Soaps

Lee Carter’s dramatic return to EastEnders after long absence

Lee appeared in tonight's episode!

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Lee Carter has returned to EastEnders in tonight’s episode (Thursday, December 31) after a long absence. But who is Lee? And why did he leave Walford in the first place?

Who is Lee Carter in EastEnders?

Lee is the son of Mick and Linda Carter. Mick and Linda also have children, Nancy, Johnny and Ollie.

Lee originally appeared from 2014 until 2017 (Credit: BBC)

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When Mick and Linda first moved to Walford, having bought The Queen Vic, Lee was serving in the army. However he soon made his way to Albert Square.

Lee’s marriage to Whitney

Lee began dating Whitney Dean shortly after his arrival. However he began to struggle with depression.

The two eventually got married, but their relationship was far from perfect.

Whitney ended up kissing Lee’s dad Mick at one point. Meanwhile Lee cheated on Whitney with Abi Branning, contracting chlamydia.

In 2016, Whitney discovered she was pregnant with Lee’s child. But sadly she suffered a miscarriage.

Unfortunately things just got worse for the couple and Lee even ended up hitting Whitney at one point.

Why did Lee leave Walford?

After his struggle with his mental health, Lee went to Dover. Mick went to see his son and he told him he wanted to stay away from Albert Square.

Lee briefly returned to Walford to tell Whitney about the situation. He said a teary goodbye to his family and moved away from London in 2017.

A few weeks later, Whitney received a letter from Lee’s solicitor, citing her unreasonable behaviour as grounds for a divorce.

In 2019, Lee returned to Walford when Mick contacted him to come and surprise Linda.

Lee returned to Walford in 2019 (Credit: BBC)

Lee tried to help his mum as she struggled with alcohol addiction.

But when Whitey found out Lee was back, she was furious at him for blaming her for their marriage breakdown.

Lee apologised to his ex-wife, saying she didn’t deserve the way he treated her. She admitted to him she was scared to leave her house, as she was being stalked by Leo king.

He advised her to fight back and she decided to dress up for New Year’s Eve. The former couple then agreed to be friends.

What else has Danny Hatchard been in?

Danny Hatchard EastEnders Our Girl (Credit: BBC)
Danny Hatchard went on to play Cheese in Our Girl (Credit: BBC)

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Lee is played by Danny Hatchard.

After leaving EastEnders, Danny went on to play Private Rhett ‘Cheese’ Charlton in series four of BBC’s Our Girl.

He will also be playing a character called Lee in new TV series Ridley Road.

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Charlotte Rodrigues
Soap Contributor
Charlotte Rodrigues joined Entertainment Daily in April 2018, as Audience Engagement Executive. A huge soap fan, Charlotte then became Senior Soap Writer, delivering the latest storylines and spoilers to our followers.