EastEnders legend Michelle Ryan has hinted that she wants to return to the popular BBC soap opera years after denying any comeback.

The actress played Zoe Slater on the programme but left in 2005 and has not been seen since.

She was the daughter of Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and has been mentioned more than a few times in the nearly 20 years since her departure.

Recently, Michelle was reunited with fellow EastEnders legend Kacey Ainsworth (Little Mo) with the pair reflecting on their time on the BBC show.

EastEnders legend open to show return after almost 20 years

In a social media post featuring a number of lovely photographs, Michelle said: "Just got back from a lovely dog walk with my friend Kacey. We worked together many moons ago (no pun intended) on Eastenders as sisters.

"Part of the Slater family. Our boss John Yorke took a real risk putting a family of women in the show and it paid off as on one week when Zoe found out that Kat was her mother viewers tuned into the BBC for 19, 18, 20 and 21 million per episode plus the omnibus."

She added: "The national grid reported a surge in electricity as all the kettles were clicked on after the credits. Such a heady hayday the early 2000’s were. The excitement of knowing you had a two hander written by Tony Jordan was like opening a present on Christmas Day.

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"You would check your pigeon hole where scripts and fan mail were placed and rush back to highlight the dialogue. I will always be grateful to John and Tony for my first big break on primetime TV. They were a winning combo."

This post prompted much excitement from fans with one user asking: "Would you not just come back? It would be epic!".

Responding to this, the actress said: "Never say never".

She also said: "That’s for the producers to decide" in response to another comment.