EastEnders’ Michelle Ryan breaks silence on jaw-dropping Zoe Slater return after 20 years
Two decades on, EastEnders viewers have been left gobsmacked to see Zoe Slater back on screen - and in a very bad way
Actress Michelle Ryan has spoken out after her iconic EastEnders character Zoe Slater made an explosive return on Monday evening.
Kat Slater’s daughter Zoe was last seen in Albert Square over 20 years ago in 2005 after mistakenly believing she had k.i.l.l.e.d her lover Dirty Den Watts. Before jetting off to Ibiza, she dropped a bombshell about Den fathering her baby and suffering a miscarriage, revealing that she had had an abortion.
Now, two decades on, viewers were left gobsmacked to see Zoe back on screen and in a very bad way. Having stolen Kat’s credit card and seeming to have gone on a bender, Zoe looked hungover and had been sick. Desperate for help in the situation, Stacey (Lacey Turner) had called Alfie (Shane Richie), who had become her step-dad once again after remarrying Kat last week.
He greeted her before the duff-duff: “Hello Zoe.”
Speaking after her shock return, Michelle explained her reason for making a comeback after so many years. She said: “It all happened at the right time. I’d already been thinking about a return because I’d met up with Kacey Ainsworth (Little Mo) and Kim Medcalf (Sam Mitchell) and we were reminiscing our fond memories of the show, and I’d also joined social media and saw that there was still a lot of love for the character.
“It just so happened that at the same time, EastEnders had announced a new Exec who was keen to explore the potential of a return as he was such a massive fan of Zoe and the Slaters, so both of our worlds aligned at the right time, and I’m so excited to be back. When Ben pitched me the storylines, and when I read the scripts, I knew it was the right decision.”
Michelle Ryan is back on EastEnders(Image: michelleryan008/Instagram)
Michelle added that it felt like “coming home” to be back on the show, saying: “After doing my first few scenes, it was like I’d never been away.”
Teasing what else was to come for Zoe, Michelle said: “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.”
Fans of the BBC soap will remember that Zoe had initially been introduced as Kat’s sister alongside Little Mo and Lynne way back in 2000. However, just a year later, one of the most shocking soap scenes unfolded in Walford as Kat and Zoe became embroiled in a furious spat in the street, with Zoe screaming “You ain’t my muvva!” before storming off.
EastEnders’ Zoe Slater made her long-awaited return to the BBC soap on Monday night(Image: BBC)
Kat then screamed back: “Yes I am!” And so, the most legendary soap exchange was born, as was a bitter mother-daughter relationship spanning over 24 years.
It was later revealed that Zoe was a product of incest after Kat was just 13 when she was raped by her uncle Harry Slater in the 80s. Zoe had been adopted by Kat’s parents Charlie and Viv, with the dark family secret kept from Zoe for years.
Zoe is now in her 40s and will appear in episodes across this week before leaving once again to get herself sorted. She is set to return to Albert Square later this summer as a permanent cast member.
After quitting EastEnders to pursue other work projects in the noughties, she appeared in Toby Young and Lloyd Evans play Who’s the Daddy? at the King’s Head Theatre, before enjoying a small role in Agatha Christie’s Marple in 2006.
Zoe Slater was first introduced with sisters Lynne, Little Mo and Kat, the latter of whom she later discovered was her mum(Image: BBC)
But Michelle’s big break came just a year later as she played opposite Billie Piper in ITV’s Mansfield Park as Maria before being cast as the lead in drama Bionic Woman, a remake of the 70s series. The US TV show aired on NBC in 2007 and saw her play Jaime Sommers, for which she learned Krav Maga and sign language.
The show was cancelled after just one season due to low ratings, though Michelle had said it came about because Bionic Woman kept changing direction.
Michelle left EastEnders in 2005 to pursue other projects(Image: michelleryan008/instagram)
Michelle had also appeared in the BBC’s Jekyll, a modern retelling of the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, alongside James Nesbitt.
She went on to star as sorceress Nimueh in BBC drama series Merlin and various films and TV shows including 2012’s Cockneys vs Zombies, D.e.a.t.h in Paradise and 2017 British drama film The Last Photograph.
