Grange Hill legend Lee MacDonald is joining the cast of EastEnders.
Lee, now a 50-year-old dad who owns a locksmith business, starred in the show from 1982 to 1987 as teen Sammy “Zammo” Maguire.
EastEnders bosses are putting him back on our screens 32 years after he rose to fame as the cheeky character who spiralled into heroin addiction.
Lee is following in the footsteps of old classmates Todd Carty and Susan Tully by heading to Walford.
The Grange Hill star will take on Danny Dyer's Mick Carter in two episodes of the BBC soap.
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A source told The Sun : “EastEnders have made some surprise signings in the past and this is up there.
“Nobody saw this coming but it’s a great nostalgia trip for viewers.”
Lee said: “I am absolutely chuffed to bits and so excited to be briefly joining the cast of EastEnders. I can’t say too much yet but watch this space. Top banana!”
He will play a bus driver who goes head to head with Mick Carter in a radio competition.
The rivals will battle it out to win free gig tickets in hilarious scenes.
Lee's highly-anticipated scenes will air in the summer as tonnes of Grange Hill fans take a trip down memory lane.
This will be Lee's first major acting gig in years, having only made cameo appearances in Birds of a Feather and The Bill since Grange Hill.
Lee was most famous for his powerful performance in the episode which launched the Just Say No campaign in 1986.
He reunited with some of his old classmates on This Morning at the end of last year.
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Speaking to The Mirror last year, Lee spoke about the 40th anniversary of the first episode of Grange Hill.
He said: “Before Grange Hill the only kids’ programmes you could watch were cartoons.
“Then all of a sudden comes this drama that kids can relate to. It just hit home – and it was really mischievous.
“People have such fond memories of it, they say it had a huge impact on their childhood.
“The first episode I ever filmed was at Chessington Zoo. We went on a ghost train – as an 11-year old, that was unbelievable.
“Without a doubt the Grange Hill years were the best of my life.”
*EastEnders airs on BBC One on Mondays and Fridays at 8pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.30pm
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