EASTENDERS viewers were left fuming as they branded Zoe Slater’s death a ‘travesty’ and hit out at her ‘awful’ exit.
Zoe – played by Michelle Ryan – was found dead by her heartbroken mum Kat (Jessie Wallace) in Thursday’s episode of the BBC soap.
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The Sun exclusively revealed last month that the character would die in one of the ‘blandest’ deaths in the show’s history.
After the scenes aired on BBC One, viewers took to X and shared their disappointment over Zoe’s departure.
One person wrote: “I just can’t believe that’s the way it’s ended for Zoe.
“The character deserved much better, Michelle Ryan deserved much better.
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“It’s a travesty and a masterclass on how NOT to treat your legacy characters. #eastenders.”
Another added: “What an awful way for Zoe to be written out #Eastenders.”
A third penned: “EastEnders really killed off zoe, an iconic legacy character, all because michelle wanted some annual leave. a lacklustere ending as well.”
Kat discovered Zoe’s corpse after waking up at 3am and finding cat Mini Mo meowing outside her room in the landing of the Queen Vic.
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It came after Zoe fell over and hit her head on concrete earlier this week while trying to get Charlie Slater’s old cab back.
The barmaid knew that the fall caused her to bleed, but she decided to ignore it… not knowing that it would have deathly consequences.
Kat ultimately found Zoe laid out on the bed with her full outfit on, including her shoes.
As she turned Zoe over to try and wake her up, Kat whispered to her daughter: “Zoe, why are you still dressed?”
But Kat soon realised that Zoe wasn’t breathing and started to panic.
Actress Michelle Ryan was originally on EastEnders between 2000 and 2005, but rejoined the show last year.
The soap star has since admitted that this was always what she had planned – as she broke her silence on Zoe being killed off.
Speaking with Radio Times, Michelle said: “My agent and I sort of discussed from the outset that it would be a year, and I think that when we came to look at where Zoe was going, it just seemed like a natural conclusion for her to die, because for her to run away again would have gone against everything she’d fought for; for her children.
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“So as sad as it was to hear that Zoe was going to be killed off, I was like, ‘I completely understand that.
“And I’d always felt that I would be going back for a year because I really do like the variety I have with my career and playing different parts.”