As fans of EastEnders will know, the last time we saw Ian Beale was shortly after his fiancé Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton) yet again ditched him on their wedding day, but this time, she left for good.

Once Mandy had gone, and with all Ian’s other troubles – including being broke and having heard his brother Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe) confess to having murdered Heather Trott – causing him to have a nervous breakdown, he was last seen shuffling along next to a busy road in his pyjamas and slippers.

However, he’s set to return to Walford this summer, but when he does, he’ll be almost unrecognizable according to a show insider who broke the news of Ian’s return to the Daily Star.

Of Ian – who is of course played by Adam Woodyatt – and his shocking return, the insider said, “Ian is unrecognisable. He’s dishevelled, has long hair and a long beard. He looks like a proper tramp…

“Viewers will discover that since he left he’s been living rough on the streets of London and has even become friends with other beer-drinking vagrants.

“It’s a shocking storyline. A lot of the cast and crew couldn’t believe Adam’s amazing transformation.”

As we’ve seen, while Ian’s been gone, his daughter Lucy (Hetti Bywater) has struggled to cope with looking after her younger brother Bobby as well as keeping Ian’s businesses going. And unluckily for her, she’s managed to make an enemy of Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman) but it sounds unlikely that her dad is going to be able to help her out with that particular issue.

However, Letitia Dean is of course returning to the Square to reprise the role of Sharon Rickman, who is of course a lifelong friend of Ian’s.

As to whether Sharon can help Ian put his life back on track, the insider said, “Sharon and Ian grew up together and are like family.

“If anyone can help him it’s her. He’s hit rock bottom and is in a bad way. He needs someone as close as Sharon to help him through.

“He’s a broken man.

“There’s also killer Ben’s confession, which will be filmed next month. Whether Ian gets strong enough to turn him in remains to be seen…

“But there’s going to be one hell of a fallout.”

Here’s a reminder of Sharon and Ian in their younger – and much happier – days back in 1985 when EastEnders first launched…