Zoe Slater’s (Michelle Ryan) much-lauded return to EastEnders might have been 20 years in the making, but she makes plans to exit Walford next week as more secrets from her past are revealed.

Fans of the BBC soap saw Zoe have the mother of all reunions with her estranged mum Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) last week, but tragedy

 

 

soon struck when she was accidentally shot during a brawl over a stolen gun between Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara).

As her life hung in the balance, a series of flashbacks then revealed that during her two decades away from Walford, Zoe gave birth to twins – a baby girl, who sadly died during childbirth, and a baby boy, who she subsequently gave up for adoption.

Having told Kat that she had a violent enemy who was out for revenge, fans were in for a huge shock when it was revealed Zoe shares history with none other than Max Branning (Jake Wood).

 

 

With Zoe now out of hospital and back on the Square, she is still shaken up by the shooting next week, believing her enemy was behind it – although the police are certain it was not a targeted attack.

Zoe later gets into a confrontation with Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) over her involvement in the cover-up of Vicki’s dad Den Watts’ (Leslie Grantham) murder back in 2005.

Following the fight, the Slaters try to cheer her up at the Vic, but Zoe’s mood shifts when she learns Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) and Mo Harris (Laila Morse) gave a local paper details about her ordeal, leaving her concerned they’ve unwittingly put a new target on her back.

Outside, Zoe then leaves a message with a face from her past, as more details are revealed…

Worried about the risk she poses to her family, Zoe packs her belongings and makes tracks to leave Albert Square.

However, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) catches wind of her plan and tries to convince her to stay.

During a heart-to-heart, she opens up about a man named Greg and admits they had a physical fight, and thinks he might be dead.

Stacey is insistent they should go and find out for certain – but will Zoe accept Stacey’s offer of help, or will she do another runner?