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EastEnders villain back in Albert Square for first time since 2005

The episodes will air this month
The episodes will air this month

The BBC has announced that actor Alex McSweeney is to reprise his EastEnders role as the villain Graham Foster in July episodes - the first time he has been in Albert Square since 2005.

Announcing the news of Alex McScweeney's return as Graham Foster, the BBC said: "Graham first appeared on screen back in 2003 as a quiet, unassuming newcomer, but he quickly revealed his evil character after he befriended and raped EastEnders sweetheart Little Mo (Kacey Ainsworth) whilst she was working as a barmaid in The Queen Vic.

"Little Mo was married to Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) at the time and soon discovered that she was pregnant as a result of the attack and decided to keep baby Freddie, which resulted in the end of her marriage.

"Since his return back in 2022, Freddie (Bobby Brazier) has continued to search for answers relating to his paternity, having wrongly suspected Billy to be his father, but Little Mo and The Slaters have remained tight-lipped about the circumstances relating to his conception.

"Later this month, Freddie is set to discover the truth about his father when an unlikely source reveals his name..."

Actor McSweeney said: "I was grateful to be asked back to EastEnders to reprise the role of Graham Foster, as I thought it was important for Freddie Slater to be given some answers about his dad.

"It was great to be back in Elstree and I thoroughly enjoyed working with the talented Bobby Brazier on these scenes."

Chris Clenshaw, Executive Producer of EastEnders, said: "It's great to welcome Alex back to the role of Graham Foster for a short stint.

"Although we haven't seen Graham for almost two decades, his character has been heavily linked to the show in the past year with the reintroduction of his son Freddie Slater, played by Bobby Brazier.

"We felt that it was important for Freddie to find out about the circumstances relating to his conception so he can understand and process the identity of his dad."

Bobby Brazier as Freddie Slater

In its press release, the BBC added: "EastEnders has been working alongside Rape Crisis to sensitively and accurately portray the storyline."

If you have been affected by issues raised in this story, please visit: www.rte.ie/helplines.

EastEnders airs on RTÉ One and BBC One Monday to Thursday.

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