Sid Owen will reprise his role as Ricky Butcher on EastEnders later this year, it has been confirmed.
The 50-year-old - one of the soap's biggest stars in the '90s - last appeared in 2012 as Ricky left Walford behind, going on to start a new life in Germany.
Ricky will return to the square this autumn for "a stint", however, reuniting him with sister Janine (Charlie Brooks) and ex-wife Sam (Kim Medcalf).
"I'm delighted to back at EastEnders," said Owen. "I can't wait to see what Ricky Butcher has been up to these past few years and how he's going to react to seeing some familiar faces including old flames. I'm excited to see the drama unfold."
Exec producer Chris Clenshaw said: "It is a great pleasure to welcome Sid back to the role of Ricky Butcher. Sid helped to create such an iconic character in Ricky who became so synonymous with the show and we couldn't be more excited to have him back for a while.
"Ricky has so much history in the Square to explore and while a lot of time has passed since we last saw him, it's fair to say wherever Ricky goes, he always finds himself slap-bang in the middle of mayhem."
Owen is expected to begin filming in the coming weeks.
Neil Wilkes
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