Who are Nancy and Lee Carter in EastEnders and how are they related?

Your reintroduction to the missing Carters (Picture: BBC/Metro) Nancy and Lee Carter’s (Maddy Hill and Danny Hatchard) EastEnders returns certainly threw up more questions than answers.

Previously totally opposed to having children, Nancy turned up pregnant and later, her brother Lee also reappeared, in the process confirming that he’s the dad of the child she’s carrying.

Yeah, we’re as confused as you guys right now, what with Nancy and Lee being full siblings.

Nancy and Lee are back to coincide with the exit of their mum and brother, Linda and Johnny (Kellie Bright and Charlie Suff), who’re set to leave Walford imminently.

‘Enders boss, Ben Wadey previously said of their return: ‘Linda Carter is one of the all time great EastEnders characters, so losing her is such a big moment to the show and we wanted to make sure we see Linda at her best in her final few months.

‘We will be welcoming Lee and Nancy back for a period in a story where I guarantee your jaws will drop when you see it.’

…well, he delivered on that point, didn’t he?

On the big Carter comeback, Maddy said: ‘I am SO excited to be returning to Enders for a short stint and stepping back into Nancy’s shoes – or basketball shorts! I’ve missed her! I’m especially looking forward to seeing lots of familiar faces and acting alongside my incredible on-screen family.’

Danny Hatchard said: ‘I’m absolutely over the moon to be returning to EastEnders as Lee Carter. Albert Square has always felt like a home away from home, so I’m proper buzzing to be back grafting with the Enders family.’

Ben added: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to have Maddy and Danny back in Walford, bringing two much-loved pieces of the Carter family back together. And whilst Linda is delighted to have her children all together again, she’s got a lot to catch up on…’

While long-term ‘Enders fans are giddy with excitement over the reuniting of the Carter clan, some newer viewers might be scratching their heads.

Nancy made a hell of an entrance, with her mum and dad Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) interrupting her shotgun wedding and physically carrying her back to the Queen Vic.

She later outed her brother to their parents, while also dealing with epilepsy, suffering a severe seizure in the park.

Linda and Nancy’s relationship was fractured when an argument between Nancy and Lee resulted in their baby brother, Ollie, falling out of his highchair and suffering a brain injury, which ultimately led to her departure with boyfriend, Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel).

She later returned, having split with Tamwar over their differing opinions on having children and pursued a relationship with Zack Hudson (James Farrar), before leaving once again, making a singular return when Linda’s battle with alcoholism reached a new peak.

Lee arrived later than his family due to his job in the army, and immediately became a suspect in the ‘who killed Lucy?’ plot, being one of the last people to see Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) alive.

He later formed a relationship with Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), though the aforementioned incident with baby Ollie, the revelation that Linda had been raped by Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo) and serious financial difficulties saw him plunge into an all-consuming depression.

The guilt over organising a robbery of his family’s pub pushed Lee to contemplate taking his own life, before he was saved by his dad, and when his marriage to Whitney collapsed, he decided to leave the Square for a fresh start.

Like Nancy, Lee returned as Linda’s alcoholism reached new heights, and last appeared in 2020.

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