Michelle Claire Ryan

Michelle Ryan’s Zoe Slater is at the centre of many iconic moments on Albert Square

Zoe Slater is officially back in Walford. Michelle Ryan and her iconic character returned to EastEnders permanently this week and her storyline is already of to a dramatic start, complete with dark secrets, arguments outside the Vic and a shocking shooting.

The character’s return was hotly anticipated by fans ever since she briefly appeared in three episodes earlier this year. Her reunion with mum Kat Slater aired on Tuesday night (2 September) and fans have flocked to the internet to share their theories around where her storyline might go.

Zoe is fan favourite on EastEnders thanks to her involvement in many of the show’s iconic moments and characters. Here we take a look at her past, from her reason for leaving Walford to one of the show’s most quoted arguments…

Arriving in Walford

Twenty five years ago, The Slater family first burst onto the BBC soap. A teenage Zoe moved to Albert Square with her sisters, Kat, Lynne and Little Mo, father Charlie and grandmother Mo Harris.

Later, her cousin Stacey would arrive and become one the core members of the family, but at the start, Zoe was the youngest Slater and described by the BBC as “bolshy and defiant”. Though her family had just moved to Walford, she was intent on getting away and joining her Uncle Harry in Spain – something Kat was not willing to let happen.

Finding out who her mother is

Less than a year after she arrived, Zoe wanted to leave Walford to join Harry Slater, her uncle, in Spain. Her sister Kat is not willing to let that happen and orders Zoe not to go.

In a fight outside the Vic, Zoe yells the first half of one EastEnders’ most iconic quotes: “You can’t tell me what to do, you ain’t my mother!”

“Yes, I am!” Kat responds.

She explains that she was 13 when she had Zoe and that she got pregnant after being raped by Harry. The argument leads Kat to attempt suicide, and Zoe, unable to process what she’s learned, runs away.

The twist has affected Kat for the rest of her time on the show and even led to a spin-off called Kat & Alfie: Redwater, in which she goes looking for Luke, her long-lost son and Zoe’s twin brother.

During her first time away from Walford, Zoe is found on the streets by Roxy Drake, a pimp who forces her into sex work. Thankfully, Kat tracks her daughter down and is able to take her home after head-butting Roxy.

Love triangle with Kat

Eagle-eyed fans may have noticed a weird look Zoe gave to Anthony Trueman when she entered the Vic on Tuesday’s episode. This is because the two used to be in a relationship.

But Zoe is not the only Slater that Anthony has been involved with. In fact, before he dated her, Anthony was dating Kat. Zoe disowned Kat for disapproving of the relationship but when Anthony reveals that he’s still in love with Kat, the relationship ends and Zoe runs away again.

Sleeping with Den Watts

When Zoe returns again, she starts to date Dennis Rickman, the son of iconic EastEnders villain Den Watts. The relationship with Dennis was doomed from the start, as unbeknownst to Zoe, he was in love with his adoptive sister, Sharon Watts.

On Christmas Day 2005, Zoe learns of Dennis and Sharon’s affair and plan to run away together. Den convinces Zoe that the only way to keep Dennis is to say she is pregnant, as Sharon is believed to be infertile.

The plan works but Dennis refuses to sleep with Zoe again and she becomes desperate to get pregnant for real. At his suggestion, Zoe resorts to sleeping with Den.

After Dennis catches his girlfriend and his father in bed together, and realises Zoe wasn’t pregnant, he leaves to be with Sharon. But not before informing Den’s wife Chrissie of his affair with Zoe.

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Her involvement in Den’s murder

Zoe does get pregnant by Den and a vengeful Chrissie convinces her to terminate the pregnancy and team up to exact revenge on Den. Joined by Sam Mitchell, the three hatch a plan to reveal everything he has done to his beloved daughter Sharon.

Upon learning of the way Den used her infertility against her, Sharon disowns him. When Den realised this was Chrissie’s plan, he attacks her and a distressed Zoe panics and hits him with a metal doorstop. Den collapses and Zoe believes she has killed him.

But, after she leaves, Den wakes up and grabs Chrissie who hits him with the same doorstop. Zoe is led to believe she is the murderer, but is eventually told the truth by Sam. When she learns what really happened, Zoe punches Chrissie and decides to leave Walford.

Leaving Walford

Before this year, the last time Zoe was seen on EastEnders was when she was leaving for Ibiza after finding out she wasn’t responsible for Den Watts’ murder. At the tube station, Zoe tearfully called Kat to say goodbye.

Kat races to meet Zoe at the station and gives her the hospital bracelet she had as a baby. Zoe replied: “I love you, Mum.”

The two parted on good terms, and Zoe wasn’t seen again on screen until this year, when she was revealed to be staying with Stacey Slater. However, as proven by her frosty reunion with Kat, something must have changed.

In 2015, Kat tells Mo and Stacey that she was planning to save some money to visit Zoe in Spain, but Mo tells Stacey that Zoe does not want to see Kat. Mo tries to contact Zoe to change her mind, but she refuses and tells Kat that she wants to move on from her and Walford. Kat then visits the convent where she gave birth to Zoe and finds out about her son, Luke.

Return to Walford

Zoe’s return to EastEnders got fully underway in the most recent episodes of the soap and fans have many theories about what she has been up to in the two decades since she left. Some have suggested she may be the real mother of Joel Marshall, one of the show’s current villains.

Others have guessed she is secretly be married to another returning favourite, Max Branning. If so, she would be the second Slater to be involved with him, as Stacey has been romantically linked to Max several times, including when she was still dating his son, Bradley.

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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There’s less than a week to go before the ‘mother of all reunions’ on EastEnders, as Kat and Zoe come face to face for the first time in two years – as they tease what’s to come

With just a week to go until the ‘mother of all reunions’, Jessie Wallace and Michelle Ryan joined The One Show live from Albert Square on Wednesday night, to give EastEnders fans a teaser of what they can expect.

Spoilers have revealed that Kat and Zoe will finally come face-to-face next week for the first time in two decades, months after Zoe made her brief return to Albert Square.

At the time, Alfie and Stacey were the only ones who had been in contact with her and had tried to do all that they could to keep the secret from Kat. However, the two couldn’t keep the secret for long as news got to both Tommy and Jean this week. Tonight, the guilt got too much for Alfie, as he confessed all…

READ MORE: EastEnders fans ‘convinced’ Cindy and Anthony will have scandalous affair after ‘clue’READ MORE: EastEnders horror as resident ‘fights for life’ after shock shooting on the Square

Kat was left stunned as the episode came to an end, and now the secret’s out, EastEnders fans only have to wait a few days until the highly anticipated reunion next week. The BBC soap aren’t giving too much away, but JB Gill managed to get some details out of Michelle and Jessie during his trip to Albert Square…

Revealing what viewers can expect from her major return next week, Michelle said: “Zoe is at the lowest point that we’ve ever known her to be. Disappeared 20 years ago, and we’re seeing that she’s struggled a lot. So, she’s desperate, she comes back, and even despite herself, she knows that she needs her family.

“And I think that’s where Kat is such a huge part. The mother-daughter dynamic is the best thing that you can play,” Michelle continued.

“But we still play it in a way as sisters, because we grew up as sisters,” Jessie added. “Well, the characters grew up as sisters, but there are elements of, ‘I am your mother!'” she laughed. “But that’s there, that’s sort of underlying.”

Digging for even more details, the JLS star asked the duo whether the reunion would be explosive, or pain sailing – but of course, we knew the answer.

“Oh come on! It’s EastEnders, what do you think?!” Jessie laughed. “Carnage. Complete carnage,” Michelle added.

As Jessie mentioned, Kat and Zoe grew up as ‘sisters’ until October 2001, where Kat accidentally revealed the truth during an argument, creating the iconic – “You’re not my mother!” line.

The pair have had a tumultuous relationship ever since – but with Zoe now heading back to Albert Square, can Kat have the mother daughter relationship with Zoe that she’s always wanted?

It’s not the only dramatic moment happening next week in the BBC soap, as one residents life is set to hang in the balance after a shock shooting. But who is it?

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat ,Instagram ,Twitter ,Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Michelle Ryan has been spotted back filming on the EastEnders set for the first time just weeks after her character Zoe Slater made a surprise return to the soap

Michelle Ryan has been spotted back on the set of EastEnders for the first time since making her surprise return to the BBC soap just weeks ago.

Viewers were left in shock when Zoe made her return to the soap after 20 years, although she scarpered once again after a close run in with her mother Kat. During her brief stint earlier this month, Zoe was seen away from the Square in Stacey Slater’s (Lacey Turner‘s) flat as Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) came to help.

Zoe then fled to Barcelona after a close run in with her mother Kat, as she revealed she was hiding a big secret that everyone would “hate her” for if they found out. Currently, Alfie is in Barcelona to try and bring Zoe back. It’s known Zoe will be returning to the Square later this year, with the first pictures of the star on set released.

In the pictures, Michelle could be seen filming on set with Sonny Kendall, who plays Kat Slater’s (Jessie Wallace) son, Tommy Moon. Zoe has never met her half-brother Tommy, but from the pictures, it looks like their first meeting could be happening very soon. As well as Tommy, Zoe also has half brothers Bert and Ernie, who she’s also yet to meet.

Fans can expect drama to go down when Zoe eventually does reunite with her mum Kat. The pair had a turbulent relationship, with which included revelations about Kat’s past and the truth about Zoe’s parentage. Despite a reconciliation, the pair’s relationship became fractured again and they now remained estranged.

However, Alfie hopes to bring the two back together by bringing Zoe back from Barcelona, although we could see dramatic scenes if his plan backfires. Keeping Zoe’s return a secret from his wife, Alfie told Kat he was off to Australia, as his brother Spencer needed help.

Kat is already becoming suspicious, as she was heard telling Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) that she hadn’t spoken to Alfie since he left – and Spencer had been acting weird when she called.

Prior to Alfie leaving, Kat was heard telling him that their relationship would be over for good if she found out he was lying about his whereabouts. Will Kat be able to forgive him? And how will her reunion with her daughter Zoe go down?

Zoe’s return marked the first episode for new Executive producer Ben Wadey, but it’s not the only legendary return we’ll be seeing. This week, it was announced that Karen Henthorn would be reprising her role as Julie Bates, as Nigel’s dementia gets progressively worse.

Speaking on Michelle Ryan’s return to the soap, Wadey said: “Before I even stepped into the role, Zoe Slater was on my wish-list of returnees as although we haven’t seen her on screen for twenty years, her character has transcended time due to her popular storylines.

“I was absolutely delighted when Michelle agreed to return, and I’m thrilled to welcome her back to Walford. Whilst I can’t say too much at this stage, Zoe’s return is just one of the many exciting storylines we have planned.”

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads .

EastEnders viewers will be treated to huge episodes in the coming weeks, with Zoe Slater actress Michelle Ryan promising ‘high stakes’ after a big night shoot this week

Zoe Slater will feature in “high stakes” scenes on EastEnders in a couple of months time.

Michelle Ryan returned to the BBC soap on Monday night, reprising the role after 20 years. Zoe is in “a mess” with more set to be revealed about her return and what’s gone on with her in the past two decades.

But with her on screen for a few episodes this week it’s been revealed that she will be back full-time in the summer. Now, we’ve got a glimpse at some of the big scenes ahead for the character when she heads back to the show.

Michelle took to Instagram on Tuesday morning to confirm that on Monday evening she and the cast filmed a night shoot. Most night shoots seem to be around huge and dramatic episodes.

While she gave nothing away, she did tease fans can expect big scenes ahead and “high stakes”. She addressed the “new block of episodes” filmed this week, that will likely air in six to eight weeks time, as she returns in the summer.

She spilled in a post online: “Ahh coffee, much needed after the night shoot last night. So excited for this new block of episodes, I can’t reveal anything but wow.

READ MORE: Zoe Slater makes dramatic EastEnders return after 20 years as Michelle Ryan reprises role

“High stakes. I’m carrying around the scripts to prep, new lilac pages. Well done to the writers, who have knocked it out of the park!” Viewers were left reacting to the post, excited for what was ahead.

Commenting under the post, one fan said: “Getting so excited! You and Jessie in them scenes are going to be amazing can’t wait!” Another wrote: “Can’t wait for what’s in store in the months ahead!!!”

A third fan said: “So excited to see what’s going to happen so happy your back!” while a fourth commented: “I am literally so excited for what’s to come for Zoe and I’m equally excited for you Michelle.” It comes amid the mystery surrounding Zoe’s return with her seemingly hiding something.

Michelle teased what fans could expect from the return, hinting that Zoe could be in a bad way. She spilled: “I can’t say too much as there is a lot of drama to come, but Zoe is a mess. She’s not the girl that left Walford twenty years ago, and she’s been really struggling on her own.

“She has her defences up, but this week you will see that she needs help, but whether she is willing to accept it is another story.” So what help does Zoe need, and can her family help her?

According to the soap, Zoe carries twenty years of deep-rooted resentment towards her mum. She’s not even met her other siblings including Tommy and the twins, while it’s not known if her own twin brother Dermott will be addressed.

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok, Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads.