Louisa Lytton is to return to 'EastEnders' this year.
Louisa Lytton as Ruby Allen
The 29-year-old actress will reprise her role as Ruby Allen - daughter of bad boy Johnny Allen (Billy Murray) - in the BBC One soap, almost 12 years after she departed Albert Square in November 2006, and she can't wait to get stuck into some "brilliantly challenging storylines".
Louisa said: "'EastEnders' was my first acting job out of drama school and opened so many doors for me. It's wonderful to be given the opportunity to come back and explore my character and I'm excited to see what's in store for Ruby.
"We last saw her twelve years ago as a young girl and now she is returning as a woman with scope for major change and some brilliantly challenging storylines."
Ruby was best friends with Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) but the pair fell out shortly before she departed Walford, which came after her father Johnny's death.
While the exact details of Louisa's returning storyline are yet to have been divulged, her comeback will see her involved in one of the soap's major plots of 2018.
John Yorke, EastEnders' executive consultant, added: "Louisa is a fantastic actress and I am delighted that she is returning to EastEnders.
"Now 12 years older, viewers will see a much more mature and confident Ruby who is set to be involved in one of our biggest storylines later this year."
Shortly before her East End departure, Ruby was getting close to Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky) but she soon found out the feeling wasn't mutual, and Stacey informed her about her brother's womanising ways.
Since leaving Albert Square, Louisa - who joined the soap in 2005 - went on to appear in police drama 'The Bill' between 2007 and 2009, as well as an episode of 'Casualty' and 'Murdoch Mysteries'.
She has also starred in numerous theatre productions, including playing Rizzo in the UK touring production of 'Grease', and previously admitted she would like to return to 'EastEnders', but said it wasn't her top priority.
Louisa said: "You get more out of theatre but some of the best jobs I've done have been TV and film. I'd like to go back to TV now, I'm ready to do a drama.
"People still think of me as a teenager, so it's quite hard to get those roles. I would [return to 'EastEnders'] because I loved it and it's a great TV show. But it's not top of my list."
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