extremely angry, and they constantly tried to gain access to the grounds by breaking the security barrier and telling the production team that they were really extras needed inside the church. The entire episode was written by David Ashton, and was devoted to Lofty and Michelle's wedding day. At the time it was deemed as one of the best cliffhangers of the series, with the episode ending as the bride arrives at the church door and hesitates. Michelle and Lofty's eventual marriage helped to consolidate a fast-growing audience. The young couple had come together under enormously difficult circumstances. The subsequent storylines were purposefully built to keep the audience guessing about the future of their relationship. Were they married for the wrong reasons? Would the relationship survive? and what would happen if Lofty wanted a child that was their own? The character remained in the show for three years, and eventually departed in 1988 when the actor decided to move on. On screen, Lofty, heart-broken after Michelle's abortion, moves on to become a handyman in a children's home. In 2009, when asked if there was a chance he would return as Lofty, Watt told Patrick McLennan of What's on TV: "I get the feeling that people think I'm ashamed of EastEnders; like it's some dirty thing in my past. But I had a fantastic time on that show and Lofty was loved by nobody more than the person who played him. I cannot think of anybody who had a better character to play. But I haven't been beating a path to their door, they haven't been beating a path to mine." The BBC confirmed that Watt would reprise his role as Lofty, alongside Linda Davidson as Mary Smith, over thirty years since they departed, on 18 December. The characters return for the funeral of original character Doctor Legg (Leonard Fenton), who returned to the soap in 2018. Lofty appears in one episode broadcast in 2019. Executive consultant John Yorke invited Watt to reprise the role and described Lofty as a "huge iconic characters, and a central part of the show's DNA". He added that he was excited to have the characters return for one episode. Watt was pleased to be invited back to the soap and thought that it was "fitting" that Lofty returns for Doctor Legg's funeral. He commented, "I have nothing but good memories from my time on EastEnders