EastEnders confirms the mother of all reunions as Zoe and Kat Slater reunite after two decades

Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) returns to Albert Square next week, and is in for the mother of all EastEnders reunions when she comes face to face with estranged mum Kat (Jessie Wallace).

Over the last few weeks, the BBC soap has been teasing the moment we’ve all been waiting for over the last two decades.

A stylistic trailer showed the two women strolling towards The Queen Vic – now home to the Slater clan – as rain poured down over Zoe’s head.

But it’s Kat who’s left with a face like thunder (quite literally) when a menacing rumble echoes out, breaking up the tune of The Mamas & the Papas 1967 hit Dedicated to the One I Love.

Cue the doof doofs!

But if Zoe’s return wasn’t enough to startle Kat, just wait until she finds out about the series of lies that husband Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) has been telling her over the last few months.

Where has Zoe been?

The last time we saw Zoe, she fled London, telling Alfie and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) that she’d done something ‘so bad’ that her family would disown her.

Fearing the worst, Alfie decided to follow her to Barcelona – telling his suspicious wife that he was actually going to stay with brother Spencer (Christopher Parker) in Australia.

While he sunned it up in Spain, Stacey faced the wrath of Kat. She wanted answers as to where he’d disappeared to, and wasn’t satisfied by the Spencer story.

With nowhere left to turn, Stace’ said that Alfie was in a bad headspace after another cancer scare.

Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) later assumed that he was actually helping out his estranged daughter Cherry, something which Kat then believed.

Alfie reveals all – to the wrong person

Believing that his game was finally up, Alfie sent a tell-all voicemail message after one too many beers and revealed the real reason why he was away.

She was far too preoccupied with her new business venture at The Vic to listen, and when she went to, her phone was stolen.

The device landed in the wrong person’s hands this week, as their son Tommy (Sonny Kendall) found the voicemail.

In scenes yet to air, we’ll see Alfie desperately plead with the teen not to tell Kat. He even brings in Stacey, hoping that she can get him to see sense before tearing the family apart.

Later in the week, an argument will escalate between Kat and Tommy, which results in Alfie dropping a huge bombshell.

Does he tell her about Zoe?

Regardless of what is said, the tensions rise further when Tommy suddenly disappears off the face of the earth. A search party begins, as Tommy heads off on a mission…

Zoe’s back!

Next week, Kat is desperate to find Tommy and is still unaware that he’s went to find Zoe.

Just as she and Alfie begin to give up hope and fear that he may never return, her phone starts to buzz. Tommy’s outside.

She rushes out to find him, the rain bouncing off the ground. She’s relieved to hear his voice, but taken aback by what she sees – Zoe is stood in front of her for the first time in years.

They’re finally face to face, and Kat is eager to find out how her life has panned out in the interim. But it soon becomes clear that there’s too much history between the pair, and Zoe is very different to the girl she was in 2005.

It’s emotional as Zoe reunites with her grandmother Mo Harris (Laila Morse), but the rest of the residents are more preoccupied by the fact a gunshot has rung out across The Square.

Something tells us this is going to be a classic slice of Walford action!

EastEnders’ executive producer teases the return of the year

‘She’s Zoe Slater! Oldest child of Kat, she’s a Slater to her core – and brings drama, humour and chaos,’ Ben Wadey, who recently took over as EastEnders’ exec told us.

‘I believe she’s seared into British culture, and I was so excited at the prospect of seeing Kat and Zoe finally reunite on screen after twenty years.

‘Despite all of the drama that happens upon her return, the joy of the storyline, and what EastEnders does best, is that underpinning all the twists and turns, we’re exploring the relationship between an estranged mum and daughter, which is classic soap.’

‘Expect the unexpected,’ added Michelle Ryan, who is thrilled to be stepping back into Zoe’s shoes after two decades.

‘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.’

Consider us intrigued!