She will probably still have her London accent. I have lived in the States for well over 30 years, & I did not pick up the accent, so I still have my original accent. Of course I do use American slang, but not in an American tone. I know many other immigrants from the UK & Ireland, & unless they moved here very young, they all kept their original accents too.

Michelle is needed and to be honest it was 21 years since we last saw her so she would have changed how she looks so it will be quite believable. She looks like Vicky Fowler.

It's shocking when iconic characters are played by someone else, should have never brought her back.

I'm excited to see Michelle as I've never known her as a character, just a name.

I know! She's such an irritant! A self obsessed, oblivious moaner who never shuts up!!

I'm looking forward to a Jane,Sharon,Michelle friendship group. Linda is probably best with Honey.

Well we can't put words in Letitia's mouth but she was out at the theatre with Jenna recently so that suggests there's no animosity there.

I'm pretty sure Susan Tully will have given her blessing for this recast as well.

I feel for Letitia Dean sometimes not this time but storyline in the past especially under DTC that she must have been upset to be apart off.

Sharon really needs some friends and allies outside of the Mitchells. To be honest I'm getting sick of her demanding that everybody rally around Phil when he's treated everyone like something he stepped in. That dynamic is completely toxic. Hoping that Sharon reconnects with the Beales/Fowlers in 2017.

Welp that's christmas recked Michelle Fowler is trending on Twitter.

Why the hell are people asking about her accent? She won't have an Amercian accent - just because she lives in the Good Ol' US of A doesn't mean she has to talk like a Yank or have a Texan Drawl.

And people need too get their heads out of their arses saying Michelle is 'too iconic' to be recast (and ih they can't be bothered have a head transplant themselves) - James Bye and Todd Carty both proved recast can work (with Bye's Martin being one of the best characters at the moment). And Susan has been gone for over 20 years so it is a much longer interval than either Martin and Mark had. Susan obviously didn't want to come back so only other option would never to have Michelle back and then have the same people moan about her never returning. Recasts in the US (and to a lesser degree Aus) happen all the time and no-one bats an eyelid. Sometimes they work sometimes they don't but at least EE has a good track record in this area.

Sharon hasn't really felt like Sharon since 1995. I think this could do wonders for her character if they recapture the old Sharon & Chelle magic.

I've always been against a recast but knowing it's Jenna Russell has won me round. She's an excellent actress.

She is, but she's not Michelle. Too many recasts now its getting silly. I fully expect a recast Sam Mitchell to pop up next year now.

They've already done that and with a complete personality change.

I think we've seen the last of Sam for a while. They've completely wrecked the character and I blame Santer and DTC for that as they were the ones who brought back Daniella. I don't actually mind Westbrook and thought her brief return earlier this year was actually ok (although noted that she strangely didn't share a scene with Steve, Barbara or Ross), but to me the character is done.

As for bringing Michelle back. I'm not convinced this is needed but willing to give it a chance!

I pretty stoked about this actually. Michelle's a great character with so many links to other characters. She's been gone 21 years, so a lot of newer viewers won't know or mind about a recast.

I just hope they keep Chelle's original common as muck accent and don't give her a generic, well speaking southern accent.

It was going to happen one day or another.

For what it's worth, I think this is a good move. The character was hardly legendary but she has enough close ties to the show that it's getting ridiculous she's never, not once, not even to her own mothers funeral, returned to the Square.

This recast gets it over and done with. Enough time has passed that she can look entirely different and it not feel in bad taste. Susan Tully can finally breathe a sigh of relief, they'll stop asking her!

Such a shame they didn't get to pull this off as a genuine surprise....which I imagine was the plan. I'm not convinced though - the very image of Michelle in those early years is ingrained in everyone's consciousness so it will be hard for super fans to accept. The relationship and history with Sharon won't ring true with a new actress in the role IMO. I'm not sure why now was the time either...they've wasted the Mark and Grant reveal so what else does she have to come back for after staying away all this time

That sums up Sharon and all

Well I log into DS after a week on holiday and this is the last thing I expect. Although Michelle was a major character during the early days of the show (in my opinion) she was never quite iconic. Sue Tully has made it clear she's not going to return so I think as long as they have a good actress and stories to tell with her then I'm happy.

Mixed feelings from me. I love Jenna Russell but am very surprised if she's signed on for the long term as I can't imagine her wanting to be away from live theatre for too long.

Part of me is hoping they bring Elaine back for a diva off with Carmel at the Queen Vic karaoke - just to see DS go into outraged meltdown!

At the end of the day, the show can't constantly live in the past and be beholden to the hope that Sue Tully will return.

Oh I imagine that was a very convenient leak. People will tune in to see this.

This is good news, shame Sue didn't want to come back as Michelle though, but look at the recast of Ben/Martin/Peggy, all of whom made the character better, imo. Maybe Jenna can do the same?

The original actress played Peggy in like 1 episode