EastEnders' Zoe causes chaos for Kat and Alfie - here's what happens next

EastEnders is gearing up to air some dramatic scenes as Zoe Slater's antics drive a wedge between her and mum Kat before tragedy strikes.

The BBC soap has seen Zoe and Kat work together to buy Charlie's old taxi cab, but Zoe took her mum's unserious suggestion to steal it to heart.

Related: Best streaming services UK 2026 – including Disney Plus, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV

In tonight's episode, Zoe walked triumphantly into the Queen Vic to announce she managed to get her hands on the cab. An elated Kat called her daughter a "flaming big star" and enquired about the price, though not before noticing a nasty cut on Zoe's forehead.

"It's just a little bit, it's nothing," Zoe said, dismissing her injury before revealing to Kat that she'd followed her advice. "I just did what you said," Zoe said. "You know, I nicked it!"

"It was a joke! Why would you do that?" an incredulous Kat protested, pointing out that Zoe had only just come out of prison and her actions could jeopardise her freedom.

Zoe then hit back at Kat, accusing her of abandoning her to be with Tommy. "We made a plan together!" Zoe said, relaying her ordeal with the seller.

"It was scary, I had to leg it, he could've attacked me!" she added, though she kept quiet about getting her head injury during their confrontation.

Related: EastEnders airs two sensational Cindy and Max twists in early iPlayer release

Things then escalated when the seller barged into the pub, demanding justice and threatening to call the police. Kat tried to make him reason to no avail as Zack Hudson intervened and got punched in the face.

"This is an absolute horror show!" Jean commented.

The seller said he needed £10,000 to forget about the whole incident, with Kat and Alfie reluctantly agreeing to pay him directly from their business account.

They succeeded in placating the man, but Kat was still furious with Zoe and ordered her daughter to apologise to Zack.

As Zoe and Zack had a heated argument, she suffered a dizzy spell from her injury, with Zack accusing her of being drunk and calling her "a liability".

Nonetheless, Kat was determined not to let this setback put the family down, as she insisted it was "just money". As she and Alfie blared some music to welcome the wedding party, Zoe looked in the mirror and spotted some blood on her forehead.

EastEnders confirmed Zoe's head injury as the cause of her death in next week's scenes, with Kat set to be devastated by the sudden discovery of her daughter dead in bed.

"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," Zoe actor Michelle Ryan told Radio Times.

"Because for her to run away again would have gone against everything she'd fought for, for her children. So, as sad as it was to hear that Zoe was going to be killed off, I was like, 'I completely understand that.'"

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

Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.

The new edition of Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Ariana Grande, is here! Buy Ariana Grande in newsagents or online.