EastEnders star Michelle Ryan has paid a candid tribute to her young co-star with a ‘bright future’ after Zoe Slater’s return.

The bulk of this week’s action on the BBC soap was promised to be centred around the character who’s back in Walford for the first time in 20 years.

It’s been a challenging period for Zoe , who previously lived in Ibiza, with it revealed in June that she was living in London with her cousin Stacey Slater.

After admitting that she was hiding a big secret, Zoe stole Stacey’s bank card and fled to Spain in hope of escaping her past.

In spite of Alfie Moon travelling to Spain to try and find her during the summer, it was a different member of the family who tracked her down .

With last week’s episodes ending with Tommy Moon at Zoe’s door, scenes aired on Mon

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