The following article contains spoilers from an episode of EastEnders that hasn’t aired on BBC One yet, but can be viewed on BBC iPlayer.
Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman) is back on our screens in the latest episode of EastEnders.
We haven’t seen Harvey since the start of August, due to Ross being away from the soap.
Harvey began an affair with Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) earlier this year. When the betrayal was revealed, Harvey had to choose between Kathy and his actual partner Jean Slater (Gillian Wright). He chose to pursue a relationship with Kathy in the end, leaving Jean devastated.
The star hasn’t been filming due to undergoing knee replacement surgery.
Ross opened up about his operation back in the summer, revealing that he hasn’t actually filmed a great deal with Gillian after the affair story.
‘I won’t be on it for a while’, he said.
‘I haven’t had a chance to shoot loads with Gilly yet because I’ve just been off for two months; I had knee replacement surgery, so I haven’t been there. And now she’s on holiday, so I’m hoping we’ve got some stuff to shoot coming up soon, which will come out, maybe, towards the end of the year. Fingers crossed.’
Continuing his chat with Matthew Rolland in the YouTube series Isolation Interviews, Ross reflected on his reaction after learning that Harvey would no longer be part of the Slater clan.
‘I felt quite sad with it because these stories are not within your control, and so I felt sad to be leaving the Slaters.
‘They are amazing’, he smiled.
‘Sometimes I felt lost because it feels like they’ve got this ready-made dynamic. It feels very real when you’re on set with them. They’re so natural. It was sad to leave.’
Monday’s episode of the BBC One soap provides some good news for fans of Harvey Monroe, as the character was back in the centre of some family drama.
In the café, Kathy, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and Harvey were all discussing the developments regarding Callum Highway (Tony Clay) and Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff) and what their new relationship might mean for Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden).
The discovery left Kathy feeling quite put out. She had bought flowers ahead of Callum’s father’s funeral, encouraged other people to attend, only to learn that the man she welcomed into her family was now cheating on his partner.
And she even made sausage rolls!
Harvey attempted to support Kathy, but she couldn’t believe Callum’s betrayal. She stormed out, leaving Harvey alone to serve the customers.
Just a standard day in Albert Square then, if you ask us.
Harvey arrived in Walford in 2021. He is the father of Dana and Aaron Monroe.
The character was overly protective of daughter Dana, but the same couldn’t be said for Aaron. When Aaron headed to Albert Square, Ross was pleased to see him, but started to worry that his son was hiding secrets when he found a bloodied shirt in the bin.
It was then revealed that Aaron was part of a far-right gang.