Weary Dot Cotton (June Brown) believes her troublesome son to be dead and buried after being told he'd succumbed to a heroin overdose.
HOW WILL JACQUELINE JOSSA'S PREGNANCY AFFECT EASTENDERS' LAUREN BRANNING?
But she is set to get the shock of her life when her villainous boy - better known as Nasty Nick - sensationally returns from the grave later this month.
And soap veteran John Altman has revealed to The Mirror that he will be drawing on the demons of his own past for the most harrowing scenes ever shown on the soap.
The dark twist, certain to keep viewers gripped in the run up to Christmas, will see the former junkie triple killer become “more evil than ever”.
EASTENDERS: LUCY BEALE'S KILLER TO BE REVEALED LIVE ON TELLY
Recovering alcoholic John, 62, explained: “Life experience makes you a better actor and when I’m filming those scenes where Nick’s dealing with his demons I have to draw on the things I’ve been through myself.
“I can put more emotion in and make it seem more realistic because I have experienced some of those desperate feelings on some level.”
Will John's drug-addled character kill again?
Not quite.
The actor teased: "Murder's been done before and I like to act new things and I haven't been disappointed.
These are new lows even for Nick and that's all I can say."
Nick is one of EastEnders' original characters, having appeared in the very first episode on February 19, 1985.
He was last seen on screen in 2009, when he left Walford after holding a number of the local residents hostage at the café.
After confirming his return to the soap in July, Altman would later argue that his character shouldn't change.
But, while his character may hate his doting ma, John couldn't be more fond of the real-life Dot Cotton.
He said: “I am so happy to be back and working with June again because she is a dear, dear friend.
"We’ve known each other for 30 years and she is like my second mother.”