{"id":681841,"date":"2026-07-09T06:54:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/681841\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T06:54:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:54:17","slug":"eastenders-airs-two-huge-surprise-character-returns-in-early-iplayer-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/681841\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders airs two huge surprise character returns in early iPlayer release"},"content":{"rendered":"

EastEnders<\/a> spoilers follow for Thursday\u2019s episode (9 July), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC iPlayer and hasn\u2019t yet aired on TV.<\/p>\n

EastEnders has aired returns for two absent characters, who both come back to Albert Square and surprise their loved ones. Ravi Gulati and Sharon Watts both exited at the end of May<\/a>, but are both back to cause chaos \u2013 though their returns weren\u2019t celebrated by everyone\u2026<\/p>\n

This week, Priya and Max\u2019s affair came dangerously close to being discovered<\/a> by Cindy and Lauren. Max told Priya to get in the boot of a car in the garage to hide, but Lauren then drove off with her in the back.<\/p>\n

\"priya<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: Best streaming services<\/a><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s episode<\/a>, Max was forced to come up with an excuse to Cindy at the garage, while Priya struggled to get out of the car boot without being spotted by Lauren and Vinny, who were in the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, she managed to escape unnoticed<\/a>, putting on a hi-vis jacket from the boot. Priya phoned Suki and asked her for some clothes, and Suki wasn\u2019t exactly impressed \u2013 but Priya promised that the person who got her into this mess would pay.<\/p>\n

Priya raged at Max when she returned to the car lot and realised that he loves the power of messing around with women \u2013 so she resolved to ruin his life by telling Cindy the truth about everything<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As she went to find Cindy, Priya walked into the road and was nearly hit by a car. She started to confront the driver but realised that it was none other than Ravi. As Ravi reunited with his kids, Priya stood horrified by her ex\u2019s surprise return.<\/p>\n

Ravi told his family that was brought back to the Square by Avani\u2019s voicemail, before apologising to Priya and asking for a chance to make things right with her \u2013 but Priya wasn\u2019t ready to move forward, and she slapped him.<\/p>\n

\"ravi<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: EastEnders icons release unseen footage from special “bucket list” episode<\/a><\/p>\n

As Priya sat in the park ignoring a call from Max, Ravi found her to have a proper chat. She explained how much his actions have hurt her, including when he ended their relationship shortly after they reunited and had sex.<\/p>\n

Ravi resolved to fix things and vowed to take the family away for Avani\u2019s birthday, but Priya wasn\u2019t impressed that he was throwing money at the situation.<\/p>\n

In return, Ravi brought up the photo Priya sent him the night he left Walford. He demanded to know who she slept with, but Priya said it was none of their business and made it clear that they were over.<\/p>\n

\"sharon<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Related: 15 huge EastEnders spoilers for next week (13 to 17 July)<\/a><\/p>\n

After hearing some wise words from Cindy, Priya slept with Max again to spite Ravi. Meanwhile, Ravi found out through Suki that Priya is still sleeping with someone, so he vowed to find out who it is and kill him. Will Ravi discover that Max is the mystery man? <\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Zack returned home and was surprised by Sharon<\/a>, who has returned from America and is back in the Square for good with Albie. As Sharon caught up with Phil, she broke the news to him that she wanted to sell her share of the Boxing Gym.<\/p>\n

How will Phil respond to this bombshell, and what will Sharon get up to now she\u2019s properly back in Walford?<\/p>\n

EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.<\/p>\n

Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage<\/a><\/p>\n

Visit our Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n

The new edition of Living Legends, celebrating the global phenomenon of BTS, is here! Buy this ultimate fan guide in newsagents or online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EastEnders spoilers follow for Thursday\u2019s episode (9 July), which is available to watch now on streaming service BBC…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357347,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[147950,379,227612,381,96,190731,1156,227611,223205,148025,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-681841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-8cd481dc-b31b-4f75-8641-24a17d3903dc","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-eastenders-airs-two-huge-surprise-character-returns","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-eastenders","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681841","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=681841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}