EastEnders major spoilers follow for the Christmas Eve episode that aired on BBC One and is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
EastEnders just aired the shocking reveal that Zoe Slater’s stalker isn’t just one person, it’s two. And not only that, one of them is a shocking blast from the past.
The episode’s cliffhanger revealed that Zoe’s estranged daughter Jasmine Fisher is in cahoots with Chrissie Watts (last seen in prison briefly last year) to torment Zoe, and now actor Tracy Ann-Oberman has spoken about why the character is back.
“I think that Chrissie has always felt that it’s very unfair she spent 20 years in prison and has never really been able to move on from the trauma of Dirty Den and living in Walford,” the actor said.
“When the opportunity came up to have something over Zoe Slater, who she has always found to be an irritating little girl, she jumped at the opportunity. She clearly has time on her hands!”
BBC
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She continued: “Also, Chrissie, whilst being very hard and tough, has a strong sense of justice, and in her mind, Zoe never really paid for Den’s murder, and the part she played in destroying the Watts family.
“What started off as a game for Chrissie, has ended up becoming a little bit of an obsession, and finding this gorgeous daughter, who was also hurt by Zoe, seemed like too good of an opportunity to miss.
“Also, I do think she is genuinely very fond of Jasmine. She’s like the daughter she never had, and I think she wants to empower Jasmine to also get revenge on the woman who abandoned her. Chrissie thinks Zoe needs to take responsibility, and that’s her motivation.”
BBC
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Ann-Oberman added that she couldn’t say no to returning again after her storyline with Sharon in prison last year, and had lots of “respectful” discussions with new showrunner Ben Wadey about Chrissie’s motivations.
“Ben and I were keen to keep Chrissie’s return a complete secret, so I’m delighted my return was kept under wraps,” she added.
We’ve already had the unannounced returns in yesterday’s heartbreaking Nigel-centric episode, and Chrissie’s return today, can tomorrow’s explosive episode top all that with even more shocks and surprises?
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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