EastEnders fans 'rumble' who's after Zoe after 'he's alive' comment

Viewers of EastEnders think they know who Zoe Slater is running from, and who she realised "is alive".

The character made the comment in a recent episode after being shot by mistake. Zoe assumed someone was after her and that they had fired the gun, before flashbacks revealed some of her huge secrets.

Zoe told her mum Kat that someone was "still alive", clearly shocked as if she'd thought they were dead. Then on Thursday we saw a deadly twist air involving Zoe and Max Branning, as their connection was finally explained.

We learned Zoe was trying to track down the son she'd abandoned at a hospital shortly after giving birth in 2006, with it revealed his twin sister had died. Zoe didn't think she could look after him and asked for him to be adopted, before she fled.

Years later and prior to her Walford return, Zoe met Max in Ibiza and the pair got close. She told Max about hiring a Private Investigator, explaining her debts.

She managed to track down an old neighbour of the family who adopted her son, and was told that if she gave him £5,000 she'd get some answers. Max wasn't sure and thought something wasn't right, but Zoe said he was the real deal and the neighbour would talk for the right price.

After an incident left him possibly dead though, Max and Zoe fled and parted ways. Now, fans think it's this neighbour or even the Private Investigator that she was talking about when she said "he's alive".

So did she mean the man, the neighbour, that she thought she'd murdered by accident? Some fans questioned if it was the neighbour or the PI, or even a past character who is believed to have died.

One viewer said on social media: "Is this the guy who Zoe was refering to last night when she said 'He's still alive' or could this have been referring to Max?" meaning the man who attacked Zoe. Believing it was the PI Zoe had attacked, when it was the neighbour, a fan added: "So is the enemy possibly the PI as we don’t know he is dead."

As for the past character, a theory read: "'He's still alive' is Vincent. Vincent is Ravi's supplier. Zoe worked for him and owes him a lot of money. Vincent drives Howie out. This storyline ties the Slaters, the Foxes, and the Panesars."

It comes as fans questioned if Zoe was tied into Ravi Gulati and Nicola Mitchell's drug storyline, also featuring other characters. It was the constant references to Ibiza and her recent dash Barcelona that left fans wondering if she was linked to some other characters.

So is Zoe involved with their dodgy dealings? Fans certainly think so, taking to social media to share their theories. One fan said: "I think Zoe is the one that is behind the drugs thing with Ravi to get money to look for her son?"

Another fan theorised: "I'm convinced he's part of Ravi's drug storyline," while a third fan recalled Nicola mentioning Ibiza recently. On Thursday we found out how Zoe met Max, and who she may have been running from.

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .