Shilpa Shetty eyes a move to Albert Square as Jessie Wallace admits she wants to return to EastEnders
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty is in talks to join the cast of EastEnders.
The Celebrity Big Brother winner, 32, has been tipped to play a member of a new Indian family who will move to Albert Square later this year.
Shilpa has been spending increasing amounts of time in the UK since winning Celebrity Big Brother two years ago and recently bought a £10million mansion in Weybridge, Surrey with her boyfriend Raj Kundra.
Shilpa Shetty
Soap star: Shilpa Shetty is in talks to join the cast of EastEnders
A friend told The People: 'EastEnders would be the springboard to long-term success in Britain - and that is very much in Shilpa's sights.
'She knows all about the show as it is a big hit in her homeland - and of course it is popular with a lot of Indians in the UK.'
Shilpa was initially offered a role in the BBC soap in 2007 as a potential love interest for Phil Mitchell, but she turned it down.
The casting would make it the first Indian family in Walford since soap bosses wrote out the Ferriera family in 2004, who were dubbed 'unrealistic' by viewers.
The addition of an Indian family, along with the existing Pakistani family the Masoods, would make EastEnders a more realistic reflection of multi-cultural east London, which is known for its strong Asian community.
Jessie Wallace arrives at the Blackberry Summer Party
TV return: Jessie Wallace said she would love to return to the role of Kat Moon
Meanwhile, former EastEnders actress Jessie Wallace admitted she would love to reprise her role as Kat Moon.
Jessie left the soap in Christmas 2005 after five years playing one of its most popular characters.
Speaking to Lorraine Kelly on GMTV last week, the 37-year-old said: 'They’ve left the door open and I would go back. It’s a great show and I do miss it.'
An EastEnders spokesman said there were no 'immediate' plans for her to return, but added: 'Where big favourites like Kat are concerned, we would never say never.'
Shane Richie as pub landlord Alfie Moon, and Jessie Wallace as Kat Slate
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