EastEnders has signed a Holby City star for a major Albert Square role – and it spells trouble for Zoe Slater.

Scottish actress Dawn Steele, 50, who portrayed Ange Godard in the BBC medical drama until it ended in 2022, will join the long-running soap as Sandra Goodwin alongside her on-screen adopted son, Joshua Vaughan.

Speaking to The Sun this week, Dawn expressed her excitement about joining the show: 'I was thrilled to be asked to play the role of Sandra who arrives and throws a spanner or two into the Square! 

'It was so great to go back to Elstree after the end of Holby City. Lots of the same crew (and a few cast!) are still there so it was joyful to see them all again.' 

The actress added that she was warmly welcomed back to the studios and enjoyed adapting to the soap's different filming style.

But she revealed it was ultimately Sandra's dramatic storyline that convinced her to sign on. 

She continued: 'But it was Sandra’s storyline and character that really made me want to do it and I’m sure viewers will be thrilled with another piece of the puzzle ahead of the trial, Sandra’s timing couldn’t be better, or worse.' 

According to The Sun, Zoe Slater, played by Michelle Ryan, will be left stunned later this month when her long-lost son Josh arrives in Walford with his adopted mother Sandra. 

Sandra heads to Albert Square seeking answers about Jasmine, Josh's twin, who is currently awaiting trial for killing her father Anthony Trueman at Christmas. She is also set to expose shocking new details about her daughter's past. 

Meanwhile, Josh, unbeknownst to Sandra, secretly follows her to Walford while searching for her, unaware that his biological family are living nearby. 

Daily Mail has contacted the BBC for comment. 

It comes as Clare Bates is set to return after a whopping 18 years, and the BBC has teased the drama to come with shock first-look images. 

Played by Gemma Bissix, now 42, she will briefly be returning to the square as part of her on-screen dad Albert's heartbreaking battle with dementia. 

The character previously left the soap when she was 14 to train to be an electrician in 1993 - leaving the door firmly open for a return - which happened briefly in 2008 when she had seemingly transformed into a maneater. 

Gemma said: 'It's been an absolute pleasure to be back, and a privilege to be involved in Nigel's poignant dementia storyline.

'I think it's a storyline that sadly resonates with so many people and it's been a real full circle moment for me, as EastEnders is where I learnt my craft, as I was on the show from the age of 9.'

In case your memory needs refreshing, Clare was a big character on the show between 1993 and 1998, and she was involved in various hard-hitting storylines tackling the likes of domestic violence and custody battles. 

The actress explained that the reunion gave her a unique opportunity to reconnect with one of her oldest colleagues.

She explained: 'It was a long time coming, and I was just so chuffed because I haven’t seen Paul Bradley [Nigel Bates] in over 20 years, and so to be able to reconnect with him and work with him again felt like time had stood still.

'It was like no time had passed at all, and Paul is exactly the same lovely person he was before.

'Paul was sort of like a stepfather to me in real life at work, as we spent six years on screen together from 1993 to 1999, and Karen and I were close as well.

'They make me feel like I'm a child again, in the best possible way.'

Gemma said that it was also 'lovely' to work with Steve McFadden again. 

She added: 'I was also really close to Barbara Windsor when I worked there before, and she got me my agent when I left, and I’m still with that agency to this day, so there’s such a legacy for me there.

'The funniest thing is the people who really haven’t changed to me are Jane Slaughter who plays Tracy, Ulric who plays Winston, and some of the actors in the market as they've been there for the best part of 20 years.'

Gemma's return will see Clare open up about her long absence from Albert Square - and there will be plenty of drama with Julie once she realises how unwell her father is. 

EastEnders airs on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.