Iconic EastEnders character confirmed dead as cast film sad funeral scenes

It looks as though the rumours are true – Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) will be leaving EastEnders in a box.

A slew of pictures have been released, showing Zoe’s nearest and dearest filming a funeral that’s almost certain to be for the long-missing Slater.

Among the characters filming the sad scenes are the twins Zoe’s spent most of her most recent stint searching for, Josh Goodwin (Joshua Vaughan) and Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness).

Joining them are her mum and step-dad Kat and Alfie Moon (Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie), great grandma Mo Harris (Laila Morse), brother Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall), cousin-in-law Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) and Lily Slater (Lillia Turner).

Last month, a BBC spokesperson told Metro: ‘We can confirm Zoe Slater will be departing EastEnders later this year. We wish Michelle Ryan all the best for the future.

‘However, we never comment on future storylines as we don’t want to spoil it for the viewers.’

It wasn’t long before rumours of the character’s demise began to run rampant, though.

An insider also revealed to Metro: ‘Michelle’s exit marks the end of a storyline that has been in the works for some time.

‘With such an iconic character, Zoe’s exit is never going to be without drama, but bosses are keeping tight-lipped about how she leaves the Square, but as always with the Slaters, it’s not going to be quiet.’

Further sources also claimed to The Sun that the feeling behind the scenes had been that her return had been ‘somewhat flat and lacklustre’.

The source claimed: ‘There’s been a backlash about her comeback, leaving some fans disappointed with her onscreen presence.

‘There has been some disappointment backstage that the return was short-lived as everyone loved Zoe Slater’s historic moments.’

The filming shots also mark the first public appearance of Shane Richie since his arrest for drink driving and the revelation that his wife has filed for divorce.

The announcement that Zoe was set to return to the show was seismic, with fans previously having believed that the day would never come that they’d see her on Albert Square again.

After all, the Slaters in their original incarnation were ground breaking; to this day shrieks of ‘you ain’t my muvvah’ still reverberate around the head of many a millennial.

Her initial stint was heralded as an enormous success and made Zoe the stuff of ‘Enders legend, with storylines including the aforementioned revelation that her sister, Kat was actually her mother and that she’d been the product of incestuous rape, before her turn as part of the triumvirate who oversaw the second and permanent murder of Dirty Den Watts (Leslie Grantham).

Her return has been a tad less heralded, though, with fans decrying the whole exercise as ‘a waste’ upon the news breaking that she’s set to leave.

Zoe returned with an airport’s worth of baggage; we learned that she’d birthed two children some years ago: one she believed was stillborn and another she left in the hospital, had the potentially murdered private investigator and engaged in a fling with none other than Max Branning (Jake Wood).

As she sought to be reunited with her children, things took an odd turn, as the plot shifted to focus on the return of arch-villain Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman) who’d allied with Jasmine to psychologically torture Zoe.

Zoe was then mistakenly sent down for the murder of Anthony Trueman (Nicholas Bailey) – a murder Jasmine had committed – and upon being freed, things became somewhat quiet.

The introduction of her other child, Josh Goodwin saw him focussed on bonding with the Trueman family and entering into a love triangle with his twin’s boyfriend Oscar Branning (Pierre Counihan-Moullier), Zoe’s become a bit of an after-thought following the arrival of her much-sought after children.

It seems Zoe’s return will go down as a ‘what could’ve been’ and with her shuffling off this mortal coil, there’s no chance of a second stab at success with her.