Great Scott!

Jack's back - and he has a special message for you!

Surprising Ronnie (and hopefully the whole nation!) at the end of Christmas Eve's episode, Scott Maslen's Jack Branning is back on The Square! But what's it been like reprising the character, last seen in October 2013 after breaking up with Ronnie and heading for France?

“How does it feel coming back? It feels pretty much the same," revealed Scott. "I think, fundamentally, the place has always been the same and everybody who goes through that who’s been and gone. But a lot of new faces - it’s exciting. It’s always exciting when there’s new people. But also, it’s lovely to come back to the ‘school vibe’ as I like to call it. Seeing all your old mates – behind and in front of the camera. It’s lovely. I’ve really enjoyed coming back.”

Asked if we should expect Jack to be a changed man, Scott told us: “I’m coming back as Jack, because I haven’t had a change of my brain, heart or transplant of any kind! But I think I have been away and had a few experiences that I haven’t had since I’ve been on The Square. So there is a bit of history coming back with him. He’s fundamentally the same man, morally, I think. You know, people like that – ‘Nice Jack’, not ‘Psycho Jack’! And I think we’ll have lot of fun this year.”

So what can we expect in the coming months. Why has Jack returned to Walford now? "Why now? “Why am I back? As far as I know I’m back to visit my daughter, Amy, because I have been away for a long time. I wasn’t here for my father’s funeral and my brother’s prison sentence and my sister leaving."

We wondered if Scott had noticed any changes behind the scenes, particularly in keeping the show's many storyline secrets?

“As far as knowing what’s happening, the new development since I’ve left is… I think secrecy is quite fundamental here now. People aren’t really knowing that much until they’re doing it. And I can understand that and in a way it’s kind of nice because if you know too much sometimes you kind of over-think-it. So, it’s exciting. Like I said, it’s very important that you come into here with energy, and I feel like that after two or two and a half years I’m re-energised - and God help you!”