When asked if he had planted any hints in scripts, he added: “It depends on when they look back, but probably yes.
‘The 40th has been in the making for a while and Christmas has been on its way for a while. In the storyteller’s office there is a board and everything is connected. I compare it to a tapestry board, everything has to fit together.’
Several former cast members previously returned for Dot Cotton’s funeral in 2022, including Colin Russell (Lord Michael Cashman CBE), Barry Clark (Gary Hailes), George ‘Lofty’ Holloway (Tom Watt), Mary ‘the punk’ Smith (Linda Davidson) and Disa O’Brien (Jan Graveson).