EastEnders star Michelle Ryan has revealed she secretly reunited with the cast of the soap before her bombshell return as Zoe Slater.
Fans were stunned on Monday when it was revealed that the actress, 40, had reprised her role on the BBC soap after a 20-year absence.
Michelle’s return had been kept a closely-guarded secret, with her return episode even held back from early release on BBC iPlayer.
Speaking to Richard Arnold on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain, Michelle shared that she met up with some of the cast who play the Slater clan, before heading to set to film her return scenes.
Admitting she had ‘goosebumps’ over her comeback, she said: ‘I’ve always loved working with Jessie [Wallace].
‘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.
EastEnders star Michelle Ryan has revealed she secretly reunited with the cast of the soap before her bombshell return as Zoe Slater
‘And when she found out I had the job again she was screaming and I was just like, this just feels like coming home.’
Michelle is set to appear in two more episodes of EastEnders this week, and will be back on the soap permanently later this year.
Teasing what fans can expect from Zoe now she’s back on the Square, she added: ‘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.’
Michelle’s surprise return to EastEnders aired in the closing moments of Monday’s episode, as the soap’s new showrunner Ben Wadey kicked off his tenure on the soap.
Speaking on her return, she said: ‘It feels like coming home. After doing my first few scenes, it was like I’d never been away. 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.
Fans were stunned on Monday when it was revealed that the actress, 40, had reprised her role on the BBC soap after a 20-year absence
Michelle’s return also sees her reunite with Jessie Wallace, who plays Zoe’s mother Kat Slater (pictured in 2001)
Speaking to Richard Arnold on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain , Michelle shared that she met up with some of the cast who play the Slater clan, before heading to set to film her return
‘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 twenty years, her character has transcended time due to her popular storylines.’
Since Zoe’s exit from Walford 20 years ago, it’s been revealed that she and Kat have become estranged.
Teasing her character’s reason to come back to Albert Square, Michelle added: ‘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.
‘She has her defences up, but this week you will see that she needs help, but whether she is willing to accept it is another story.’
During her time on the show, Michelle was involved in one of EastEnders’ biggest storylines with it revealed that Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) was in fact Zoe’s mother and not her sister, with explosive scenes seeing her yell: ‘You ain’t my mother!’, only for Kat to reply: ‘Yes I am!’
Back in 2001, EastEnders’ leopard-print-loving Kat Slater, who had been sexually abused by her uncle, finally revealed to her ‘sister’ Zoe that she was, in fact, her mother.
It remains one of the most famous and iconic moments in EastEnders’ 40-year history – a scene that has been mimicked by soap fans worldwide.
