Grant Mitchell is set to make a sensational return to EastEnders to rescue the stricken soap from its recent collapse, according to reports.
There is set to be a bloodbath of other stars to make way for actor Ross Kemp, 40, and his fantastic £1m deal according to The People newspaper.
New EastEnders boss John Yorke made the dramatic offer to Kemp in a secret meeting at the Elstree Studios last week, just hours after he took over from ex-chief Kathleen Hutchison - nicknamed 'Hatchet-son' because she axed so many characters from the ailing soap.
Other EastEnders stars are in fear of their jobs with bookies making Albert Square's whiner-in-chief Pauline Fowler, played by Wendy Richard, favourite for the axe.
Derek Martin who plays Charlie Slater, Adam Woodyatt who plays Ian Beale, June Brown who plays Dot Branning and Pam St Clement who plays Pat Butcher are also in the firing line.
But the paper insists the new boss is keen to give EastEnders the boost it needs.
Ratings have flagged in recent times, hitting rock-bottom in the summer with just 6.2 million tuning in.
The return of Leslie Grantham as Dirty Den failed to revive the show's fortunes - and he has now been axed, too.
Kemp left the show in 1999 having spent 10 years as bad-tempered, brawling Walford bully Grant Mitchell.
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