EastEnders comeback for Mike Reid
BBC News
Actor Mike Reid is to return to the BBC soap EastEnders in December after three years away from the programme.
His character, used car dealer Frank Butcher, will appear in Albert Square for his daughter Janine's murder trial.
However, actress Charlie Brooks - who played Janine - will not be returning to the show after quitting last year.
Reid left EastEnders in November 2000 after complaining of exhaustion. But he made a brief return in January 2002 for a week-long special set in Spain.
He has since reprised his role as Frank in a one-off EastEnders special that saw his character selling cars and running a club in the West Country.
Reid's return coincides with that of Barbara Windsor as Peggy Butcher and Ross Kemp as her son, Grant Mitchell.
But he will rejoin the show just as Jessie Wallace leaves it after five years as Kat Moon (nee Slater).
"He is only back for the duration of the trial, but while he is there his presence ruffles a lot of feathers," said a BBC spokesman.
Another addition to the EastEnders cast is actor Matt Di Angelo, who will be joining the show in December as Pat Evans' nephew Deano Wicks.