{"id":265842,"date":"2025-11-16T09:49:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T09:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/265842\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T09:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T09:49:11","slug":"eastenders-legend-to-return-to-bbc-soap-21-years-after-on-screen-death-for-special-episode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/265842\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders legend to return to BBC soap 21 years after on-screen death for ‘special episode’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The iconic character is heading back to Albert Square this December\"EastEnders\"Actor Shaun Williamson is making his return to the BBC soap as Barry Evans after 21 years away(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

EastEnders<\/a> has confirmed that another legend is set to return to Albert Square this December for a ‘special episode’.<\/p>\n

Actor Shaun Williamson, 60, is reprising his iconic role as Barry Evans in the BBC<\/a> soap as part of Nigel\u2019s dementia storyline.<\/p>\n

Barry is heading back to Walford 21 years after he was killed by his wife Janine Butcher<\/a>, played by Charlie Brooks, who murdered him by pushing him over a cliff edge during their honeymoon in January 2004.<\/p>\n

Shaun joined EastEnders back in December 1994 and was known for his inherent bad luck and hopeless love life.<\/p>\n

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He also had an epic feud with his step-mother Pat Evans, who he refused to forgive following her affair with Frank Butcher – which he believed to be the root cause of his beloved dad\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

After a series of failed romances, Barry thought he had finally found his match when he married Janine, but this led him to fall to his untimely death.<\/p>\n

\"BarryBarry Evans is returning to EastEnders(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

During the episode, Barry returns to screens as he appears alongside step-mother Pat in The Queen Vic.<\/p>\n

As Nigel\u2019s dementia symptoms intensify, Pat and Barry put aside their differences to help Nigel in his time of need.<\/p>\n

The special episode will air in December, with the scenes having already been filmed. EastEnders<\/a> has been working with Dementia UK on Nigel\u2019s storyline since its inception.<\/p>\n

Speaking on his ‘shock’ return to EastEnders, Shaun said: \u201cIt was a complete shock getting the call to go back to Albert Square, but so exciting.<\/p>\n

“I have to admit to a few nerves (loads!) when I walked back onto the set of The Queen Victoria, but it was so great to work with old friends and colleagues on such a brilliant episode.<\/p>\n

“Just goes to show, you never know what\u2019s around the corner!\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Barry(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

Ben Wadey, EastEnders’ Executive Producer added: \u201cI\u2019m delighted to welcome Shaun Williamson back to EastEnders for Nigel\u2019s special episode.<\/p>\n

“Barry Evans was renowned for being one of Walford\u2019s unluckiest residents, most notably for his choice of shoes, and so it was a privilege to welcome him back alongside Pat for these special scenes in The Vic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Actress Pam St Clement will also be seen reprising her legendary role as Pat <\/a>– one of Walford\u2019s most formidable and much-loved matriarchs.<\/p>\n

Pat last stepped foot in Albert Square back in May 2016 when she returned as a figment of Peggy Mitchell’s (Barbara Windsor) imagination on the night of her death as Peggy bid farewell to her character and the Square one final time.<\/p>\n

But Pam, who has already filmed her brief return scenes, officially left EastEnders back in 2012, when Pat died from cancer on New Year’s Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The iconic character is heading back to Albert Square this DecemberActor Shaun Williamson is making his return to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[243,1078,96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-265842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-bbc","9":"tag-eastenders","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-tv","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}