Children in Need 2014: EastEnders' Ian Beale visited by ghosts of Albert Square past

Cindy, Pat, Kathy and Lucy returned from the dead in tonight's Children in Need sketch

Pat Evans/Butcher (Pam St Clement) returns to EastEnders for a Children in Need sketch (BBC)

EastEnders character Ian Beale was visited by his dead wife, mother and murdered daughter in a Children in Need special this evening.

During the sketch Ian (Adam Woodyatt) is knocked unconscious in the laundrette. He wakes to discover Cindy in his kitchen and his mother Kathy back in the cafe.

Ian also encounters his daughter Lucy (Hetti Bywater), whose killer has not been found.

Things had improved dramatically for Pat Butcher, played by Pam St Clement for over 25 years, with the Albert Square matriarch now running the Queen Vic pub and dating Harry Styles from One Direction ("I'm the ultimate cougar," she told Ian).

The character of Cindy (Michelle Collins) died in childbirth in 1998 while Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) was killed in an off-screen road accident in 2006. Pat died in January 2012.

Pam St Clement, Gillian Taylforth, Hetti Bywater, Adam Woodyatt and Michelle Collins who are returning to EastEnders for BBC Children in Need 2014. (BBC)

“After being knocked unconscious Ian finds himself taken back in time and he comes into contact with Pat, Cindy, Kathy and Lucy in various iconic places around the Square,” Woodyatt said.

Taylforth said: "It was surreal being back but it was fantastic to have the chance to play Kathy again. Once I was back in the cafe with my apron on and stirring the beans it was like I had never left."

She added: "Ian finds himself being visited by some familiar faces from his past so it's only right that his mum makes an appearance."

In a separate interview, Woodyatt told Radio Times magazine: "Kathy and Cindy both died off-screen, so for years I've been coming up with ways to bring them back.

"Anything can happen in the world of soap... What they've done for this sketch is joyous. Filming it was one of my best days at work."