EastEnders fans have a lot to look forward to this week with the return of two legends on Albert Square.
As revealed in an epic trailer, Kat Slater is about to encounter her estranged daughter Zoe Slater for the first time in 20 years.
The dramatic trailer features the two women returning, beginning with Kat applying her iconic red lipstick.
Zoe, meanwhile, is introduced in darkness as she returns in a taxi before stepping out into the rain.
A clip of her mum walking in high heels is played side by side on a notably much sunnier day as she smiles at the other residents of Walford.
Then, at the end of the dramatic trailer, the smile is wiped from Kat’s face when she sees her daughter – portrayed by Michelle Ryan, now 41 – for the first time in two decades.
Eagle-eyed fans will have noticed the return of a third face too – as Sharon Watts is also back.
She left Watford earlier this year to visit her friend in Australia.
She could be seen standing under an umbrella with Partrick Truman as they watched, almost open-mouthed, the long-awaited mother-daughter reunion.
For those whose memories need refreshing, Zoe famously left the show back in 2005 when it was revealed that Kat, who Zoe believed was her elder sister, was actually her mum.
She said: ‘You can’t tell me what to do. You ain’t my mother.’
This act of rebellion prompted Kat to scream: ‘Yes I am!’
Zoe’s return to the show happened back in June, but she has not encountered here estranged mother until now.
Jessie Wallace, 53, who plays Kat, admitted that even though it would have been possible, she didn’t want her daughter recast as anyone other than Michelle.
She told the Radio Times that she ‘burst out crying’ when the pair reunited at a secret meeting with producers.
Jessie said: ‘I said to Ben [executive producer], “It has to be Michelle. It won’t feel right if Zoe is recast.”
‘I wouldn’t be able to give my best performance. The audience would feel completely conned.’
She added: ‘I love Michelle and have always been protective over her, perhaps that’s natural having played her mum.
‘I’m a mother myself now, which I wasn’t when we worked together before, and I’m very protective over my daughter.’
While Michelle has been asked to return to the show on several occasions, until now, she has declined as she pursued other acting projects.
She said she believed that now is the right time to return after seeing the fanfare around EastEnders’ 40th anniversary.
