EastEnders confirms villainous character’s return – and they’re already back filming months after exit

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Well, EastEnders is bringing back Max Murray, and it’s happening surprisingly soon after we said goodbye to Joel Marshall. It feels like just months ago Joel was dealing with his own struggles, and now Max is stepping back into the drama. It’s going to be interesting to see how these two storylines might intersect, or if Max’s return is a completely separate chapter. As a viewer, I’m definitely intrigued!

Max Murray, who was previously absent from scenes following a conviction for serious assault, voyeurism, and distributing child abuse images, will be returning to the soap opera EastEnders. His sentencing was not shown on screen, and he did not appear in related scenes. A BBC representative confirmed his return on April 30th.

News broke via Digital Spy that actor Murray is currently filming new episodes at the soap opera’s studio in Elstree, Hertfordshire, meaning he’ll be back on television very soon. During his court case in January, it was evident that Joel remained unrepentant, even after hearing testimony from his victims, Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) and Avani Nandra-Hart (Aaliyah James).

Vicki was overwhelmed and left the courtroom crying, worried her attacker wouldn’t be held accountable for what he did. As many remember, she had been violently attacked and left for dead.

Despite secretly recording himself with Avani and later criticizing her for becoming pregnant, she eventually returned to court to confront Joel.

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Joel laughed at Avani while she was speaking to the court, and explained that he felt let down by his father and Vicki. He claimed they had previously paid off one of his victims and, because of this, he’d grown up unable to tell the difference between right and wrong, seeing them as a bad influence.

The judge announced some unexpected news as she gave her decision: Joel had changed his plea and admitted guilt.

Although Vicki felt a little relieved, she was deeply upset that their relationship had ended so badly. She was also anxious about his upcoming sentencing and how it might affect her future with her fiancé, Ross Marshall (Alex Walkinshaw).

In recent episodes, Vicki and Ross have been dealing with the possibility of Ross getting out of prison. Ross revealed he was only sentenced to six months, and while Vicki said she’d support his decisions regarding their son, Joel, she made it clear she doesn’t want Ross to move back in with her.

He vowed to make things right and to sort alternative living arrangements.

Could his comeback mean that Vicki will be forced to spend time with her abuser?

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Authors

Michael AdamsSoaps Editor

Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at TopMob, keeping fans up-to-date on all the latest news and spoilers from popular shows like Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, and Hollyoaks. Before joining TopMob, he worked as a Soaps Reporter at Metro for two years and even worked on the sets of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

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2026-04-30 17:04