Rainie, who is played by Tanya Franks, is the troublesome sister of Tanya Branning (who is played by Jo Joyner).

Her return comes after Max Branning (Jake Wood) and his daughter Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) were told that there is no hope of survival for Abi (Lorna Fitzgerald).

Abi has been on a life support machine since falling from the roof of Queen Vic on Christmas Day.

Pregnant Abi and Lauren plunged from the roof while trying to stop shamed Max from taking his own life.

The siblings were taken to a hospital, where Abi was declared brain dead and put on a ventilator to be kept alive.

Later, surgeons successfully managed to deliver her premature baby but her family were told that there was nothing they could do to bring her back.

However, Lauren managed to recover from her injuries and was discharged from hospital earlier this month.

Today, Max, who had refused to accept his daughter’s fate, will agree to switch off Abi’s life support machine.

It is expected Rainie and the Branning family will be at her side when the machine is turned off.

Troubled Rainie was first seen on EastEnders in 2007 when she stole from her mum Cora and caused chaos for Tanya and Max.

As a drug addict, she relapsed a lot and was forced to battle her demons.

She is most memorable for striking up a romance with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) when he was addicted to crack.

Speaking about her comeback, Tanya told Metro.co.uk: “It’s like never having been away. I love working with everyone at EastEnders.

“With John Yorke at the helm at the moment, the show is in good hands and I’m excited to explore the next chapter in Rainie’s journey.”

Tanya will start filming in the coming weeks and is set to appear on screen this spring.

EastEnders continues tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One.