EastEnders’ Stacey Slater is back on Albert Square next week – but will she come clean to Kat about her daughter Zoe?

As Stacey comes face-to-face with Kat, she’s forced to cover when her cousin picks up on her shifty behaviour. But when she finds out that Alfie has been lying to her, will Kat finally discover that the pair have been keeping the mother of all secrets?

“Kat finds out that Alfie isn’t in Australia with his brother Spencer at all – and she wants answers,” says our Walford insider. “Not only that, but he’s been secretly in cahoots with Stacey while ignoring Kat’s calls.

“But never in her wildest dreams would Kat think that her cousin and her husband have been busy trying to track down her estranged daughter.”

The drama begins when Stacey finally returns home with Hope and Arthur, having taken time away from the Square to help her deal with Martin’s death.

Jean and Mo are delighted to have the family back together, but Kat’s arrival sees Stacey start to act oddly, something that Kat picks up on.

Kat questions if she’s okay, but Stacey quickly covers by claiming she is just missing Lily and Charli, who have been staying with Lily’s dad Ryan.

And luckily for Stacey, Kat soon becomes distracted by the troubles Tommy and Joel have brought to her and heads off to deal with that.

Later, Kat vents to Stacey, filling her in on the ongoing situation with the boys and her annoyance that Alfie isn’t there to support her, especially now he seems to be avoiding her calls.

As Stacey masks her discomfort, she claims she hasn’t heard from Alfie. However, she has questions to answer when Jean later innocently lets slip to Kat that Stacey took a call from Alfie earlier that day…

“Kat’s confused – why would Alfie speak to Stacey but avoid her?” our source reveals. “She decides to take action and rings Spencer to investigate.

“But soon, she realises that Alfie is not in Oz as he claimed and has been lying to her. Kat is furious for being taken for a fool by Alfie once again.”

Kat is on the warpath and heads to Stacey’s, determined to discover why she’s been talking to Alfie – and to find out where her husband really is. But will get to the shocking truth, that her husband is in Spain looking for her daughter?

“This is possibly the biggest secret that Stacey and Alfie could keep from Kat,” teases our insider. “It would devastate Kat to know that they had seen Zoe but never told her. Stacey and Alfie may think they are protecting Kat, but she might not see it that way…”