Danny Dyer has responded to rumours that he will return to EastEnders as Mick Carter.

The latest round of speculation about Mick reappearing in Walford came about after Kellie Bright posted an off-screen reunion with Dyer on Instagram dedicated to

“all the Mick and Linda fans out there”.

Speaking to Heatworld, Danny joked that “everyone is asking when [he’s] going back to EastEnders” recently, but he insisted there’s one big problem.

“He’s dead,” Danny said of his character Mick.

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Mick may or may not be dead since his body was never found when he disappeared into the ocean trying to save Linda from Janine Butcher at Christmas in 2022.

As for whether an EastEnders return is a realistic possibility, Danny has said: “Look, I take it as a compliment that people want me to go back. Who knows? If there’s no closure there, then maybe I would come back for a dream sequence. I don’t think Mick could just rock up covered in seaweed!

“I think if they did it right, with the 40th anniversary coming up, if they came up with an idea of maybe Linda drunk or hallucinating, then I would come back and do some scenes with her. You know, because I do miss Kellie, and I think maybe that would stop people asking me when I’m f**king going back!”

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Danny is quite busy at the moment, as he’s been filming top streaming service Disney+’s TV adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s iconic 1988 novel Rivals.

The upcoming series, which has unveiled its first look this week, will also feature David Tennant, Aidan Turner and Emily Atack in a stylised end-up of 1980s independent television.