'Enders wedding plot for 25th anniversary

EastEnders favourites Ricky Butcher and Bianca Jackson are to tie the knot for a second time.

Show producers have confirmed that the divorced pair's latest love twist will begin at Christmas when Ricky, played by 37-year-old Sid Owen, decides to pop the question to his childhood sweetheart. Their wedding will take place in February to coincide with the Walford soap's 25th anniversary celebrations.

A source told The Mirror: "Ricky and Bianca getting hitched again is what viewers have been dreaming of from the moment they arrived back in Albert Square.

"This will hopefully be the happy ending everyone is waiting for. We could well be looking at the greatest love story ever told. It's going to be emotional."

The new storyline is expected to be the cause of the Jackson family's forthcoming Walford reunion. It was announced last month that Lindsey Coulson (Carol), Natalie Cassidy (Sonia) and Dean Gaffney (Robbie) will all be back on screen in the early part of next year.

Meanwhile, the programme's bosses have also confirmed that a spinoff DVD focusing on preparations for the nuptials is to be released in February. The one-off release, titled EastEnders: Last Tango In Walford, will see Bianca's daughter Tiffany (Maisie Smith) arranging the Jacksons' Albert Square comeback. It will also feature archive footage charting Ricky and Bianca's (Patsy Palmer) rocky romance and interviews with cast members.

The couple tied the knot for the first time in April 1997. However, they parted ways two years later when Bianca's affair with mum Carol's partner Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass) was exposed.

> Click here to read more about the DVD in Soap Scoop