Zoe Slater’s return to EastEnders continues tonight (Wednesday, August 3), as last night’s explosive cliffhanger is resolved. This came as a shot was fired during a fight between Jack Branning and Ravi Gulati, wrestling it out over a missing firearm.
As the gun went off, Kat and Zoe had been arguing nearby – with Zoe set on leaving Walford for good (again). Tonight’s episode will reveal who was shot and what, exactly, Zoe is feeling so guilty about.
With Executive Producer Ben Wadey promising to clear up all the mysteries about Zoe’s past, here are the five biggest questions which still need answering.
1. What has Zoe done?
In last night’s episode, Zoe revealed the reason she’d grown estranged from her mother. After initially deflecting by blaming Kat’s parenting, talk then turned to Harry Slater, and Zoe’s disgust at her true paternity.
And, as Kat pushed her to stay, Zoe shared that she’d done something terrible – something for which she could never be forgiven. This isn’t the first time Zoe’s hinted at a terrible secret.
But what exactly has Zoe done?
2. Where has Zoe been since leaving EastEnders?
Zoe hasn’t been seen in Walford since leaving in 2005, after which she gradually cut Kat and the rest of the family out of her life. We know that she spent some time in Spain, where she apparently found a new job and boyfriend.
In 2022, she returned to the UK, although remained estranged from her family, in spite of Lily’s attempts to reach out to her cousin.
What has Zoe been up to for the past twenty years?
3. Is she really in trouble?
When we caught up with Zoe in 2025, she was in a state. A drunken mess, she was staying on Stacey’s sofa while she attempted to work out her next move.
As Alfie arrived, Zoe revealed that she was on the run from people she owed money to. Stacey and Alfie worked out that Zoe had been lying about the threatening calls she’d been receiving, after which point she fled back to Spain.
A month later, Alfie called Stacey telling her that he needed money to secure Zoe’s safety. But was this a lie too? Does Zoe really owe money to some dangerous people, or is she just really bad at managing her finances?
4. Does Zoe know about Luke?
A long shot, this one. Ever since the events of Kat and Alfie: Redwater, fans have been hoping that the soap might revisit its revelation that Zoe has a twin brother, Luke Slater (or Dermott Dolan, to go by his adoptive name).
Might Zoe have found out about Luke during her time away from Walford? Perhaps unlikely, given how Redwater ended, but we’d love to see the soap pull this one back from out under the rug, where it’s been swept until now.
5. Is Zoe Joel’s mother on EastEnders?
To address the elephant in the room, many fans are convinced that Zoe is the mother of local teenager Joel Marshall. While the soap has subsequently revealed that Joel’s mum is a woman named Cleo, this theory isn’t going anywhere fast.
At this point, it’ll need to be directly addressed – perhaps with the introduction of the real Cleo, or a confirmation from Zoe that she’s never had a child.
