EastEnders fans have been left sobbing as Zoe Slater came face-to-face with her mother Kat on Tuesday after 20 years.
Viewers of the long-running BBC soap were left stunned as the mother and daughter duo stood in the exact same spot where Kat declared she was her mother – a scene that has gone down in soap history.
It comes after actress Michelle Ryan reprised her role earlier this year after turning down several chances to return to Walford over the past two decades.
In dramatic scenes on Tuesday that picked up from the previous night’s cliffhanger, Kat was left fearing she lost Tommy for good before he turned up in the Square.
Getting out of a taxi, he told her: ‘Mum, I’ve brought you a present.’
As Kat and Zoe initially tried to clear the air in The Vic after a frosty reception, Zoe stayed for a fish and chips dinner after being introduced to her younger siblings Ernie and Bert.
However, it wasn’t long before Zoe was spewing insults at Kat and demanding where her safe was when she learned that social services were involved with the family.
After Kat explained how Tommy had been hitting her, the pair appeared to have a heart-to-heart where Zoe admitted Kat was now a good mother.
However, in heartbreaking scenes, she told Kat she couldn’t stay in Walford and took off from the pub.
As a devastated Kat chased after Zoe through the Square, Jack and Ravi fought over the gun the copper tried to plant on him and it accidentally went off.
The shot was fired in the direction of Kat and Zoe as a horrified Jack looked on at the unfolding scene.
It’s left EastEnders fans fearing the mother and daughter duo have been seriously hurt – or even killed.
One said: ‘It’s going to Kat that’s been shot thats why Zoe sticks around.’
A second commented: ‘If they brought Zoe back just to kill her off… EE do love to pluck off the children of legacy characters.’
Bet Kat has been shot to keep Zoe on the show,’ said a third.
While a fourth wrote: ‘Omg who’s been shot!?! Kat or Zoe!? Or is that too obvious!?’
Fans will have to tune into Wednesday’s episode of EastEnders to find out if anyone was hit by the stray bullet – and if they survive.
Jessie Wallace, 53, who plays Kat, admitted that even though it would have been possible, she didn’t want her daughter recast as anyone other than Michelle.
She told the Radio Times that she ‘burst out crying’ when the pair reunited at a secret meeting with producers.
Jessie said: ‘I said to Ben [executive producer], “It has to be Michelle. It won’t feel right if Zoe is recast.”
‘I wouldn’t be able to give my best performance. The audience would feel completely conned.’
She added: ‘I love Michelle and have always been protective over her, perhaps that’s natural having played her mum.
‘I’m a mother myself now, which I wasn’t when we worked together before, and I’m very protective over my daughter.’
For those whose memories need refreshing, Zoe famously left the show back in 2005 when it was revealed that Kat, who Zoe believed was her elder sister, was actually her mum.
