Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) has been reunited with dad David Wicks (Michael French) in recent EastEnders scenes as he returned to the BBC soap after ten years.
The last time David was seen on the Square, he and partner Carol Jackson (Lindsey Coulson) had decided to go their separate ways after realising that their relationship wouldn’t go the distance.
Carol remained in Walford for a further few months, before riding out of London on a motorbike in 2015.
In tonight’s episode, Bianca and David continued their catch-up and the topic of conversation soon turned to Carol. But who was Carol, and what happened to her?
Who is Carol Jackson?
Carol Jackson is Bianca’s mum. She was played by actress Lindsey Coulson.
She first appeared on the show in 1993, arriving in Albert Square with Bianca, daughter Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy), sons Robbie (Dean Gaffney) and Billie Jackson (Devon Anderson) and partner Alan Jackson (Howard Antony).
It soon transpired that Bianca was the daughter of David Wicks after a childhood fling which left Carol pregnant at 14, though Bianca had no idea of his true identity until 1995.
Over the years, Carol was involved in some huge storylines, including one that saw her diagnosed with cancer in 2014 after finding a lump in her breast. After undergoing a double mastectomy, Carol was later found to be cancer free.
What happened between Carol and David?
When David returned to Albert Square following Pat Butcher’s (Pam St Clement) death in 2012, old feelings began to resurface between him and Carol. However, a feud between him and Carol’s brother Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman) led David to leave Walford.
After Derek’s death on Christmas Day 2012, David returned in 2013 and picked up where he left off with Carol, leading her to dump Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra), who she was in a relationship with.
When David suffered a heart attack on their wedding day, Carol wrongly believed that he had jilted her, and the mix-up led to them calling time on their relationship, with David then leaving Albert Square.
Is Carol set to return?
Though fans have been eager to see Carol return, it looks like it may be unlikely.
It was recently reported that actress Lindsey Coulson will be playing the new headteacher in BBC school drama Waterloo Road, which means she may be too busy to pop back to Walford.
However, we still have our fingers crossed!
