EastEnders Defend Decision To Bring Kathy Beale Back From The Dead: ‘It Was Inspired By Real Life’

Let’s admit it; the biggest shock of EastEnders’ Live Week back in February wasn’t finding out who killed Lucy Beale, it was discovering that Kathy Beale - Lucy’s grandmother - was back from the dead.

Doof doof indeed.

Okay, so it wasn’t quite as zombie-esque as it sounds, but it was still pretty bloomin’ bizarre when Gillian Taylforth reprised her role as Phil Mitchell’s ex-wife despite the fact viewers were told that she had died in a car accident in South Africa nine years ago.

Y’know, when their son Ben moved back to Albert Square to live with his dad?

Moving on, Gillian has now revealed that despite audience backlash, her return isn’t as impossible as it seems and the plot was actually inspired by a real life incident when “canoe man” John Darwin faked his own death in a boating accident back in 2002.

Speaking about the sensational storyline at an EastEnders Q&A, Gillian explained: “When I found out about the plot I said straight away, ‘Oh yeah, it happened with the canoe man’. So it is feasible.

“The way the storyline happens, it is right and it could happen and it did happen. With [her husband] Gavin’s character and the way Kathy got manipulated and controlled by him, you understand it all and the reason she did it - to protect her sons.

“Bit by bit they [Ben and Ian] find out why she’s become the person she has - because of the manipulating person that Gavin is. Then they start to understand that mum’s been brainwashed.″

The show’s producer, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, also defended Kathy’s return, insisting that they didn’t just chuck the story in without a second thought.

He dished: “We always said we would only do it if we had a credible story to bring her back and the 30th anniversary felt like the right time. It was about going back to our history and bringing back a Beale matriarch.

“We always make sure that each story is rooted in reality and this is the flip side of the canoe man story. It’s actually happened in real life.

“We read up on all of our stories in a lot of detail. We have a whole new research team and we’re really keeping our feet on ground as much as possible.

“We wouldn’t have done if it it wasn’t credible.”

Well, in that case, we’re going to keep our fingers crossed for even more returns from our deceased show favourites.

If you’re listening, Dom, we’d quite fancy Tiffany Mitchell and Michael Moon to come back to our screens.

Pretty please make it happen?