Say what you will about Zoe Slater’s (Michelle Ryan) death in EastEnders – and people have been saying a lot – one thing that’s been in no doubt is the power of Jessie Wallace’s performance as Zoe’s mum, Kat.

‘I was crying my eyes out at work this morning. Jess was brilliant.’ said Karen Rhodes on Metro Soaps Facebook page, echoing plenty of other comments that highlighted Jessie’s performance as an utterly broken mother, navigating the brutal wave of emotions that hit her after discovering her eldest daughter had died.

In a bid to reclaim Charlie’s (Derek Martin) iconic cab, Zoe met with the seller alone, with Kat having to locate a distressed and drunken Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) instead.

The cab sale soon took a dark turn, and a scuffle resulted in Zoe falling and hitting her head – an accident that would prove to be fatal.

Back at the Vic, Kat and Zoe found themselves at each others throat’s, but a timely intervention from Alfie (Shane Richie) ensured that they made up, taking a moment to reminisce on just how far they’d come as mother and daughter.

Before they parted ways, mother and daughter shared an incredibly rare ‘I love you’, both unaware that it’d be their last.

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While Zoe ended up discovering Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Max Branning (Jake Wood) kissing, leading to an almighty showdown with her former-flame, Zoe was left in bed, alone, crying out for her mum as her pain began to overwhelm her.

As morning came, Kat went to check on Zoe, and in that one moment, her entire life crumbled into dust: she found her daughter dead.

With that moment, EastEnders fans were reminded of just how powerful Jessie’s performance can be.

Kat has previously been involved in some incredibly dark and hard-hitting plots, including the revelation that Zoe was actually her daughter, not her sister as she’d always been led to believe.

On top of this, Zoe’s conception was also the product of incestuous rape when Kat was a child, courtesy of her uncle Harry (Michael Elphick).

Gary Energise Simmons said: ‘Very powerful episode, a family completely broken, standout performances from the actors who play Kat, Jean [Slater (Gillian Wright)], Tommy, Jasmine [Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness)] and Alfie. That last 20 seconds was brutal to watch’

Kim Gray added: ‘There are 2 thing’s to take from this episode. 1. The power of Grief/Loss. 2. Never ignore a head injury, no matter how small it may seem. Such a powerful episode’.

Barbara Haigh posted: ‘I was one of those not sorry to hear Zoe’s character was being killed off but Jessie’s brilliant acting made me feel Kat’s pain.

‘Shout out also to the lad who plays Tommy who, maybe because I have an adored 16 year old grandson, had me in bits.’

She continued: ‘The scream from Kat on the square where she’d had the iconic scene with Zoe “Your not my mother”. “Yes I am” will go down in EastEnders history. What is it with the goodbye music that affects me every time. Well done EastEnders’

Ann Perkins went on: ‘It was great acting from all in last nights episode especially Jessie Wallace it was so moving and we all felt the emotions.

‘It was like watching the older episodes from a while back I would say this and the Phil [Mitchell (Steve McFadden)] and Nigel [Bates (Paul Bradley)] dementia story line and Phil’s depression and the Denise [Fox (Diane Parish)] are the best EastEnders have done for a while’


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