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EASTENDERS has confirmed a key member of the Fowler family IS returning – following Martin’s tragic death.

The character – played by James Bye – passed away in tragic scenes during Thursday’s live episode to mark EastEnders’ 40th anniversary.

BBC

A key member of the Fowler family is returning to EastEnders following Martin’s death[/caption]

Instagram/@bbceastenders

A preview of Monday’s episode saw Sonia calling her daughter Bex to tell her the devastating news[/caption]

Following his death, fans have speculated over which remaining members of the Fowler family will return for his funeral, which was pictured for the first time earlier on Sunday.

Bosses of the BBC soap went on to confirmed that Vicki Fowler – Martin’s niece – will be returning, but with a new actress taking on the role.

Now, EastEnders has confirmed fans’ hopes that Bex Fowler, Martin’s daughter, will return to Walford for his funeral.

Following a first look clip released on Sunday, showing Bex’s mum Sonia calling her daughter to give her the devastating news, Bex will jet in after years spent travelling the world to be with her mum and the rest of the family as they lay Martin to rest.

The tragedy will hit Bex hard as she tries to adjust to everything that’s happened in her absence, including Sonia’s incarceration for murder and the arrival of her newborn sister.

Actress Jasmine Armfield will reprise her role as Bex for a short stint, five years after leaving EastEnders in 2020.

Speaking of Bex’s return, EastEnders Executive Producer Chris Clenshaw said: “We’re delighted to welcome Jasmine home to EastEnders as part of Martin’s farewell.

“There’s no way that Bex would miss her dad’s funeral, and Sonia needs her eldest daughter more than ever.

“It’s been five years in which Bex has gone out into the world, so she’ll come back with renewed wisdom and experience.”

On her return as Bex Fowler, Jasmine Armfield said: “It’s wonderful to be back at EastEnders and to see so many familiar faces.

“It’s amazing for me to come home, but for Bex, it’s an absolutely devastating time because she’s lost her dad.

“She’s grown up a lot, having spent the past few years travelling, so we’re going to see a much more mature and grown-up version of Bex this time around.”

BBC

Bex left Albert Square in 2020 to go travelling[/caption]

EastEnders airs on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.

The soapy series stars Melissa Fumero, AnnaSophia Robb, Aja Naomi King and Ben Rappaport.

Sisters Ashlee Simpson and Jessica Simpson are turning heads with a truly beautiful cover, and it shows their individual styles and how they’re both in their most confident eras yet! And it’s all on their own terms! In case you missed it, on Feb 20, both the Simpson sisters shared the cover of the special […]

INJURED Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez warmed hearts after sharing snaps from his mum’s visit.

Martinez is in post-surgery rehab after tearing his ACL in the closing stages of Man Utd’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on February 2.

The Argentine is out for the rest of the season and is being supported by mum Silvina and his pregnant girlfriend.

In his latest update after surgery, Martinez shared pictures from his mum’s visit to his Manchester home.

The defender shared snaps of the pair hugging on his doorstep and a hilarious video of her helping him with exercises.

His heartwarming Instagram post was captioned: “Thank you for hugging my heart and making me smile. I love you Ma!”

His mum appeared to keeping his spirits up as she urged him to lift his injured right leg higher in the air.

Martinez was wearing his Man Utd training kit and the clip showed him watching his team-mates lose 1-0 to Spurs last Sunday.

The centre-back was laying on a rehab bed in his living room and his knee was covered in supportive tape.

And fans praised the adorable moment, with one writing: “There’s nothing like a mother’s love and motivation.”

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While another said: “This is so adorable.”

A third added: “You’ve got this warrior.”

The 27-year-old was stretchered off at Old Trafford against Palace after injuring his knee.

The World Cup winner tussled for the ball with Eagles star Ismaila Sarr late on.

But he appeared to get his leg stuck in the turf and was in serious pain.

United have not won in the Premier League since his injury, losing to Spurs and drawing 2-2 with Everton this weekend.

Martinez underwent surgery this month and gave up an emotional update on social media.

He wrote on Instagram last week: “Today, after going through several stormy days where I allowed myself to feel and accept my sadness, helplessness, insecurities, fears, and a deep emotional imbalance, I am reconnecting with my essence and my values, which help me see things from a kinder and more positive perspective.”

Thanking his club and the Argentine national team, he added: “I feel immense gratitude for the incredible work and support of @manchesterunited , @afaseleccion , my family, friends, team-mates, and everyone who took the time to send me a message of encouragement.

Martinez showed he had the support of childhood sweetheart Muri Lopez Benitez and their much-anticipated first child.

The couple went public with 26-year-old Muri’s pregnancy last October.

Martinez and Muri posted a photo of them holding their baby scan, with the defender writing in a message alongside their snap: “We are so happy that you came into our lives. Thank you for choosing us.”

They later revealed they were expecting a daughter and have decided to name her Aurora.

Since his £56.7million move from Ajax, the defender has had two operations on his foot and damaged the medical ligament in his right knee, although that injury didn’t require surgery.

The Red Devils are hoping Martinez will be back to fitness for the start of next season.

FORMER EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison has revealed how the cast of the hit BBC soap will figure out they’re being axed.

Cheryl, 60, played the iconic role of Heather Trott who was the former best friend of Shirley Carter, the mother of George Trott, and huge George Michael fan.

BBC

Cheryl played the role of Heather in the hit soap opera[/caption]

BBC

She joined the soap as Heather in 2007[/caption]

BBC

She welcomed a son in the soap and named him after George Michael[/caption]

BBC

Heather was killed in the soap back in 2012[/caption]

Alamy

Her best pal in the soap was Shirley Carter played by Linda Henry[/caption]

BackGrid

Cheryl previously opened up about struggling after her axe[/caption]

Joining the soap in 2007, Heather was originally a guest character but soon became a key character in the soap.

But after five years of residing in Walford, Heather was murdered by Ben Mitchell in 2012 – with fans still up in arms over her exit to this day.

And now, after the soap’s 40th anniversary celebrations that saw Martin Fowler get killed off during the live episode last week – Heather star Cheryl has spoken out.

Revealing what signs she spotted before she was axed from the soap, Cheryl has gotten candid in a new chat.

Speaking to Daily Star, Cheryl shared how she had predicted her axing before it happened.

“I had a feeling it might be coming,” she told the paper.

She explained how they would usually go and see the producers regularly to discuss their character’s storylines over the coming weeks.

“We’d always joke that either you’re going up to talk about your storyline, or you’re part of the culling,” she revealed.

She then recalled: “But that particular week, as Friday approached, I hadn’t had a meeting, and neither had Linda [who played the role of Shirley Carter].”

Because she hadn’t had a meeting with the producer, Cheryl thought that a big storyline for Heather might be looming.

And she was right.

“At the time, Brian Kirkwood was the producer, and when I walked in, he looked visibly upset. I had an inkling of what was coming,” she said.

“He asked me to sit down, and I knew straight away it wasn’t going to be anything exciting.

“He explained that the higher-ups—the Powers That Be—had decided they wanted to explore Shirley dealing with grief, which meant Heather was going to die,” Cheryl revealed.

This comes after Cheryl told how she was forced to claim benefits and turn to a food bank for help after leaving the soap in 2012.

Opening up on her current financial situation to The Sun last week, the actress said: “My health is good, but my finances will take a long time to recover.

“Until I have steady work, I’m not rich or comfortable—I’m just surviving.

“I’ve been saying yes to everything for no money, but I need to start valuing my work and asking for fair pay. Even my agent insists on it.”

She went on: “Still, I’ll never give in. I want to keep singing. If people criticise me for singing in small restaurants, so be it.

“At the end of the day, I’m an entertainer. Community has always been important to me, and I’ll perform no matter the crowd.

“If only two people show up, I don’t care—I’m still being paid, and I’ll still give it my all.”

The actress added defiantly: “No one should be judged for trying to get back on their feet. One thing isn’t better than another—we all have our paths. I will always sing my heart out and I’m working my way back up.”

BackGrid

Cheryl has remained in the public eye, with fans still gutted she was axed from EastEnders[/caption]

Instagram

Cheryl is still a fan-favourite former soap star[/caption]

SHANE WALSH is loving football’s new rules after blowing Donegal away in Salthill.  

Walsh starred as Galway romped home against the reigning Ulster champions – and kicked FOUR two-pointers as they raced into a 0-17 to 0-1 half time lead. 

The wind caused chaos, and Galway took full advantage to all but kill the game at the break as Walsh fired over from outside the arc three times and once from a free. 

Two-point scores from Mathhew Tierney, Rob Finnerty and stopper Conor Flaherty left Donegal with a mountain to climb, ending their three-game winning streak.

And Walsh was all smiles as his 0-11 haul fired them top of division 1 after four rounds, and says the new rules have given the game a new lease of life. 

He said: “I love it. It is great. It is back to the skills of the game. You are seeing a lot more lads go one-on-one, seeing lads side-stepping and taking shots on. 

“For me growing up that is what I believe football is all about and got you playing. That is why I love it. Keep feeding off that, because that is what we want to see. 

“I think everyone was saying the last couple of years the game was getting so boring to watch. You didn’t really see the skills, just a lot of sideways stuff. 

“Now you are really seeing the skills. I suppose some players are more comfortable than others but other players just have to adapt.  

“The two point arc is obviously a great thing, it allows us to shoot more. Back in the years, it has been about percentage shots whereas now it is, have a go. We’ll take it.”

Galway were in complete control at the break as Donegal struggled to move the ball up the pitch against the gale and lacked intensity.

They clawed back some of the deficit thanks to Daire Ó Baoill’s doubles from outside the arc, but a comeback was never on the cards – even though the hosts went down to 14 on the stroke of half time. 

Matthew Tierney was shown a straight red when he came in late on Hugh McFadden, and his dismissal meant Galway were allowed to keep two players in the Donegal half as opposed to three under the new rules. 

That number was reduced to one when Daniel O’Flaherty was black carded 10 minutes after the restart for his late hit on Ciaran Thompson. 

The visitors made a stab of it when Peadar Mogan got the ninth orange flag of the day but it was too little too late. 

Galway defender Finian O Laoi was also black carded in the 63rd minute when he dragged Mark Curran to the ground, but Donegal failed to make their two-man advantage count. 

Boss Jim McGuinness had no complaints about the result, but slammed the rules as “farcical” for taking the sting out of red and black cards ahead of their round 5 clash with Derry on Sunday.  

He said: “Galway had a man sent off on two black cards and they had one man up and we had to leave three men back. That to me seems farcical. 

“I don’t know what to say about that to be honest with you. That’s a non-intended consequence on the extreme side of things.

“But anyway, it made not one difference to the game that Galway had a man sent off and two black cards. 

“It didn’t make a jot of a difference to the game because they were able to attack the way they were attacking up to that point. That’s definitely something that would certainly need to be looked at. 

“The conditions were really, really challenging. We didn’t adapt as well as Galway did to it. Obviously Shane Walsh, I don’t know what many he finished with. 

“But he did adapt very well to the conditions and had a couple of moments of brilliance as well into the breeze.

“That free kick with the left foot off the ground was a brilliant moment as well. So yeah, listen, good bit of learning for us today.”

GALWAY 0-21

DONEGAL 0-14

GALWAY: C Flaherty 0-2, 1tp; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, D O’Flaherty 0-1; D McHugh, S Fitzgerald, L Silke 0-1; C Hernon, J Maher 0-1; C Sweeney, S O’Neill, C Darcy; R Finnerty 0-3, 1tpf, M Tierney 0-2, 1tp, S Walsh 0-11, 3 tp, 2f, 1tpf.

Subs: C Gleeson for Flaherty HT, F O Laoi for O’Neill 44, J Glynn for Fitzgerald 44, S Mulkerrin for Hernon 51, M Thompson for Finnerty 61, 

DONEGAL: S Patton; M Curran, B McCole, P Mogan 0-2, 1tp; E McHugh, C McGonagle, C Moore; H McFadden, D Mac Giolla Bhríde; O Doherty, D Ó Baoill 0-6, 2tp, J Brennan, O Gallen 0-1, C O’Donnell 0-2, 1f, S O’Donnell 0-1. 

Subs: E Ban Gallagher for E McHugh HT, C Thompson 0-2 for MacGiolla Bhride HT, N O’Donnell for Doherty HT, C McGuinness for Brennan 57, J McKelvey for McFadden 57

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