This week in soapland has been all about the EastEnders returns – it’s getting difficult to keep up with all the exciting blasts from the past at the moment, as the show gears up for a big anniversary.

Also, there have been announcements about upcoming special episodes of Emmerdale and Coronation Street dedicated to their most hard-hitting storylines, plus some indications of future returns, exits and endings.

It has been a big week for soap gossip, so if you’ve missed anything, don’t worry – here is our regular Sunday round-up of the biggest soap news from the past seven days.

Tom and Belle’s domestic abuse story currently has soap fans gripped, and with the storyline set to continue until the end of the year, there is much more to come. This week, Emmerdale have announced a new special episode that will air next week, focusing on the pair’s holiday in Wales.

Told through a series of flashbacks, the self-contained episode will see Tom exert his control over Belle in the remote cottage, while she is completely cut off from her loved ones.

Emmerdale producer Sophie Roper said: “When Tom takes Belle to Wales, Tom’s coercive and controlling behaviour will see Belle further isolated from her family. The behaviour Tom is exhibiting is typical of a coercive controlling relationship and at times will prove difficult and uncomfortable to watch.”

In March, Emmerdale’s Angelica King was sentenced to eight months in a Secure Children’s Home, when she admitted that she was driving during the car crash that caused Heath Hope’s death on New Year’s Eve.

It has therefore been a few months since Angelica has been on screen, but at the Radio Times Soap Awards, actor Rebecca Bakes shared an update as to when viewers might see the character again.

“It should be at the end of September,” she said, “so in a few months maybe! I don’t really know because we haven’t started filming anything yet.” For Jimmy and Nicola’s sake, we can only hope it is soon…

The big mystery in EastEnders for the last couple of weeks has been Ian Beale’s secret, and who he was speaking to on the phone. On Monday, Cindy’s suspicions led her to a cottage in the Cotswolds, where she found Ian with none other than his ex-wife Jane Beale.

Yes, Jane was by far the most popular theory amongst fans, so it wasn’t a huge surprise, but that didn’t make the delicious “Hello Cindy” reveal any less satisfying, and it was a complete joy to see Laurie Brett back on screen for the first time since 2017.

After a thrilling stand-off with Cindy and an emotional reunion with Bobby, it was also revealed to viewers that Jane was in a relationship with her former flame Masood Ahmed