ADAM WOODYATT has said reuniting with his on-screen wife Michelle Collins was like “putting on an old pair of slippers”.
The actor, 54, left the BBC soap in 2021, having appeared in the first ever episode in 1985 as Ian Beale.
After three years of starring in theatre, new ’Enders boss Chris Clenshaw tempted him back with the explosive reunion with “dead” wife Cindy.
He said at the comeback screening: “No offence, but working with Michelle has been like putting on an old pair of slippers. It’s comfortable.”
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But being back has brought a host of changes, not least an entirely new set.
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He went on: “The weirdest thing for me is that since I’ve been gone they’ve rebuilt the lot.
“I got out of the car yesterday morning and I’ve gone, ‘Where’s the Square?’ It’s just disappeared.
“But the nicest thing is just going back to see all the faces.
“The first day of the scene in ‘France’ it must have taken half a day to say hello to everyone.
"I’m amazed we got anything filmed that first morning.”
Adam was one of the first at the soap to know about the shock return, but had to keep it secret, even from some bosses.
His own surprise comeback for Dot Branning’s funeral last year sent fans into a frenzy.
And on one of the show’s big whodunnit storylines in 2014 he said with a laugh: “I’m brilliant at keeping secrets.
"I was one of the few people who knew who killed Lucy (Beale).
“When we did Dot’s funeral (Ian’s return) it was still need-to- know.
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“I flew back from doing My Fair Lady on stage, landed on the Monday, shot it on the Tuesday morning and flew to my daughter’s wedding on the Wednesday. No one knew.”