EastEnders fans have continued to express their disappointment over the axing of Zoe Slater, with many calling her much-anticipated return a 'waste' following a storyline that failed to live up to expectations. The backlash comes as actress Michelle Ryan broke her silence on the confirmation that she will be bowing out again, this time under potentially fatal circumstances.
Fan Outrage Over Zoe's Return
Steve Weaver commented on the Metro Facebook page, 'It just didn't work, did it?' – a sentiment echoed by many readers who took the time to respond to the article about Ryan's exit. The announcement of Zoe's return, twenty years after her initial departure, was initially met with enormous excitement. Zoe had been a beloved member of the original Slater line-up at the dawn of the millennium, with fans still quoting her iconic line, 'you ain't my muvvah', delivered just before the revelation that Kat was indeed her mother.
There always felt like unfinished business with Zoe, whose first tenure was relatively short compared to the Slaters' long-running presence in Walford. She left not long after being involved in the second, and permanent, murder of Den Watts (Leslie Grantham). But when she finally returned, things took a strange turn.
Storyline Missteps
As a former soap writer, the golden rule is to focus on what's happening on-screen and always look forward. A well-plotted backstory can enhance a character, but it fails when the focus is placed on a past the audience hasn't seen. This was the case with Zoe's return – the birth of two children, one believed stillborn and another left in the hospital, the potential murder of a private investigator, and a fling with Max Branning (Jake Wood) – the most interesting parts of the story happened off-screen, leaving Zoe with little to do but endlessly search for her long-lost children.
There was also the bizarre subplot involving Mini Mo, the cat. Jo NT commented, 'I forgot about the cat; that was very odd!' Jo continued, 'She just wandered around saying 'I want my kids' for a few weeks, found a cat, got the kids, went to jail and then pulled a pint or two. The whole thing made me think 'eh?'.'
Fans Demand Better Writing
Melissa Clayton wrote an impassioned response, saying, 'The whole Antony Saga was a mistake and putting her with Max at the start, they just didn't have the right chemistry. Also the long drawn out 'searching in secret' for Zoe from her mum. I think it would've been more dramatic if Zoe had just turned up in a state out of the blue to her mum saying she needed help. There's been so much opportunity for her to have real heart to hearts with both of her children. Lots more interactions between them not just the odd awkward chat. I wanted to see more depth in those interactions given what she went through when she had them and the years of guilt and thinking her baby daughter had died.'
The inclusion of arch-villain Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman) in the 'stalking' plot that confirmed Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) as Zoe's missing, presumed dead, daughter also divided viewers. Melissa questioned, 'How Jasmin was introduced and exposed just wasn't the best and could have been written so much better if Chrissy hadn't even been a factor in it. It turned it into an unbelievable shambles rather than showing the raw heart of a child reuniting with their mum and working through that.'
Zoe's Role Diminished
With Jasmine wrapped up in a murder plot and her son Josh Goodwin (Joshua Vaughan) focused on his links to the Trueman family and snatching time with Jasmine's boyfriend Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier), Zoe has become an afterthought following the arrival of her children. Crystal Tips commented, 'That's a real shame. I think she's a good actress who didn't have good story lines. I really hope they don't kill her off. The chemistry between her and the actor who plays Tommy [Moon] (Sonny Kendall) is great.'
Deborah Jane offered a different perspective: 'Many people didn't watch it that long ago, and the storylines were not recent enough to have the same effect.' Perhaps Zoe's two-decade absence was too long for viewers, especially younger audiences with no memory of her. The overarching feeling is that Zoe's hyped return has been a letdown, with fans like Sharon Daly pleading, 'Bring back the kitty cat!'
