Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott) stages his long-awaited comeback in EastEnders next week shortly after finding out that 12-year-old daughter Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) is pregnant.

The fan-favourite waltzes back to Walford after receiving word of Lily’s situation from Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty), news which leaves him ‘in a state of shock’, according actor Neil McDermott.

‘He’s coming back to the Square with a sense of trepidation’, said the soap star, who reckons Ryan is ‘treading on eggshells a bit, trying not to frighten anyone off too quickly.’

‘We learn from the episodes that Ryan and [wife] Helen have probably had a lot of conversations about the best way Ryan can behave when he’s back in Walford and to get what he feels right for Lily.’

Neil, 42, also warned that, while Ryan is back to support Lily, he’s also got an ‘agenda of his own’.

‘He’s of course not been around for a while, so whatever he thinks should be the right thing, isn’t going to be taken too well by Stacey and other members of the Square,’ he teased.

‘Ryan hasn’t been around, so: “Why should he have a right to say anything at all?” which I understand. In Ryan’s mind though, something massive has happened here and he tries to be of some help.

‘We learn that he’s doing alright for himself and has money that could help the situation. He’s carefully trying to tread his way through to become a bigger part of Lily’s life, but its whether or not Stacey, Lily and the family want him around.’

You’ll just have to keep tuning in to find out more on what his agenda is, but it’s safe to say that Ryan makes quite the splash while in Walford.

Whitney, meanwhile, has a lot to cope with it at the moment, given that she’s discovered that her unborn child has condition called omphalocele, and upcoming scenes will see the baby diagnosed with Edwards’ Syndrome.

Discussing the development, Neil said: ‘Ryan obviously knows Whitney is pregnant but he doesn’t know the full situation, but soon learns that during the episode. Ryan has always tried to be there for her.

‘Episodes towards the end of my time at EastEnders were about Ryan comforting Whitney and assuring her he’s only a phone call away. They have a really good sibling relationship, although he messes it up sometimes and she does too, there’s a lot of love between them but there’s some things that get in the way sometimes.’

Neil won a legion of fans for his work as Ryan, who he initially played between 2009 and 2011. Ryan returned a number of times in the years that followed, popping up in both 2014 and 2016.

But has his latest comeback given Neil a taste for more of Albert Square?

‘It’s always really lovely [popping back]’, he enthused. ‘It feels like a home from home a little bit and I feel very comfortable working here. It’s a lovely phone call to receive, especially when I’ve got the time and can make it work.

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One.

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