Latest news with #StaceySlater
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘I'm coming home': EastEnders star Jake Wood to return to soap as Max Branning
Actor Jake Wood is heading back to EastEnders as Max Branning, describing his return as 'coming home'. The 52-year-old left the BBC soap in 2021 when his character's affair with Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) ended, after she revealed her true feelings for her husband Mick (Danny Dyer). Max's return to the soap comes after it was announced that his son Oscar would also return to the soap, played by Pierre Moullier, after eight years away, having previously been portrayed by Gabriel Miller-Williams, Neo Hall and Charlee Hall. Wood said: 'I'm over the moon to be coming home to Walford. Max has got lots of unresolved drama with many characters, so I'm sure he'll be busy. 'I'm excited to see what he's been up to, and what is next for the character, but if his last 15 years in the square are anything to go by, I'm sure there will be plenty of chaos.' One of Max's best-known storylines in the soap saw his long-running affair with daughter-in-law Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) revealed on Christmas Day in 2007, while he was dressed as Father Christmas. Max will return to Albert Square to find his daughter Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) expected to marry into the Beales, Stacey widowed, and a secret daughter with ex-lover Linda yet to be discovered. Speaking on the Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, Wood said his return to the show was 'quite emotional' and added it felt 'like a very warm hug'. He said: 'I just felt like it was the right time. 'I spoke to so many people there, they're just loving being there at the moment, I had a meeting with the new executive, Ben Wadey, back in January, and we went for lunch, and he just sort of outlined all of his ideas.' He continued: 'There's just so many characters that Max has got drama with, so it felt like the right time to go back and mix things up a bit.' Wood went on to say his character's return would be 'high, high, high drama' and added that it would not be 'friendly and warm'. EastEnders executive producer Wadey said: 'I'm delighted to welcome the immensely talented Jake Wood back to the role of Max Branning. 'Whilst his character has only been away from Albert Square for four years, Walford, and the lives of those who live in it, have changed immensely. 'Max has a lot of unfinished business, but whether he is welcomed by his family remains to be seen. 'However, with a past as chequered as Max's, it's fair to say that many Walford residents will not be pleased to see him, putting the Brannings back at the heart of the square, and the drama, this year.' Wood's character first arrived in Walford in June 2006, bringing his then wife Tanya and their daughters Lauren and Abi (Lorna Fitzgerald) with him. Max will return briefly in autumn, before making a permanent return later in the year.
The Sun
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
EastEnders star makes shock exit from soap and quits plans to return to Walford amid secret cover-up
EASTENDERS actress Michelle Ryan has already made her soap exit just days after arriving back on the show. In scenes broadcast today on the BBC soap opera, her character Zoe Slater walked away from any potential plan of making a move back to Walford. 5 5 5 EastEnders fans were left gobsmacked when it was revealed that Zoe was back on the show after she made contact with Stacey Slater. She was shown to be living in squalor and surviving off just vodka and vapes. It was clear from the off that Zoe was hiding a huge secret as she admitted to Stacey and Alfie to being "scared and sorry" for what she had done without giving any clues as to what. Having hidden out at a flat being rented by Stacey, Zoe was left stunned when Kat, Jean and Harvey all turned up at the residence. Adamant she did not want to see Kat or have her know that she was in London, Zoe was forced to hide in her bedroom as Stacey and Alfie did their best to throw the others off the scent. Despite lying and insisting that Stacey had been struggling, Kat was left unconvinced. Having left, she decided to return to the flat once more and demand to know the truth. With Zoe still hiding out in the bedroom, she tripped, causing a noise, which startled Kat and set her mind racing. Demanding to know if someone was in the room, she eventually barged in, leaving Stacey and Alfie terrified that the secret was about to spill out. However, they were shocked to find a fully open window with Zoe nowhere to be seen. With Kat accepting that she was 'wrong', she soon left once more as Stacey and Alfie made contact with Zoe to see where she had fled to. But it was too late, as Zoe confirmed to them over the phone that she would be disappearing once again and shunning any chance of a Walford comeback. She said to the pair on the phone: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you no trouble." Stacey told her "not to worry" about it as Zoe continued: "I can't [come back]. I've got to go." Revealing that her secret may be darker than first predicted, Zoe added: "Don't look for me. It was a mistake. "It was a mistake to get back in touch. "I ain't saying it was easy, hearing her [Kat], seeing her face, but I done something bad, something so bad. "You would never forgive me." Zoe went onto insist that she could never say what it is that she had done and pleaded to Stacey that the whole Slater clan would hate her, especially Kat. She soon ended the phone call and made her exit, walking out of an apartment building into the street tearfully. However, we know that Michelle will be back on the show later in the year - so will Zoe's secret eventually be revealed? 5 5
The Sun
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Zoe Slater is an EastEnders icon. But cruel reaction to her return has left me fuming… everyone is missing key thing
WHEN Zoe Slater's mascara-smudged face appeared on my TV screen, I let out a little gasp. Michelle Ryan 's long-awaited EastEnders return can only mean more incredible, explosive storylines - 'You ain't my muvva!' is the greatest line in soap history - so what a shame her big moment was completely overshadowed. 6 6 I had seen all the rumours about her soap return on social media, and I even carefully studied the teaser clip producers had released just hours earlier which was apparently full of 'clues' about a former castmate's comeback. And even though I knew it was Zoe being barked at by Stacey Slater while hungover and hiding under a blanket on Lynne's sofa, I was still elated to see her reappearance after two decades. Vile jibes But I was shocked - actually, disgusted - to see Michelle's return blighted with vile criticism about her appearance. 'Put a lot of timber on,' one nasty troll spat, while another bitched, 'She's spent the 20 years eating burgers.' Another made reference to Michelle 's career in America where she starred as the lead in TV drama Bionic Woman, saying 'She let herself go a lot. I thought she went to Hollywood? Most people who go there come back thin.' Vilified for our looks I honestly despair. I'm so ashamed that we live in a world where it's become the norm for faceless keyboard warriors to spit venom and hate at women. I'm sick of women being constantly vilified over our appearance. And we can never win, by the way. We lose weight and we are too skinny or we look ill. We put on weight and we are fat or we've let ourselves go. Wrinkles mean we are past it and haggard, yet any form of beauty treatment to turn back the years and we are full of ourselves and vain. Zoe Slater left terrified and hiding major secret in EastEnders - as Michelle Ryan returns to Walford after 20 years I can't help but think that it's now become so normal to live in a world of airbrushed images and filters that society has forgotten what real women actually look like. It's almost like the toxic pockets of society completely freak out the moment they see anything that doesn't fit this unachievable mould. Michelle is a beautiful 41 year old woman, who just for the record was once voted one of FHM's sexiest women. It doesn't matter why she decided to come back or that her Hollywood career didn't span decades - when did that become the measure of a successful career? But that's not important. What matters is that she is an incredible actress, and due to her much-loved and memorable impact on the soap, was given the chance to come back. Michelle's character Zoe, Kat Slater's gobby daughter, was iconic back in the day. Who can forget her trying to get pregnant by Dirty Den before helping his wife Chrissie Watts to bump him off? 6 EastEnders' new top boss, executive producer Ben Wadey, even said Zoe was his 'wishlist of returnees.' It doesn't matter why she decided to come back or that her Hollywood career didn't span decades - when did that become the measure of a successful career? It's also totally irrelevant that Michelle doesn't look the same as she did in 2005, because the fact is none of us do. And that is the key thing these keyboard warriors are missing - news flash - women aren't stuck in a time warp, they age, grow and change. And if these faceless trolls ever have the guts to unmask themselves, they will see they haven't defied ageing either. 6 6
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
EastEnders: Michelle Ryan returns as Zoe Slater after 20 year gap
Actress Michelle Ryan has returned to play Zoe Slater in EastEnders after being away from the soap for 20 to Barb, 2.2 million people watched her shock appearance on the BBC One soap, which unusually had not been made available on iPlayer earlier in the character is best remembered for the 2001 cliffhanger in which she screamed at her sister Kat Slater "you ain't my mother!" who fired back with the iconic twist: "Yes I am."Ryan described returning to the show as feeling "like coming home". Ryan was revealed to viewers at the end of the episode, making a dramatic reunion with step-father Alfie Moon and cousin Stacey Slater just before the is the first episode produced by the show's new executive producer Ben Wadey who said the character was on his wish-list of returnees before stepping into the said: "I was absolutely delighted when Michelle agreed to return, and I'm thrilled to welcome her back to Walford."Although it was the second most watched programme in its time slot, a slightly larger audience had tuned in to both Emmerdale and Coronation Street on viewing figures do not include people who watched the episode on tablets, phones or other smart devices. After leaving the soap in 2005, Ryan made appearances in BBC One shows Merlin, Doctor Who and was also cast as the lead in a remake of the 1970s programme The Bionic Woman, which was cancelled by US broadcaster NBC after eight actress revealed that the invitation to return to Elstree Studios arrived at a time she had been reflecting on her time on the BBC soap with old said: "It all happened at the right time. I'd already been thinking about a return because I'd met up with Kacey Ainsworth and Kim Medcalf and we were reminiscing our fond memories of the show."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."I can't say too much as there is a lot of drama to come, but Zoe is a mess. She's not the girl that left Walford twenty years ago, and she's been really struggling on her own."
The Sun
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
EastEnders drops huge clue soap legend is returning with major schedule shake-up for new boss's first episode
SOAP SHOCK Monday's episode is the first under the tenure of new boss Ben Wadey EASTENDERS has dropped the biggest clue yet a show icon is returning next week. The BBC has remained silent on The Sun revealing there are two icons making a shock comeback in the coming months. 2 But now they have announced that Monday's episode - the first under the tenure of new boss Ben Wadey - will not be made available on iPlayer at 6am as has become standard. And it's set to be an exciting one. Ben said: 'Next week marks the start of something big in Walford that we hope will get everyone talking, and it's only just the beginning. 'We've got twists, shocks, and plenty of drama lined up for a summer you don't want to miss.' pisode spoilers have revealed it will feature a mysterious phone call from Stacey Slater to Alfie Moon. Stacey has undeniably connections to the two characters returning to the Square. Max Branning is her former lover, boyfriend and father-in-law. And her cousin Zoe Slater is also making a bombshell return after 20 years away. The shock return will see Michelle Ryan, 41, back in Walford this year — delighting fans who had hoped to see her in the soap's 40th anniversary special in February. A source said: 'Bosses have repeatedly reached out to Michelle over the years, but the timing has never been quite right. 'People are still talking about her character, so it's a real coup to bring her back. 'She feels like now is the perfect moment — and there was an exciting script on the table.' Michelle starred on the soap from 2000 to 2005, before moving to Hollywood after landing the lead role in a series called Bionic Woman.
