The emotional fallout from Zoe Slater's (Michelle Ryan) death continues in EastEnders next week, as her mum Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) continues to spiral at the loss of her daughter.
Zoe was killed off in a lacklustre plot last month, which saw her die in her sleep after falling on a pile of rubble during a mission to reclaim the black cab previously owned by her grandfather Charlie Slater (Derek Martin). In her final hours, an increasingly woozy Zoe begged ex-lover Max Branning (Jake Wood) to help her following a confrontation at The Vic, but he left her, believing she was just drunk. It turns out that Zoe later made a somewhat incoherent 999 call, in which she could be heard saying, 'he left me'.
Kat's grief consumes her
Following her death, police revealed details of this call to a shell-shocked Kat, who vowed to find out the identity of the mystery man who denied Zoe help when she needed it most. Since then, Kat has been consumed by grief, and next week, her family are at a loss as to how to help her. Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) attempts to lift her spirits with some flowers that remind her of Zoe, but this fails to have the desired effect.
As Kat continues to push people away, she turns to alcohol and later suffers a breakdown. Support comes in the unlikely form of her ex-husband Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), who is deeply worried for her.
Marriage hangs by a thread
Despite his best efforts to aid Kat, her behaviour continues to spiral when she returns to The Vic. After a full-scale row erupts between her husband Alfie Moon (Shane Richie), their marriage is left hanging by a thread due to some of what is said.
With emotions running high, will Kat and Alfie pull through this latest crisis? News of troubles in their relationship will do little to dispel speculation that their latest tenure as the owners of The Vic is soon coming to an end. Following a seed that was sown in January's flash-forward episode, some fans now believe that the newly arrived Hawkins family are about to take over the famous boozer.
EastEnders airs these scenes from Monday 12th October at 7.30pm on BBC One or stream first from 6am on iPlayer.
