EastEnders’ Linda Carter is finally back in Albert Square this December, after months on the high seas living it up on a luxury cruise. Her return coincides not only with the grand opening of the new family business, but also the reappearance of old flame Max Branning!

“Lucky Linda has been living her best life since the summer,” begins our EastEnders insider. “After a traumatic few years, it was time Linda let go of The Vic, but it was still a wrench.

“After some downtime, she’s home and ready for a fresh start, which won’t be easy with Max around – a walking reminder of one of her biggest mistakes…”

Since Linda left, much has changed for the family she left behind. Mum Elaine has also had to put her tenure as co-landlady of The Vic behind her, and has been focusing on her latest venture, a swanky boutique hotel called Peacock Palace.

Elaine’s preparations to wow Walford are derailed when Linda unexpectedly arrives home. Peacock Palace is a flurry of activity and decorative feathers, as Elaine tries to drum up as much publicity as possible, while Linda settles herself and the kids back into their chaotic surroundings.

“There are ghosts around every corner for Linda,” says our source. “As she gets her bearings, she bumps into Sam Mitchell, who has also recently returned.

“Both women are haunted by the past in their own ways, when they run into each other Sam ends up giving Linda food for thought. But there are more unexpected reunions on the way…”

Linda attempts to get up to speed with what else has been happening in her absence, although with manic Elaine bossing her about to make Peacock Palace a success, she’s thrown in at the deep end workwise.

The biggest shock is yet to come for Linda, as the day after stepping back on dry land, she’s confronted with another familiar face she really wasn’t expecting to see – what on earth is Max doing in Walford?

“It’s been around five years since Linda saw Max, and their toxic relationship fell apart,” recalls our insider. “Linda now has a four-year-old little girl, and if Max got his calendar out he might twig he could be Annie’s biological dad. But that’s something Linda is desperate to keep firmly under wraps for as long as she can!”

Tiptoeing around each other, Max and Linda go for a drink to break the inevitable awkwardness. Seeing Max again, might Linda change her mind and come clean about Annie?

Or will she keep quiet and stick to the lie that Mick was her dad, only for Max to find out from Oscar, Lauren or Jack who already know the truth?