“You Ain’t My Mother!” – EastEnders’ Most Iconic Scene Returns, But This Time, It Hits Harder
Michelle Ryan and Jessie Wallace reunite after 20 years, and backstage emotions run high. But what’s coming next – is something fans have never seen before.

EastEnders star Jessie Wallace has revealed she ‘burst out crying’ after reuniting with her on screen daughter Michelle Ryan amid her return to the soap.

During her time on the show, Michelle, now 41, was involved in one of the soap’s biggest storylines when it was revealed that Kat Slater (Jessie) was in fact Zoe’s mother and not her sister, with explosive scenes seeing her yell: ‘You ain’t my mother!’, only for Kat to reply: ‘Yes I am!’

And now, after returning to Albert Square two decades after her dramatic exit, Jessie revealed she was overcome with emotion at the news.

Speaking in an interview with the Radio Times she confessed that they reunited at a secret dinner date with the executive producers.

‘I burst out crying….When I saw Michelle, I cried – we were all very emotional. It was nostalgic and lovely.’

While it isn’t uncommon for roles to be recast in the soap world, Jessie was also determined that if Zoe returned it could only be Michelle.

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EastEnders star Jessie Wallace has admitted she ‘burst out crying’ after reuniting with her on screen daughter Michelle Ryan over two decades after THAT iconic scene

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Jessie revealed: ‘I burst out crying….When I saw Michelle, I cried – we were all very emotional. It was nostalgic and lovely’

‘I said to Ben [executive producer], “It has to be Michelle. It won’t feel right if Zoe is recast.” I wouldn’t be able to give my best performance. The audience would feel completely conned.’

She added: ‘I love Michelle and have always been protective over her, perhaps that’s natural having played her mum. I’m a mother myself now, which I wasn’t when we worked together before, and I’m very protective over my daughter.’

Michelle had been asked to return to the soap before but had always declined.

However this time she felt the time was right after she was moved after seeing the comments on social media following EastEnders’ 40th anniversary.

After reminiscing on her time on the soap with colleagues she mentioned to her agent that she would go back and as coincidence would have it EastEnders had already been on the phone.

Back in June Zoe made a bombshell return to the BBC soap, after her return was kept under wraps.

Viewers then saw Zoe in two further episodes that week but she will now be back full-time this summer, as her mother Kat prepares to tie the knot with Alfie Moon for the third time.

Speaking previously on her return to the BBC soap, Michelle said: ‘It feels like coming home. After doing my first few scenes, it was like I’d never been away. It all happened at the right time.

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During her time on the show, Michelle was involved in one of EastEnders’ biggest storylines with it revealed that Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) was in fact Zoe’s mother and not her sister

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While it isn’t uncommon for roles to be recast in the soap world, Jessie was also determined that if Zoe returned it could only be Michelle

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‘I said to Ben [executive producer], “It has to be Michelle. It won’t feel right if Zoe is recast.” I wouldn’t be able to give my best performance. The audience would feel completely conned’

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Michelle had been asked to return to the soap before but had always declined. However this time she felt the time was right after she was moved following EastEnders’ 40th anniversary

‘I’d already been thinking about a return because I’d met up with Kacey Ainsworth (Little Mo) and Kim Medcalf (Sam Mitchell) and we were reminiscing our fond memories of the show, and I’d also joined social media and saw that there was still a lot of love for the character.

‘It just so happened that at the same time, EastEnders had announced a new Exec who was keen to explore the potential of a return as he was such a massive fan of Zoe and the Slaters, so both of our worlds aligned at the right time, and I’m so excited to be back.

‘When I was pitched the storylines, and when I read the scripts, I knew it was the right decision.’

EastEnders new boss, Executive Producer Ben Wadey added: ‘Before I even stepped into the role, Zoe Slater was on my wish-list of returnees as, although we haven’t seen her on screen for twenty years, her character has transcended time due to her popular storylines.’

Since Zoe’s exit from Walford 20 years ago, it’s been revealed that she and Kat have become estranged.

Teasing her character’s reason to come back to Albert Square, Michelle added: ‘I can’t say too much as there is a lot of drama to come, but Zoe is a mess.

‘She’s not the girl that left Walford twenty years ago, and she’s been really struggling on her own.

‘She has her defences up, but this week you will see that she needs help, but whether she is willing to accept it is another story.’

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 The moment is still considered one of the most iconic in EastEnders’ 40-year history

It comes after Daily Mail revealed in February that, despite multiple attempts from bosses over the years, Michelle had refused to return to EastEnders.

A source revealed: ‘Bosses reached out to Michelle several times over the years, they would love to have her back. For example, as the soap was approaching its big 30th anniversary, it was a gentle approach asking if she would consider a return in the lead up to it all.

‘This was at the very early stages of their plans but Michelle refused and there was a lot of disappointment amongst bosses.

‘It’s always been quite baffling why she wouldn’t want to reprise a character who is still very much adored by the fans. It’s been 20 years since she left Albert Square but still people are talking about her character.’