It has been two decades since one of the BBC’s biggest icons left EastEnders. Michelle Ryan took on the role of teenage tearaway Zoe Slater, joining the cast in 2000 at just 16 years old – and now she could be reprising the character.

In one of the soap’s biggest ever storylines, Zoe discovered that her ‘sister’ Kat (Jessie Wallace) was actually her biological mum. It was revealed that Kat was raped by her uncle Harry and fell pregnant with Zoe at 13, so she was raised as her sister instead. In a further twist, in 2015, it came to light that Kat actually gave birth to twins, meaning Zoe has a twin brother. The last time we saw Zoe in Walford was back in 2005, when she left for Ibiza.

In some of her final scenes, Zoe slept with Dirty Den so they could pretend she was pregnant with his son Dennis Rickman’s baby. She then joined forces with Chrissie Watts and Sam Mitchell to get revenge on Dirty Den for the way he treated them all – with Zoe believing that she was the one to end his life.

However, it soon came to light that Zoe was not the one to blame for Den’s death and that Chrissie killed her husband. Chrissie went to prison and Zoe left for Ibiza.

Since then, the actress has gone on to star in the likes of Merlin, Doctor Who, Cabaret alongside Will Young, Bionic Woman and Cockneys VS Zombies. The now 41-year-old has a very private life and appears to have fallen off the grid in recent years. It seems she doesn’t have any social media accounts, including Twitter or Instagram.

However, it was recently reported that the BBC soap star could be making a return to EastEnders. Allegedly, after BBC bosses “repeatedly reached out” to Michelle, they’ve finally been able to make it happen.

A source told the press: “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.”

However, despite the rumours, the actress previously told the Daily Record: “I always saw EastEnders as an apprenticeship. I always wanted to go on and do different things. I have some really good friends from that show but the door is closed.

“I’ve always taken chances. I think that’s how you progress – by stepping out and doing different things. I really do like my freedom and jumping from job to job.

“I just want to work with people I admire and respect, wherever that be – big budget, low budget, leading role, supporting role.”