NCIS Season 12 spoilers: Diane Neal, Leslie Hope to return

Pauley Perrette posted the confirmation that Diane Neal will return as Abigail Borin in NCIS Season 12.Twitter

Spoilers are starting to pile up as the airing date of the premier episode of NCIS Season 12 draws nearer.

A recently leaked casting report stated that Diane Neal will reprise her recurring role as Abigail Borin in the upcoming season of the long-running naval investigative drama.

Abigail is considered as one of the most famous guest stars in the show as a member of the Coast Guard Investigative Service team. She had been gracing the show since its seventh season.

Neal's character was last seen in the episode "Oil and Water" back in season 11. In that episode, Abigail helped the entire NCIS team solve the case of an oil rig bombing. She also said during that episode that she would like to apply for a position on the team in the coming days.

Actress Pauley Perrette, who portrays the role of Abby in the show, confirmed the casting news by posting a picture on her Twitter account.

The tweet read, "LOOK WHO'S ON #NCIS SET!!! @DianeNeal It's Abby and Abby!!! Yay! Love!"

Another actress who will return to the show as a recurring guest is Leslie Hope, who plays the role of SecNav Sarah Porter. She will return in the episode titled "Choke Hold," where she will been seen observing the team while they are investigating a case wherein a navy research scientist was strangled.

Hope's guesting will be aired sometime in mid-October.

The synopsis for the first episode of NCIS Season 12 stated:

"Gibbs and McGee travel to Russia to safely escort home an NCIS computer engineer connected to classified intel, but their mission is compromised and they are forced to go off the grid while hunted by a Russian mercenary group."

Furthermore, the first promotional image from the episode showed Bishop, Tony, and Vance working in the office.

NCIS Season 12 premiere episode will air on Sept. 23 on CBS.