An EastEnders fan favourite made her shock return in Thursday night’s (February 20) live episode as part of the soap’s 40th anniversary after weeks of viewer demands.
A host of iconic characters have been spotted over the last week, including Grant Mitchell, Garry Hobbs, Rick ‘Minty’ Peterson and even Angie Watts after 35 years.
One person who fans were confused by their absence was Kat Slater, with Jessie Wallace’s iconic character nowhere to been in the build-up to the anniversary week.
Prior to her mysteriously vanishing from EastEnders, Kat was involved in a child-to-parent abuse storyline involving her teenage son Tommy.
However, to the shock of everyone watching at home, Kat was seen in an early scene set in Kathy Beale’s Bridge Street Café during the live show.
The scene in question saw a host of characters sitting in the cafe as they waited to hear if Martin, Stacey, Sonia, Lauren and Bianca would be rescued from the Queen Vic after Tuesday night’s (February 18) explosion in the Queen Vic.
With the Jean, Ian, Kathy and a host of other Albert Square residents deciding to pray together, a throwback moment saw Kat nudge ex-husband Alfie in the arm when he wasn’t praying properly.
Those watching the historic episode at home rushed to X, formerly known as Twitter, to have their say on Kat’s return after manifesting it for weeks.
@kitkatslater said: “Kat punching Alfie to make sure he prays properly ugh I have missed her!” @Tezdamn commented: “The fact they’ve allowed Kat back for the live episode just to plonk her in the cafe all night #Eastenders.”
@madgekin wrote: “KAT SLATER HAS FINALLY APPEARED #eelive #eastenders.” @alexr_241 added: “KAT SLATER HAS FINALLY APPEARED #eelive #eastenders.”
While @saraha103 posted: “KATHLEEN MOON WHERE HAVE U BEEN ?? Seriously why is Kat now a background character?? #EastEnders #EastEnders40.”
If Kat’s return wasn’t enough, Patrick Trueman was also spotted in the same scene as Kat, who similarly was missing without any reason during EastEnders’ big week.
Sadly, with a legacy character passing away during the episode, it isn’t likely these returns will be mentioned when fans reflect on the 40th anniversary live episode.
