disappearance. In 1997, another week's worth of episodes set in Paris reunited Ricky and Diane. Shortly after, the character returned to the soap's setting of Walford, but Lawrence reportedly quit weeks after making her comeback. She had since commented on her reasons for quitting so soon: "Going back to EastEnders was like going back to school and none of your friends are there. I was [originally] there with people like Nick Berry (Simon Wicks) and Letitia Dean (Sharon Watts) and they'd all gone. One of the young actors, who will remain nameless, made me a coffee and started telling me all about what it was like. He had no idea I'd been in the soap before." In addition, Lawrence was suffering physically as she was still getting over injuries she sustained from a car accident and was forced to remove a neck brace for filming purposes. On-screen, the character departed to travel with her musician boyfriend, abandoning her young son in her brother's care. Bosses at EastEnders had reportedly been keen for Lawrence to remain on the show, as they were hoping for an on-screen reunion of the Butcher family; Mike Reid had agreed to reprise his role as Frank, though Diane departed before his reintroduction. Despite claiming that she would never return to EastEnders in 1997, Lawrence was upset when she discovered that both Sid Owen and Mike Reid (Ricky and Frank) were leaving EastEnders in 2000 as, in her opinion, it ruled out any chance of her character returning to the show. She commented, "It would be great fun to get all the Butcher clan back for a few months. I hear Diane's name mentioned quite a lot on the show — it makes me feel like I've never really left. But all the people I'm connected with are leaving, which makes going back harder and I'm really sorry about that. It would be great to have the Butcher clan come back for Mike's sendoff. But, sadly, I don't think there is the space for me to go back full-time." In 2002, she was asked if she would ever return to the soap and she responded, "If they asked me, I’d love to go back. Not on a long term contract or anything because I love doing other things but I’d definitely like to go back." The character reappeared in March 2008. Sophie Lawrence was asked to reprise