Walford was rocked by a dramatic series of events this week as the mystery surrounding Zoe Slater's (Michelle Ryan) stalker took several shocking turns, culminating in a cliffhanger that suggests the real culprit may have just been revealed.
A Family Torn Apart
The chaos began with Zoe wrongly accusing her little brother, Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall), of being behind the menacing festive 'DIE' message scrawled on The Vic's window. Unbeknownst to her, downstairs, Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) had already confessed to granddaughter Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) that she was responsible.
Jean, desperate to see the back of Zoe after Kat's warning that one more incident could force her departure, engineered the sinister stunt. As Jean's behaviour grew increasingly frantic, clearly unravelling at the prospect of losing Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) so soon after Stacey's exit, Lily questioned whether she was still taking her bipolar medication. Jean insisted she was, but her deteriorating state was plain for all to see.
Secrets and Ultimatums
Elsewhere in Albert Square, celebrations for Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) and Howie Danes' (Delroy Atkinson) engagement were underway with family. However, Anthony Trueman (Nicholas Bailey) had discovered a devastating secret: the engagement ring had been stolen from Penny Branning (Kitty Castledine). He gave Howie an ultimatum to confess to Kim by night's end, or he would expose the truth.
Howie, refusing to be cornered, cleverly manipulated Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) into giving him the phone number of Anthony's wife, Sophie. A subsequent phone call left Howie looking decidedly pleased with himself.
A Sinister Smile and a Dangerous Embrace
Back at The Vic, during Freddie and Anna Knight's (Molly Rainford) farewell party, Kat called a tense family meeting. Despite Lily's pleas, Jean remained silent as Kat lamented how Zoe's attitude was tearing the family apart. When Zoe directly asked if she was being forced out, Kat was lost for words.
Feeling betrayed, Zoe stormed downstairs and announced to the pub she was being kicked out, clashing with Vicki Fowler (Alice Haig) and declaring her tormentor was among them. After expressing her deep disappointment in Kat, she left The Vic and found herself directly in the path of a seemingly sympathetic Anthony Trueman.
In a chilling final moment, Anthony enveloped Zoe in a comforting embrace, but his face told a different story. A devious, evil smirk played on his lips, strongly hinting that Zoe may have just walked into the arms of the very person who has been terrorising her.
This revelation dovetailed with Howie's earlier confrontation with Anthony in the café. After Anthony taunted him, Howie played his ace card, revealing he knew about the restraining order Sophie had taken out against Anthony. Howie declared their situations were different: he was a man struggling financially, while Anthony was "a danger to women."
As Freddie and Anna left the Square hand-in-hand for their new life, and Howie and Anthony reached a tense understanding to keep each other's secrets, one burning question remains for Walford residents: Has Zoe Slater just become entangled with her true stalker?
