It was announced on 24 September 2022 that Brooks had only agreed to reprise the role for 12 months and would depart again at the conclusion of her storyline, with her final scenes airing on 26 December 2022.

Her feuds include a long-standing conflict with former stepmothers Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement) and Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor).

A troublesome child, Janine throws tantrums, runs away, is a bed-wetter, a sleep-walker, a thief, a compulsive liar and a self-harmer, and hates Pat.

Janine makes friends with Clare Bates (Gemma Bissix) and Sonia Jackson (Natalie Cassidy) and they cause trouble for Felix Kawalski (Harry Landis), when they spread rumours that he is a pervert who murdered his wife, and keeps her body in his cellar.

Janine uses him for money, deliberately dresses like his late daughter Tiffany Mitchell (Martine McCutcheon), ruins his relationships with women and tries to seduce him.

Janine has sex with Ian, recording the tryst, then blackmails him, threatening to show his wife Jane Beale (Laurie Brett) unless he sells the Mitchell loan to Archie.

Janine begins to doubt Michael's intent when he asks to be a signatory on the business accounts and buys a sports car, so orders Billy to change the combination on the office safe.

After the trial, Janine returns to Walford one last time and tries to make amends with the locals in The Queen Vic, but everyone, including Carol, is completely hostile towards her, and she is forced to leave the pub.

Off-screen in December 2019, Janine sells the house that the Slaters are living in to Kheerat Panesar (Jaz Deol), which leaves them homeless for Christmas.

In August 2021, Scarlett (now Tabitha Byron) contacts Kat's son Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) online, under the presumption that he is her cousin.

Jay uncovers their plan, and also gives Janine a bad character reference, forcing her to admit that she had lied, ruining her chances of regaining custody of Scarlett.

In March 2022, Janine supports Mick when it is revealed that his aunt Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) was murdered by Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) and buried under the floorboards of the abandoned Argee Bhajee.

She uses Mick's grief to her own advantage and tries to help him overcome his bereavement by taking him to a grassland to vent his anger; he then kisses her, but she emotionally blackmails him by rejecting his advances.

Mick later reveals to Janine that he is struggling to be intimate with women after he was raped as a child by his former social worker, Katy Lewis (Simone Lahbib).

Linda demands more money, which Janine cannot afford, and she resorts to fleecing Zack and Nancy by luring her old associate Melissa (Katharine Bennett-Fox) into posing as an investor for their business.

Linda's friend and Zack's half-sister Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) plans to tell Mick about Janine stealing Nancy's money, but Janine turns the tables on Sharon after finding out the stolen money is now in the hands of Sam Mitchell (now played by Kim Medcalf), who has used it to purchase the local nightclub from Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton).

[8][9] On her getting the part, Brooks said, "It's funny, but for as long as I can remember I knew I was going to make it, I never worried about my career or money, and when I left college I was headstrong and confident and felt very grown.

Eventually, Janine's father, Frank (Mike Reid), moved to Walford with her older siblings Ricky (Sid Owen) and Diane (Sophie Lawrence), as well as with his beloved wife Pat Wicks (Pam St Clement).

It continues: "Janine's a great actress who enjoys seducing people, but the clever diva doesn't always get the end results she desires, which has even led to her imprisonment.

"[11] The character was written out of the series in the spring of 2004 when Janine was falsely charged with the murder of Laura Beale (Hannah Waterman) and remanded in custody.

[13] Four years after her initial departure, Brooks was asked to reprise the role by executive producer Diederick Santer as part of a storyline that was dubbed "Frank Week".

Executive producer, Santer, said her recent appearances "reminded us what a fine actress she is, and what an intriguing, watchable and engaging character she plays as Janine".

He promised a longer spell on the programme would enable viewers to see "what makes Janine tick" and also find out where she got the "flashy big black car" with which she was seen at the funeral.

She commented: "It's easy to assume that Janine is playing games or using him for sex, but [...] Ryan clearly adores her too, so he may be the man to tame her wild ways.

[27] Following Janine's arrest on Christmas Day, she returned to screens on 24 February 2014 when Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) visited her in prison, and last appeared on 20 March 2014.

In April 2021, numerous media outlets revealed that Janine would return later in the year,[28] as Brooks had agreed to reprise the role once again for a "huge storyline".

It was announced on 24 September 2022 that Brooks had once again decided to leave the show after more than a year back in the role, with her final scenes airing on 26 December 2022 after Janine was arrested for perverting the course of justice.

She has been described as "the crazy, evil vixen of Albert Square" and journalist Richard Arnold said of the character, "No matter how bad she gets, we welcome her back to Walford with open arms.

"[34] Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood deemed Janine "the best bitch on TV", while show writer Tony Jordan called her the "devil" and "evil", but added, "She's cheated, she's lied her way through Albert Square and we still kind of like her.

"[34] In 2001, it was reported that education experts blamed delinquent young characters in soap operas, like Janine, for increasing disorder and violence in schools.