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Zoe Slater is a fictional character from the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

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soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', played by

Michelle Ryan Michelle Claire Ryan (born 22 April 1984) is an English actress. She played Zoe Slater on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2000–2005). In 2007, she starred in the short-lived American television series ''Bionic Woman''. She appeared as th ...

. She made her first appearance on 18 September 2000. Zoe arrives in

Walford Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work ...

along with her father, Charlie (

Derek Martin Derek Martin (born Derek William Rapp; 11 April 1933) is an English former actor. Beginning his career as a stuntman, he moved into acting and played many roles on UK television. One of his most widely known roles is Charlie Slater on the BBC ...

), sisters Kat (

Jessie Wallace Karen Jane Wallace (born 25 September 1971), known professionally as Jessie Wallace, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Kat Slater on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' since 2000. Her role as Kat won her the Natio ...

), Lynne (

Elaine Lordan Elaine Bernadette Lordan (born 15 December 1966) is a British former actress, best known for her role as 'Sugar Walls' in the comedy series ''Gimme Gimme Gimme'' and playing Lynne Hobbs in ''EastEnders'' from 2000–2004. Following several tr ...

) and Little Mo (

Kacey Ainsworth Kacey Ainsworth (born 19 October 1968) is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Little Mo in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Cathy Keating in ITV drama ''Grantchester''. Early life Ainsworth trained at the Royal Ce ...

), and grandmother Big Mo (

Laila Morse Maureen Oldman (born 1 August 1945), known professionally as Laila Morse, is an English actress. Her roles include Janet in the drama film '' Nil by Mouth'' (1997) and Mo Harris in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. Early life Laila Morse wa ...

). It later emerges that Zoe is in fact Kat's daughter, and a product of incest after Kat was raped by her uncle

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

(

Michael Elphick Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series ''Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated for ...

) in 1983, and Zoe was legally adopted by Kat's parents, Charlie and Viv. This was nominated for "Best Storyline" at the

British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies gi ...

as well as winning "Best Single Episode" in 2002. Another highly proclaimed storyline was Zoe's friendship with

Kelly Taylor Kelly Marlene Taylor, portrayed by Jennie Garth, is the lead female character of ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' for the majority of the show's duration. Initially presented as a "spoiled teen vixen", the role was gradually expanded by producers. Subse ...

(

Brooke Kinsella Brooke Kinsella (born 17 July 1983) is a British actress, author and anti-knife crime campaigner. A graduate of the Anna Scher Theatre School, Kinsella has been acting since childhood. She has had various roles on television and in film. Her mos ...

). In 2003, Zoe and Kelly made headlines in the UK, in a New Year's Eve episode that was filmed on-location in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. In the storyline, Zoe, Kelly and others, travel from London to Scotland but their minibus crashes, leaving them stranded and injured on the freezing cold Scottish moors. While stranded, Kelly cares for an injured Zoe and they become overemotional – and kiss. The episode featuring their kiss attracted 9.5 million viewers, and the precise moment that they kissed was watched by 44% of the available viewing audience. One of Zoe's subsequent major storylines was when she became romantically involved with local hardman

Dennis Rickman Dennis Rickman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Nigel Harman. He made his first appearance on 14 April 2003 at the funeral of his late mother, Paula, before going on to become one of the show's centra ...

(

Nigel Harman Nigel Derek Harman (born 11 August 1973) is an English actor, best known for his role as Dennis Rickman in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. He has worked mostly in theatre. He starred in the final series of '' Hotel Babylo ...

), which soon ended after Zoe ended up being entrapped in an affair with Dennis' father

Den Watts Dennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den". Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house fr ...

( Leslie Grantham) – though not before he pressured her into claiming that she is pregnant with Dennis' baby, as part of his last-ditch attempt to stop his devoted adopted daughter

Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

(

Letitia Dean Letitia Jane Dean (born 14 November 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. An original cast member from 1985 to 1995, she reprised the role from 2001 to 2006, and again ...

) from leaving Albert Square; Dennis and Sharon had embarked on a forbidden romance during the former's relationship with Zoe. When Zoe starts to worry that Dennis will discover her secret, Den persuades Zoe to sleep with him so she can get pregnant – up to the point where he blackmails her with the threat of exposing her secret to Dennis. Although Zoe is forced to relent to Den's blackmail, Dennis ends up seeing them in bed together and ends their relationship. Her final storyline revolved around Den's murder on the show's 20th anniversary episode, after Zoe conspired with his estranged wife Chrissie (

Tracy-Ann Oberman Tracy-Ann Oberman (born Tracy Anne Oberman; 25 August 1966) is an English actress, playwright and narrator. She is widely known for roles including Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2004–2005) and Valerie Lewis or "Auntie ...

) and their best-friend Sam Mitchell (

Kim Medcalf Kim Louise Medcalf (born 8 December 1973) is an English actress and singer. She is best known for taking over the role of Sam Mitchell in the long-running BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', between 2002 and 2005 and from 2022 onwards. Career '' ...

) to get revenge on Den for the way how he victimized them during his antics. Their plan resulted in Zoe seemingly killing Den in

The Queen Victoria The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20. Appearance and developmen ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

after he attacked Chrissie; however, when Zoe left his corpse behind, Den regained consciousness until Chrissie ultimately killed him for good – shortly before Zoe reappeared in the room where he was murdered. Soon afterwards, Zoe leaves Walford for

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

after making amends with Kat and Dennis.

Storylines

Zoe first arrives in

in September 2000 with her family, which consists of her sisters Kat (

), Lynne (

) and Little Mo (

); their father Charlie (

) and their grandmother Big Mo (

). Over a year later, Zoe and Kat argue about Zoe's decision to move away from Walford to live with her uncle

(

). Kat tells Zoe she cannot go but Zoe walks out. Kat follows and blurts out that she is Zoe's real mother. She then explains that she fell pregnant at 13 after Harry raped her, thus revealing that Harry is her father. Zoe is shell-shocked, and Kat slashes her wrists in despair. Zoe runs away, unable to take in all the recent revelations. While away, Zoe contacts Little Mo – the only other member of the family who did not know about Zoe's parentage – who persuades Zoe to come home, but after another argument with Kat, Zoe leaves again. She ends up living on the streets where she is discovered sick and penniless by Roxy Drake (

Tracy Brabin Tracy Lynn Brabin (born 9 May 1961) is a British politician who has served as the first Mayor of West Yorkshire since the office was established on 10 May 2021. She previously was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from 2016 to 20 ...

), a pimp determined to recruit Zoe. Roxy provides Zoe with meals and cigarettes, finds her a flat and forces her to prostitute herself. Roxy and fellow prostitute

(

) dress and make-up Zoe, but she gets drunk and vomits on her client. Kat arrives the next day to take Zoe home, but Roxy tries to prevent her taking Zoe, so Kat

headbutt A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...

s her. Zoe gets engaged to Anthony Trueman (

Nicholas Bailey Nicholas Richard Bailey (born 5 July 1971 in Birmingham) is a British actor, best known for his role as Anthony Trueman in the British soap opera '' EastEnders''.Thwaite, Emily (2008)Breakfast with Mugabe, ''The Gazette'', 20 February 2008, re ...

), but leaves yet again, returning several months later, this time with Kelly in tow, and her engagement to Anthony is broken off. She briefly dates

(

), but he is secretly in love with his adoptive half-sister

Sharon Watts Sharon Watts (also Rickman, Mitchell and Beale) is a fictional character from the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Letitia Dean. Sharon is one of ''EastEnders'' original characters conceptualised by creators Tony Holland and Ju ...

(

), and they eventually reveal their relationship. Sharon and Dennis' father

( Leslie Grantham) suggests that to keep Dennis, Zoe should claim she is pregnant, since Sharon is infertile. The plan works but Zoe worries Dennis will realise she is not pregnant, and he refuses to sleep with her. Den offers to sleep with her so she can get pregnant and pretend the baby is Dennis's. Dennis catches them in bed together and leaves, but not before telling Den's wife,

Chrissie Watts Chrissie Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Tracy-Ann Oberman. She first appeared on 29 April 2004 and transpired to be the second wife of the show's "most enduring character", Den Watts ( Lesli ...

(

Tracy Ann Oberman Tracy-Ann Oberman (born Tracy Anne Oberman; 25 August 1966) is an English actress, playwright and narrator. She is widely known for roles including Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2004–2005) and Valerie Lewis or "Auntie ...

). Chrissie persuades Zoe to abort the baby and tells her they should team up for revenge on Den. They get together with Sam Mitchell (

) to do this, meeting up in

pub. Chrissie sends for Sharon, claiming Den is on his deathbed. She finds out that it isn't true and, upon learning what her father did to Dennis and Zoe, disowns Den before leaving Walford once more; Chrissie had planned this to rid Den of Sharon as payback for cheating on her for Zoe. Right after Sharon leaves, Den realizes what Chrissie did and proceeds to attack her – smashing her head against the jukebox. Zoe stops him by attacking him with a metal doorstop, supposedly killing him. She runs off and Sam goes after her to calm her down. However, he is not dead, and he grabs Chrissie. She hits him again with the doorstop, finally killing Den. Following his murder, Zoe is led to believe that she killed Den – though Sam sees Chrissie kill Den and eventually tells Zoe, who punches Chrissie. Zoe leaves for

after having an emotional goodbye with Kat, while Chrissie is eventually caught out and charged with Den's murder, and Sam subsequently goes on the run. In 2015, Kat reveals that Zoe has moved to Spain and announces to Big Mo and

Stacey Slater Stacey Slater (also Branning and Fowler) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', portrayed by Lacey Turner. She first appears in episode 2826, originally broadcast on 1 November 2004. The character is introduced as a fe ...

(

Lacey Turner Lacey Amelia Turner (born 28 March 1988) is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Stacey Slater on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2004–2010, 2014–present), for which she has won over thirty awards, including four ...

) that she will start saving up to visit Zoe. However, Mo tells Stacey that Zoe does not want to see Kat. Mo attempts to contact Zoe to get her to reconsider, but Kat finds out two days later in a text from Zoe that she cannot see her because of her new job and boyfriend and she feels she needs to move on with her life without Kat. In May 2015, Kat visits the convent where she gave birth to Zoe in 1984 and it is revealed to the viewers that Kat, unknowingly, had in fact had twins, a girl and a boy – meaning Zoe has a twin brother. Kat later moves to Spain off-screen and visits Zoe, who rejects her mother, leaving Kat devastated. Upon her return, Kat reveals that Zoe is now engaged. In July 2022, it is revealed that Zoe has returned to London when Stacey’s daughter,

Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...

(Lillia Turner) tracks her down on social media and invites her to Kat’s wedding to

Phil Mitchell Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother Grant Mitchell (EastEnders), Grant (Ross Kemp), s ...

( Steve McFadden). In an effort to cheer up Kat, Lily arranges for Zoe to meet with Kat at Peggy’s bar that evening, but Zoe does not turn up, leaving Kat and Lily both disappointed.

Creation and characterisation

The character of Zoe and the rest of the

Slater family The Slater family is an American philanthropic, political, and manufacturing family from England, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut whose members include the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution," Samuel Slater, a prominent ...

were created during workshops with

Tony Jordan Tony Jordan (born 21 July 1957) is a British television writer. He was listed as the number one television screenwriter in the United Kingdom by ''Broadcast'' magazine in 2008 and among British broadcasting's top twenty in ''The Stage'' in 20 ...

and John Yorke. London actors were invited to improvise in groups, and the characters were created during these improvisations.''

EastEnders Revealed ''EastEnders'' is a British soap opera that has aired on BBC One since 19 February 1985. Several spin-off shows have been made, some of which use the narrative of flashbacks to look at the history of the characters such as " CivvyStreet". Others ...

: The Slaters Special''. Michelle Ryan was cast as Zoe, and made her first on-screen appearance on 18 September 2000. The family consisted of, grandmother

Mo Harris Mo Harris (also known as "Big Mo") is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', who made her first appearance on 18 September 2000, played by Laila Morse. Mo is also played by Lorraine Stanley in the 2004 soap "bubble" '' ...

(

), father Charlie (

), his five children, Lynne (

), Kat (

), Little Mo (

), Zoe (Ryan),

Belinda Belinda is a feminine given name of unknown origin, apparently coined from Italian ''bella'', meaning "beautiful". Alternatively it may be derived from the Old High German name ''Betlinde'', which possibly meant "bright serpent" or "bright linde ...

(

Leanne Lakey Leanne Lakey (born May 1978) is a British actress, known for playing Belinda Peacock in ''EastEnders'' and Charlotte Day in ''Family Affairs''. Background Lakey originally trained to be a dancer, and is accomplished at jazz, ballroom and balle ...

), who was to be introduced to ''EastEnders'' at a later date, as well as Lynne's boyfriend

Garry Hobbs Garry Hobbs is a fictional character in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Ricky Groves. He made his first appearance on 18 September 2000. It was announced on 26 March 2009 that Groves and co-star Kara Tointon, who plays Dawn Swann ...

(

Ricky Groves Richard Groves (born 23 April 1968) is an English actor best known for playing Garry Hobbs in ''EastEnders'' from 2000–09. Before his role in ''EastEnders'' he appeared in the series '' Burnside'', a spin-off from ''The Bill''. He trained a ...

). It later transpired that Kat was the mother of Zoe, after being raped by her uncle Harry Slater (

). According to the BBC's head of drama series,

Mal Young Mal Young (born 26 January 1957) is a British television producer, screenwriter and executive producer. Career Mersey TV Young began his career in graphic design. At age 27 he began working in television, on the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brook ...

, the family was brought in as the serial did not "have enough solid families in the soap, there were a lot of fractured families and people who were alone." Ryan was cast in the role of Zoe after the character was developed at an improvisation session for thirty actors and actresses earlier in the year. He chose Lordan, Wallace, Ainsworth, Ryan and Lakey as the five sisters as they got on so well at the sessions. The actors performed a Nolan Sister's routine at the session, which was "later included on ''EastEnders'' as part of one of the

Queen Vic The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders''. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20. Appearance and developmen ...

's karaoke nights". The character is described as bolshy, defiant and a vivacious teenager who makes an impression on the men of Walford.

Development

In 2001, an upcoming storyline, involving Zoe and Kat, when Zoe asks if she can live with Harry. The '' News of the World'' reported that Kat would tell Zoe that she was actually her mother and that Harry had raped her when she was 13. An ''EastEnders'' source said, "Zoe thinks her mother is dead—but the truth is very different." In 2002, a story where Zoe runs away with Anthony to get married in secret was announced. That year, Ryan was rested from the soap on doctor's orders, by agreement from

Louise Berridge Louise Berridge is a British historical fiction writer. She was previously a television producer and script editor, her most famous post being the executive producer of BBC's '' EastEnders'' between 2002 to 2004. During her tenure, the long-ru ...

, the executive producer, Ryan and her parents. Plans for character developments between Zoe and Anthony were delayed and plans for their on-screen marriage were pushed back, with the wedding storyline being re-written. In September that year, Ryan said she would return and was looking forward to it, and Berridge said she was "delighted" and hoped viewers would look forward to Zoe being reunited with the rest of her family.

Notable relationships

Kelly Taylor

The friendship between Zoe and

(

) was a recurring storyline for both characters. In the British press, Kelly and Zoe were compared to two former popular characters, who also shared a close screen friendship,

Bianca Jackson Bianca Jackson (also Butcher) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' played by Patsy Palmer. The character was introduced by executive producer Leonard Lewis and appeared initially from 1993 to 1999, when Palmer opted ...

(

Patsy Palmer Julie Anne Merkell (''née'' Harris; born 26 May 1972), known professionally as Patsy Palmer, is an English actress and DJ, known for her roles as Natasha in the children's drama series ''Grange Hill'' (1985–1987), and Bianca Jackson in the ...

) and

Tiffany Mitchell Tiffany Mitchell (also Raymond) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Martine McCutcheon from 1995 until 1999. The character was created by the writer, Tony Jordan. She was introduced as a school friend of B ...

(

Martine McCutcheon Martine Kimberley Sherrie McCutcheon (formerly Ponting, born 14 May 1976) is an English actress and singer. She began appearing in television commercials at an early age and made her television debut in the children's television drama '' Bluebir ...

). Kinsella has commented, "It is nice to be compared because they were great haractersbut, hopefully, ichelle Ryanand I will bring our own characters to light and show what we can do. We have so much in common and we balance each other out – when she's crazy I'll calm her down and vice-versa. It's worked well, which is why Kelly has been kept on, which is great for me but also for Michelle because she's got somebody to have fun with. Kelly's been one of the slowest developing characters and that's been good for me. I wasn't thrown into it and having Michelle has been great for me." A storyline featuring a kiss between Kelly and Zoe was featured in a New Year's Eve episode that was filmed on-location in Scotland. In the storyline, a group of teenagers travel from London to Scotland for New Year's Eve, but their minibus crashes, leaving them stranded and injured on the freezing cold Scottish

moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

. While stranded, Kelly cares for an injured Zoe, they become overemotional, and kiss. Kinsella explained the reasons behind the kiss: "They're stuck in the hills, thinking they're going to die—it's a way of saying goodbye and also of showing how much they love each other as friends. Which is quite sweet really." She claimed that the kiss was made easier due to the fact that she was kissing her off-screen best friend: "That made it so much easier. We thought we were just going to be laughing and giggling the whole way through, but we were very professional. It was so cold that we just wanted to get it over with. We were shaking from cold—not from nerves—and it was raining, so we just thought, 'Let's do it and get it done with'. ..We laugh about it now. When it came down to it, the truth was that it was just like any other screen kiss." The episode featuring their kiss attracted 9.5 million viewers, and the precise moment that they kissed was watched by 44% of the available viewing audience.

Dennis Rickman and Den Watts

In September 2004, a Christmas storyline created by Berridge that was to show Zoe fall pregnant with

's (

) baby was axed by Berridge's successor,

Kathleen Hutchison Kathleen Hutchison is a British television producer, whose credits include ''Playing the Field'', ''Holby City'' (of which she was the Series Producer, then Executive Producer for many years) and ''Casualty @ Holby City''. ''EastEnders'' On 21 Se ...

. Instead, Zoe was to be seduced by Dennis's father,

Den Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a character in the ''Battle Angel Alita' ...

( Leslie Grantham). An ''EastEnders'' insider revealed: "Dirty Den lives up to his name by seducing Zoe. He makes his move when she comments how handsome he looks for his age. But they are caught in the act by Dennis who is shocked and disgusted to see his dad snogging his girlfriend." Hutchison decided that Den would be killed off in a storyline involving three people plotting to kill him. The storyline saw Zoe, Chrissie and Sam plot his death, and a source said, "The three girls team up after deciding they have to get rid of Den but viewers will be left wondering who the actual killer is. They plot and scheme to give themselves alibis and exact their revenge for what Den has done to them."

Departure

It was thought that Ryan was going to quit the soap after several reports of her leaving ''

''. One of her friends who spoke in September 2004 revealed, "Without sounding arrogant, Michelle believes she has the looks and talent to succeed at the highest level. She has been in ''EastEnders'' for four years but sees her future very much in films and modelling. She realises the show has put her on the map but doesn't want to be typecast. "Because of her soap commitments she's had to turn down dozens of great modelling offers and feels her soap role is now holding her back. Michelle's happy to honour her contract but then will make the jump." On 29 January 2005 it was announced after a lot of speculation that Ryan, along with

(Sam), would be leaving. A source for the show said, "Michelle

yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

has made no secret of her plans to leave the soap in recent months. Despite her character being at the centre of some of the show's biggest storylines, the actress is now considering a modelling career." The source added, "Michelle is hot property and has been inundated with offers of other acting work. She's also had several offers of lucrative modelling projects." Speaking about her decision to quit she told ''The Sun'', Everyone knew it was time for me to go and I knew it was time for me to move on."Then Jessie allace who plays my screen mum Kat, said, 'You're young, so get out there. Now's the time to go for it. You're only young once and you can't stay here forever.' "I've grown up in ''EastEnders''. I've been here for four years, so I will miss everybody. But you get that feeling and when you know it's time to spread your wings and fly, you need to do that. Everyone says I'm doing the right thing." Her exit storyline was revealed saying,"She leaves because she can't stand everyone knowing what she did in order to persuade Dennis not to leave her," an insider told the newspaper. "It is truly gripping stuff and there won't be a dry eye in the house on the night." Since her departure she told the ''

Bristol Evening Post The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...

'' that she has no plans to return saying,"I just got quite bored in the end, to be honest. Doing the same thing day in, day out. It's just so boring. I like to jump from different things." "I always saw ''EastEnders'' as an apprenticeship," she told the Daily Record. "I always wanted to go on and do different things. I have some really good friends from that show but the door is closed." She said: "I've always taken chances. I think that's how you progress – by stepping out and doing different things. I really do like my freedom and jumping from job to job. I just want to work with people I admire and respect, wherever that be – big budget, low budget, leading role, supporting role."

Speculated returns

The press reported on 18 April 2010 that Ryan was approached by the producers of ''EastEnders'' to return for a month around the Christmas period that year, coinciding with the return of Zoe's on-screen mother Kat and her husband Alfie. A BBC spokeswoman denied this, saying, "Speculation is rife about returning characters but this is not true. However, as with all characters, we would never say never." Talking about these rumours she replied,"No, t'snot for me." It was again reported in August 2011, that Ryan was returning, for a Christmas special. They reported that she was "excited" over possible storylines with Wallace and Richie. A BBC spokesperson dismissed the rumours, telling ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' that there are no plans for Zoe to return. In April 2017, Ryan called for Zoe to be recast.

In popular culture

The character of Zoe Slater has been

spoof Spoof, spoofs, spoofer, or spoofing may refer to: * Forgery of goods or documents * Semen, in Australian slang * Spoof (game), a guessing game * Spoofing (finance), a disruptive algorithmic-trading tactic designed to manipulate markets __NOTOC__ ...

ed in the

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and i ...

'' 2DTV''.

Reception

In 2002, Zoe and Kat's storyline was nominated for 'Best Storyline' at the British Soap Awards, but lost out to the bullying plot in ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

''. The episode where the truth about Kat being Zoe's mother won 'Best Single Episode'. For her portrayal of Zoe, Ryan was nominated in the category of "Best Actress" at the 2005

. For ''EastEnders'' 25th anniversary in 2010, Zoe finding out about her mother was voted the greatest ''EastEnders'' moment by ''

What's on TV ''What's on TV'' is a weekly television listings magazine published by Future PLC. Overview ''What's on TV'' is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and compe ...

''. Also the EastEnders website named the moment where Kat told Zoe that she was her mother one of the most 'dramatic endings'. The kiss between Zoe and Kelly received criticism. Lesbian news site

AfterEllen.com AfterEllen (also known as AfterEllen.com) is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifes ...

branded it a "gratuitous ratings-stunt" and said "The writers bottled out and the two young women dismissed it as a one-off, assuring each other that neither of them was 'like that,' leaving lesbian and bisexual viewers feeling cheated. This was a wasted opportunity, a chance to explore an emotionally complex situation between best friends that became just another exploitive TV moment instead." In an interview about homosexual television characters in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', scriptwriter

Daran Little Daran Little (born 11 May 1966) is a BAFTA-winning and Emmy Award-nominated British television writer. He is the only writer to pen more than 100 episodes of both '' Coronation Street'' (from 2000 until 2010) and '' EastEnders'' (from 2010 onwa ...

criticised lesbians in British soaps: "Most lesbian characters are so

lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick dates back t ...

. They start off straight and, lo and behold, they just can't resist it. You can see the straight fantasy at work behind the character". Journalist Paul Flynn stated that Zoe was an example of this, describing her as a "tabloid-friendly 18-year-old—who ..brushed with lesbianism for all of five minutes." Kinsella defended the kiss in an interview, commenting, "It's not a gratuitous ratings getting move, it's not some kind of big lesbian kiss. It's the way two best friends who have a lot of love for each other show their emotions."

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Zoe EastEnders characters Teenage characters in television Fictional market stallholders Fictional offspring of incestuous relationships Fictional offspring of rape Fictional twins Television characters introduced in 2000 Female characters in television