Originally posted by supernoodles! poor ian and jane,i was nearly sick watching em in that hotel though blerugh

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EastEnders’ Bianca Jackson is back on the block – with four new kids in tow.

The redhead’s gaggle of children enter the Square at the beginning of next month, at the same time as the return of Sid Owen as Ricky Butcher, and the BBC soap’s Frank Week, which celebrates the life of comic legend Mike Reid.

Bianca, played by Patsy Palmer, holds her children in a special place in her heart, despite one of them, Whitney Dean, not being her biological daughter.

At 15, Whitney’s a teenage drama queen, unable to engage brain before mouth and constantly finds herself in and out of trouble.

Despite there being no blood connection, Bianca sees Whitney not only as one of her own, but also as a friend and confidante.

Whitney’s trucker father, Nathan, tragically died in a road accident in 2003, leaving behind his daughter with his then partner, Bianca.

Shortly after Nathan’s death, Bianca gave birth to Tiffany Dean, named after her now dead best friend, Tiffany Mitchell.

The youngster’s cute, butter-wouldn’t-melt exterior masks her somewhat mature understanding of adult matters. She sees all, hears all and knows all, and even at five years old has blackmailed her elder sister.

Bianca found new romance in the form of the now imprisoned Tony, a liaison that led to the birth of her youngest son, Morgan.

The fourth and final part of the ‘Jackson jigsaw’ comes in the shape of the cornerstone of Ricky and Bianca’s rocky relationship – nine-year-old Liam Butcher.

When the iconic Walford couple parted ways, Liam initially lived with Bianca in
Manchester, but Ricky turned up and Bianca reluctantly agreed to let Liam live with his father.

Since returning to live with Bianca, and with stepdad Tony in prison, Liam’s taken to being the man of the house. He’s not very academic, but is always willing to try new things – a trait which sees him quite often in trouble.

His laddish demeanour, however, is softened by the affection he is not afraid to show his mum.

The Jackson Five first appear in Walford on Tuesday, April 1 at 7.30pm.

EASTENDERS babe Rita Simons (Roxy Mitchell) is suffering from scoliosis - a disorder which can only be treated with major surgery. Scoliosis, which causes curvature of the spine, has made the popular blonde soap star two inches shorter than she should be. She told New! magazine: "I should be 5ft 6ins but I have scoliosis, and that has made me two inches shorter. "I was diagnosed with it when I was doing ballet as a kid. There's nothing they can do except a massive operation, which I won't be having. But despite her condition, Rita keeps super-fit and healthy - even during her pregnancy two years ago - as she was determined not to become "fat and frumpy". She added: "When you've had twins you're more image-conscious because you don't want to be the fat, frumpy mum you can easily become. "I trained throughout my pregnancy, and the minute I could run after the births, I did." And it looks as if her running skills could come in handy for escaping the clutches of her fans! "So far I'm getting people shouting 'Rita', which I know will turn into 'Roxy!' "People are just looking at me in the street a bit longer than before. At the moment I'm fine with it, but when it kicks in I'll be freaked out."