This gave the show a 52.9% share of the audience, who tuned in to see Ross Kemp, who plays Grant Mitchell, tell his mother Peggy: "Allo, Mum".
Kemp's return to 'EastEnders' for a three-week stint is the latest in a number of character revivals that producers of the show hope will help raise ratings.
In November 2003, 17m people tuned in to see Leslie Grantham's 'Dirty' Den Watts apparently rise from the dead and return to the Queen Vic. But his stint on the show also coincided with the soap's worst viewing figure in its 20-year history, when just 6.2m people tuned in to an episode screened in September last year.
When Dirty Den left the show again in February, killed off for the second time, 14m viewers tuned in to make sure they saw the corpse -- a guarantee of no more reappearances for the character.
Other characters slated to rejoin the programme are Frank Butcher, played by Mike Reid, while stars Phil Daniels and David Essex are also scheduled to appear.
Phil Mitchell, played by Steve McFadden, also reappeared in last night's episode. He is due to stay for a longer run than his screen brother.
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