Call The Midwife fans couldn't contain their excitement after James Alexandrou returned to TV as he revealed the emotional reason behind his comeback.
The former EastEnder - who played market regular Martin Fowler on the Square until 2007 - landed a part in the Sunday night BBC show and says he did it for his late mum.
He played Ronnie Reynolds on the medical programme and fans couldn't get enough.
James, 37, made a name for himself on the soap as the role was later handed over to Strictly Come Dancing star James Bye.
Following his Walford departure, he has starred in a series of plays, and most recently featured on Silent Witness in 2015.
Now he's back and fans were taken aback after seeing him pop up during the programme.
Fans rushed to welcome him back and James was quick to thank everyone for their support.
He took to Twitter to thank fans as he explained that he wanted to do the show.
He wrote: “Seeing some lovely messages come through about @CallTheMidwife1 with onscreen wife @LydiaLaaaaarson. Lost mum to cancer + this was a fav show of hers so was a tough gig, but one I wanted to do for her."
He went on to side with the striking nurses.
James added: "Thanks for having me - and while we’re here - pay nurses whatever they want.”
One fan joked: "I see Martin Fowler has time travelled back to 1968 #callthemidwife."
Another said: "I'd keep an eye on Martin Fowler in that van.. he's got previous for bad driving. #callthemidwife”.
James said he refused the chance to make an EastEnders return before James took over.
The child star said at the time: "They were talking for a while about me going back. They made it very clear that they were bringing the character back and they would really like me to go back, but it just wasn't right for me at the time.
"The attraction in it would be to see some of my old mates and have a bit of nostalgia, and that wasn't enough at the time to do it. I've decided to leave the show to experience other aspects of my industry."
Despite his comeback this weekend, James now prefers to be behind the camera, it appears.
He describes himself as a director, actor and writer on his Instagram bio and produced a music video -Karate, for Perfect To Me singer Ann Marie in 2015.
In 2018, James founded Actors East, an acting studio in London’s East-End, to help students gain access to the arts.
The talented star graduated with an MA in Directing Fiction at the National Film and Television School in 2021.
