EastEnders' Michelle Ryan reveals emotional secret reunion with soap cast before Zoe Slater's bombshell return
EASTENDERS actress Michelle Ryan has revealed the sweet gesture from her co-stars ahead of her epic soap return.
Her character Zoe Slater stepped back into Walford in explosive scenes last night - with BBC bosses confirming she'll be back for good after 20 years off-screen.
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She is back on Albert Square as her mum Kat marries Alfie for the third time and prepares to take over the Queen Victoria pub.
Viewers will see Zoe in two further episodes this week but she will be on board full-time this summer.
The actress is best known for her explosive 'You ain't my mother!' showdown with Kat Slater, now Moon, played by Jessie Wallace, 53.
The mother-daughter spectacle with Kat in 2001 cemented Zoe as one of the BBC soap's most iconic characters.
And actress Michelle, now 41, told how she is "more excited" to tackle her role second time around.
In a chat with entertainment reporter Richard Arnold, 55, aired on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, she admitted she had "goosebumps" over her comeback.
Yet her EastEnders clan pulled out all the stops to make her soap return smooth.
In a chat from the soap set, she told Richard: "I've always loved working with Jessie.
"We actually went for a cast dinner with the Slater family so that I would feel welcome with the new people that I didn't know
"And seeing her, she got so emotional.
Michelle Ryan makes bombshell return to EastEnders as Zoe Slater after 20 years
"And when she found out I had the job again she was screaming and I was just like, this just feels like coming home."
Yet after being welcomed back to the cast Michelle gave a glimpse of her gritty storyline to come.
She told GMB viewers: "Brace yourself for what she's going to be like, she's troubled.
"That's great for an actress to play, that chaos.
"It has felt like I've never been away, it was seamless and it was easy, so I'm really lucky."
SOAP COMEBACK
Michelle made her debut in 2000 alongside Jessie as Kat, Kasey Ainsworth as Little Mo and Elaine Lordan as Lynne.
She quit the show in a bid to crack Hollywood and landed the lead role in a big-budget remake of The Bionic Woman - but it failed to impress and was axed after just one season.
Zoe left Albert Square in 2005 but during her time away, Zoe and Kat's relationship was said to have broken down once again and the pair have been estranged ever since.
Previously Michelle, who saw success on both stage and screen after her initial EastEnders exit, opened up on the reason for her return.
She said: "It all happened at the right time.
' I'd already been thinking about a return because I'd met up with Kacey Ainsworth (Little Mo) and Kim Medcalf (Sam Mitchell) and we were reminiscing our fond memories of the show, and I'd also joined social media and saw that there was still a lot of love for the character.
'It just so happened that at the same time, EastEnders had announced a new Exec who was keen to explore the potential of a return as he was such a massive fan of Zoe and the Slaters, so both of our worlds aligned at the right time, and I'm so excited to be back.
'When I was pitched the storylines, and when I read the scripts, I knew it was the right decision.'
EastEnders new boss, Executive Producer Ben Wadey added: 'Before I even stepped into the role, Zoe Slater was on my wish-list of returnees as, although we haven't seen her on screen for 20 years, her character has transcended time due to her popular storylines.'
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