EastEnders: Lofty and Mary return confirmed

Tom 'Lofty' Watt and Linda 'Mary' Davidson with June 'Dot' Brown

EastEnders favourites 'Lofty' Holloway and Mary 'The Punk' Smith are to return to Albert Square in the New Year.

The characters, played by Tom Watt and Linda Davidson, will return to Walford to attend a funeral, three decades on from their last appearances.

Davidson said she was "so thrilled and very proud" to be back, while Watt said it would be "lovely to set foot back in Albert Square all these years later."

Their return follows that of Leonard Fenton, aka Doctor Harold Legg.

John Yorke, EastEnders' executive consultant, said Watt and Davidson's characters were "iconic" and that he was "thrilled" to have them back.

Warning: plot spoilers follow

Lofty and Mary will return to Albert Square to attend Doctor Legg's funeral and pay their final respects to the much-loved physician.

It will follow Legg's recent admission to his friend Dot Branning that he had terminal pancreatic cancer and had turned down life-prolonging treatment.

Davidson and Watt both left Albert Square 30 years ago

"Doctor Legg is an iconic character so it feels fitting that Lofty should return to say goodbye," said Watt, who was last seen in the role in 1988.

Davidson, who appeared in EastEnders from 1985 to 1988, said its cast had been her "first proper family" and that she was "very proud to be returning to that family 35 years later."