Ex-EastEnder Charlie Brooks is set to return as bitchy Janine Butcher after signing an estimated £100,000 deal. Charlie, who returned to Walford briefly for screen dad Frank's funeral in April, will be back in this autumn - four years after quitting the BBC1 soap. According to The Sun, Charlie said: "I loved coming back for Frank's funeral. It gave me a taste for playing Janine again. "And I'm excited to see what Janine will be getting up to now." EastEnders boss Diederick Santer added: "Rejoining us will give us a chance to understand what makes Janine tick. "We can explore what lies beneath the surface of this unique character." First appearing in Walford in 1999, Charlie has featured in some of the soap's most explosive storylines. After becoming a prostitute, Janine latched on to loveable loser Barry Evans and literally got away with murdering him. Frank's wife Pat knew what she had done and, later, when she was wrongly arrested for the murder of Laura Beale, Pat refused to give her an alibi. Charlie's final scenes won her the award for Best Exit at the 2005 British Soap Awards. Since leaving EastEnders, Charlie has appeared in dramas such as Casualty and Heartbeat.
