Merry Christmas.

Jenna's a great actress, will do a great job as Michelle. Susan Tully was good and I'm old enough just to remember her and towards the end it looked like she was phoning it in/wasn't enjoying herself anymore after the Sharongate storyline, I think we'll see a Sam Mitchell situation where the recast will be better than the original.

early days - and I've never seen Michelle/Susan - and haven't a clue who Jenna Russell is or seen her in anything, and if I had been in my usual spot on Clarendon Rd and she walked right past me I wouldn't have a clue - so to me she might just be an old off screen friend. Following all the discussions here I of course looked her (Michelle) up and saw photos, read about her.

I've watched since the early days and have really missed Michelle. Tully was such a part of that era but she's not coming back and there's a lot of Michelle's story still to be told. Ideally Tully would have returned but she won't. They've got an acclaimed actress to take on the role which gives me confidence and I think it's time to find out what Michelle story is. It wasn't right that Michelle stayed away for so long. Her not coming to funerals etc jarred. I'm prepared to give the new Michelle a chance. Martin was recast and that worked. I don't think EastEnders would be a more engaging show with better stories if Michelle remained gone for good. There's a story we've waited twenty years to be told.

Martin recast - St. Martin - only watched since 2001 - so not so long ago I looked him up -wanted to see more of his background - now being a market trader - what did he do before in his previous stint (some of which I must have seen but forgotten about) so gobsmacked to say the least when I discovered his rather criminal past ... just surprised there haven't been made any references to his past. ok, could of course have missed out on a 15 second reference.

She has an EE connection anyway. she was Michael French's wife in Born and Bred (where I know her from!)

I've remembered Martin since he was a wee boy in the show. I don't feel there's any particular need to make references to his criminal past unless there's a real need for it with the storyline. It's a past he's put behind him.

I would agree with that. Michelle was a huge character when the show first started. The whole who's the daddy storyline and her marriage to Lofty were massively popular. But after Den's death by the 90s things went very quiet for Michelle. She didn't really have much to do during her final years on the show. Her romance with Geoff the older man was very forgettable and apart from gettting shot during a seige at the Vic and her one night stand with arch enemy Grant Mitchell right before leaving she didn't really do much from 1990 - 1995.

some members are on about Jay and Ben - and their past (and presence) - but never come across Martin's past here either. Not that I'm bothered about it resurfacing, but had there been a hint I might have looked him up earlier - and not after he'd been nearly canonized - it's gospel truth - but I was gobsmacked when I read about him and his past.

Jenna Russell is a talented and in demand actress, Oliver award winner in the theatre

She will do well

Hassan's cot death and Arthur's breakdown have never been given the credit they deserve. For me they beat a divorce and teen pregnancy every time.

We have Peter, Mark, Vicky and Bobby all out there waiting in the wings...they could join the show again at any time. Then there is Steven..a Beale by name.

I actually meant Martin - my mistake.

Well I mentioned Roo about three pages ago but no-one pays attention to me...

The idea of recasting Michelle has come up on DS a few times over the past couple of years and I’ve always been against it. Susan Tully’s portrayal was iconic. But I love Jenna Russell – seen her in a couple of plays. She’s an excellent actress. So I’m giving it a fair shot for that reason. Call me fickle!

There are also exceptional circumstances here. The original actress quit acting twenty years ago to pursue a career in another profession and hasn’t really been seen in the public eye since.

Regarding the other characters that have been mentioned, to use Grant as an example, Ross Kemp hasn’t quit acting and has returned to the show a few times already. There’s every chance he would again. He also maintains a profile while outside of it. So I would find a Grant recast hard to accept even if his character also hadn’t been seen in 20 years.

Naturally it’s the end of the world on Twitter… a lot of it feels like bandwagon jumping and faux outrage. Some of them don’t even look old enough to remember Michelle!


Examples? If you’re referring to the likes of Ben, Lauren and Peter and Lucy Beale, it’s standard to recast younger characters and minor ones that go on to be fleshed out (eg. Belinda Peacock, Peggy and Mark I).

Jacqueline Jossa is I’d say the definitive Lauren now, even as much as I find the character infuriating much of the time. Harry Reid is the best Ben we’ve had so far. And I took to Ben Hardy as Peter quite easily, it’s just unfortunate he didn’t stick around.

I was less keen on Hetti Bywater’s Lucy but that doesn’t mean she failed in the role. The first and best part of the ‘Who Killed Lucy?’ storyline wouldn’t have had the impact it did if she had.

Martin has also been a successful recast and James Alexandrou was memorable in the role albeit not to the extent Susan Tully was as Michelle.

So it can work.

Of course there are some characters that shouldn’t be recast and ordinarily I’d put Michelle in that bracket but ST’s two decades out of the public eye and change of profession makes it somewhat less jarring. People do change a lot in 20 years. The main thing is they don’t give her a whole new personality as EE did to Sam Mitchell for a few months in 2004.

Hollyoaks might not have had many recasts in recent years but they did go through that really mad phase storyline wise a year or two ago that was just absolutely mental. Even DTC losing the plot after live week on EE wasn't that bad.

That was mine too 0…0 (welcome back btw).

To be honest Den’s death doesn’t bother me.

Leslie apparently only planned to stay until the 20th anniversary (when his story isn’t that he left because he was getting bored) and since leaving he’s gone back to slating the show, albeit to a lesser extent than he did before he returned. I doubt he’d have returned a second time.

Plus aside from a handful of strong episodes they didn’t nail Den for me second time round and that webcam thing was never going to go away.

For me, Chrissie was the best thing about the Watts in 2004. Vicky’s characterisation was weak for the daughter of two of the show’s icons. And I only really took to Sharon and Dennis as a couple once Vicky and Den were out of the picture - it all felt a bit 'wrong' before then.

Hollyoaks recasting Claire Devine when we'd seen the previous actress only a few days earlier was probably the closest the UK has ever done to an American/Australian-style instant recast. Although Emmerdale recasting Gabby Thomas and thinking because she was under 16 no-one would notice came close.

I can see why some people (yourself included) are point blank struggling with this. I have always been against the idea but having it dropped in out of the blue and casting a decent actress has thrown me a bit.

No one's saying that you have to accept the recast but your disgust at the fact any long term viewer could was a bit OTT. 

Re: giving it a chance. I just remember Ben Hardy's Peter and James Bye's Martin going down like a lead balloon to begin with. Jacqueline Jossa also got stick when she joined for being a recast. She mentioned it in that Back To Ours thing. No one has claimed that the only possible outcome of giving it a chance will be that NuChelle grows on you. It just seems fairer to make a judgement after doing so.

There's an interview with Sean O'Connor (Executive Producer) on Metro.co.uk where he mentions that Jenna was at drama school with Letitia and Adam and has known them for 30 years so there is a connection there too.


Well Sharon's going through a hard time at the moment. So I imagine she was just pleased to see a friendly face. Talking to Michelle over the phone likely doesn't have the same effect.

Plus, the Square is probably the last place she expected to see her.

While I agree with you that Michelle’s biggest storylines were in the 80s (everything with Den/Vicky and Lofty) she was still pretty prominent in the 90s.

There was also her relationship with Clyde and going on the run with him, Jack the weirdo practically stalking her, Vicky going missing, getting her degree, and of course she was always involving herself in Sharon and Grant’s dramas.

I didn’t find her relationship with Geoff all that interesting but a lot of airtime was dedicated to it.

Well said, it's fictional drama.

Sue Tully's career now concentrates on TV directing rather than acting. She has even directed episodes of East Enders.

For the life of me I can't fathom why anyone should care that a character has been recast, 20 years after the character's last appearance.

I didn't read through all the previous comments before I posted mine, so well done to you for also thinking about Roo, as I did.

Is there any other TV characters who have been recasted after such a long-time, other than Roo & Michelle?...

Thank you. I thought the Den murder plot and the way it dragged all the key players of the square in around Chrissie was very cleverly done but it's a shame they killed such a strong character off. The sense of what might have been in his interactions with Grant, Peggy and Angie if she hadn't been killed off was palpable.

I know Leslie slags off the show now and then but I'm sure he would have come back again. Whether that would have worked or not is another question as for me no returnee in EE has ever been as successful second time around.

Neighbours recast Brad and Lauren after an absence of about 20 years: Again, the originals had given up acting in the interim.

What is a soap supposed to stand for?

Soaps have been recasting since soaps began. Give the poor woman a chance. I have only seen her in Born and Bred but liked her in that.