Stage favourites making a comeback (4)
I believe the answer is:
step
'stage' is the definition.
(as in a step or stage of a process)
'favourites making a comeback' is the wordplay.
'favourites' becomes 'pets' ('pet' can be a synonym of 'favourite').
'making a comeback' is a reversal indicator.
'pets' backwards is 'STEP'.
(Other definitions for step that I've seen before include "Move a little way" , "Stage - pace" , "Put foot on a pest" , "Pace - part of a procedure" , "Pace (taken one at a time?)" .)