Legendary EastEnders villain returns to Walford as the truth about Zoe Slater’s stalking hell is finally revealed with epic revenge twist

Today Tracy-Ann Oberman returned to EastEnders as her legendary character Chrissie Watts was revealed to be the mastermind behind Zoe Slater’s insidious torture.

Teaming up with Zoe’s scorned, secret daughter Jasmine for the past three months, Chrissie has done everything she can to scare Zoe in preparation for Christmas Day; where he prepares to exact his ultimate revenge on Zoe for her involvement in Den Watt’s murder, for which Chrissie was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

It’s currently unclear what exactly Chrissie has in store for Zoe, but considering her previous malicious actions, it’s safe to say Zoe’s Christmas won’t be a happy one.

Zoe returned to Albert Square in recent months but received threatening messages, letters and warnings from an anonymous caller.

Zoe’s stalker is suspected to be Jasmine’s father, Anthony Trueman, who is furious at her for having two children he didn’t know existed.

Finally, tonight’s episode of EastEnders will reveal all and put speculation to rest.

Tracy Ann-Oberman says of return: ‘I enjoyed my comeback story with Sharon [Letitia Dean] So much last year, how could I say no when Ben Wadey asked me to come back for Christmas Day?

‘Chrissie is in my DNA; He’s a great character, so I love the idea of ​​him coming back to wreak havoc at Christmas.’

“What I love about me and the EastEnders team is that they are very open to discussing the character and her motivations. They are very respectful of the characters and the actors who create them.

‘So we had a long discussion about why Chrissie had actually returned to the Square and what her motivations were. ‘Who wouldn’t want to be part of the story on Christmas Day in Albert Square, especially when it’s Chrissie!’

‘Ben and I wanted to keep Chrissie’s return completely secret, so I’m glad my return was kept under wraps. I think Chrissie thought it was very unfair that she spent 20 years in prison and never got over the trauma of the Dirty Den and living in Walford.

‘When the opportunity arose to do something about Zoe Slater, whom he always saw as an annoying little girl, he jumped at the opportunity. He clearly has time on his hands!

‘Also, although Chrissie is very tough and tough, she has a strong sense of justice and, in her opinion, Zoe has never truly paid the price for Den’s murder and the role she played in the destruction of the Watts family.

‘What started as a game for Chrissie eventually turned into a bit of an obsession, and finding this gorgeous girl who Zoe was also hurting by seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up.

Zoe’s stalker is suspected to be Jasmine’s father, Anthony Trueman, who is furious at her for having two children he didn’t know existed.

‘I also think he’s really fond of Jasmine. She’s like the daughter he never had, and I think he wants to empower Jasmine to take revenge on the woman who abandoned her. Chrissie thinks Zoe needs to take responsibility and that’s her motivation.

Another absolute joy of returning to ‘EastEnders’ on Christmas Day was the opportunity to work with Jessie, Michelle and Kim. I spent a lot of time with them during my short but powerful stint on EastEnders.

It was really emotional being with Michelle and Kim at ‘The Queen Vic’. We continued to hug each other and discuss how a lifetime has passed since we were last together and there was so much to learn, including sharing photos of the kids and talking about how our lives have evolved over the past 20 years.

‘It was a truly amazing experience. It was also a reminder of what EastEnders does best. ‘Strong female characters in dynamic stories work together to create drama.’

Chrissie’s character was imprisoned for the murder of her husband Den Watts, played by Lesley Grantham.

She first joined the series in April 2004 and quickly became a prominent figure, building a long list of enemies including Kate Mitchell (Jill Halfpenny) and Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace).

But his biggest story saw the death of his bat ‘Dirty Den’ in self-defense in the show’s 20th anniversary special.

This infamous moment was watched by a staggering 14.34 million people, with almost 60% of potential viewers watching.

Along with Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) and Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), Chrissie tried to cover up the murder by burying Den under the floor of The Vic barrel store.

He managed to get away with his crime for months by living with Den’s beloved adopted daughter Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and son Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman).

But when Sam drunkenly dug up the body, he was blamed for the murder until Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) returned to help their sister and uncovered the truth and Chrissie was sent to prison.

EastEnders’ Christmas Day special continues tomorrow at 7.45pm on BBC One and can be watched on iPlayer.