EastEnders will air simultaneously on BBC One and BBC iPlayer next Wednesday (September 3) as big secrets are revealed amid Zoe Slater’s (Michelle Ryan) highly-anticipated return.
The popular soap, which drops episodes at 6am on iPlayer prior to their nightly airing, will refrain from doing so for this particular offering, meaning that everyone will have the opportunity to watch the drama unfold at the same time.
Discussing what viewers can expect from the episode, boss Ben Wadey said: ‘As Zoe makes her dramatic return to Walford next week, more than one secret in her past will come to light as we look to explore the reasons behind her return, and what has happened in the past twenty years to make her the person she is today.’
Consider us very intrigued.
Zoe initially staged her long-awaited comeback in June, appearing on screen for the first time since 2005.
Staying with Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) in a flat in London, it became apparent very quickly that Zoe wasn’t in a good place, and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) was concerned enough to follow her abroad in the hopes of keeping her safe and reuniting her with mum Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace).
That very reunion – one two decades in the making – transpires on screen next week.
With Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) missing, Kat is relieved when she learns that he’s outside and thus rushes out to find him.
However, she is taken aback by what she sees – Zoe is stood in front of her for the first time in years.
Kat is eager to find out how her daughter’s life has panned out but it soon becomes clear that there’s too much history between the pair, and Zoe is very different to the girl she was 20 years ago.
‘It was brilliant to be opposite Jessie [Wallace] again,’ actress Michelle Ryan said of the on-screen reunion.
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‘There’s an easy, instant chemistry and a history between us, so even though we’ve both gone off and done different things in our careers, coming back together has felt like a full circle moment.’
Michelle added that she feels as though bosses and writers have ‘captured’ Zoe perfectly.
‘Zoe is not in the best of places. She is struggling in every area of her life, but she’s tough because she’s a Slater, so she is able to keep going.
‘When many people would have given in, she’s still fighting. She’s taken a really dark turn in life, and she’s gone to a really dark place. I don’t think anyone would have been expecting that.
‘Zoe left with no self-esteem, and I think the trauma was far more embedded than anyone realised.’
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