EastEnders fans convinced Vinny Panesar has been recast after 'hunky' makeover

EastEnders fans were left stunned by Vinny Panesar's dishy glow up as the character returned with a fresh new look.

Fans breathed a sigh of relief on Monday night as the soap returned to BBC One following a three month break after the Covid disruption.

And while the Albert Square lot provided a lot to break down as usual, some fans were fixated on the new, "hotter" Vinny.

One fan account tweeted that they'd been swamped with emails after he first turned up on screen, and confirmed to followers that actor Shiv Jalota was still in the role.

Sharing before-and-after snaps,the account laughed that Shiv had had a shave and mixed it up with his hairstyle during lockdown.

A fan account shared before-and-after snaps, prompting fans to brand the star 'hot' (Twitter)

"I was convinced the actor had changed!" one wrote.

Another remarked: "What a difference a shave makes!"

A third gushed that Vinny looked "damned hotter" while a fourth confessed they'd always had the hots for him.

"Vinny looks so different without the beard," they wrote, "but still just as hot.

"He’s like two hotties in one #EastEnders."

The Panesar family are Walford's first Sikhs (BBC / Jack Barnes)

A fifth shared a heart eyes emoji and tweeted: "Vinny's looking like a dish."

Vinny's become a firm fan favourite since making his Albert Square debut last year, alongside brothers Kheerat and Jags.

It also marked a soap performance first for actors Shiv, Amar Adatia and Jaz Deol.

The Panesar family also made EastEnders history as the first Sikh family to move into Walford.

EastEnders has had a fittingly dramatic return (BBC)

Despite EastEnders' much awaited return, Monday night's episode failed to keep up with the numbers of its big ITV soap rivals, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

3.35 million viewers tuned into Albert Square, whereas Emmerdale drew 4.51 million and Corrie even more with 5.31 million.

The viewing figures don't include those who watched on catch-up services like BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub.

While the show didn't bring in the same numbers as Corrie or Emmerdale but was lauded by fans for its first episodes back (BBC/Kieron McCarron/Jack Barnes)

Filming for EastEnders came to a grinding halt ahead of lockdown earlier this year, and picked up filming again in June.

But despite the numbers, fans were overjoyed to see the show back on their screens, and flooded Twitter with adoring comments.

*EastEnders airs Mondays and Fridays at 8.05pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays and 7.35pm on BBC One.