EastEnders fans predict Cherry Slater return… minus mum Hayley

Cherry is Alfie's daughter
Joel Harley

Fans of Eastenders have predicted that Cherry Slater could return to dad Alfie Moon – spelling bad news for her mum, Hayley. This comes following fresh mention of Alfie’s daughter last night (Monday, July 21) as Jean and Stacey raked over his past.

As Stacey covered for Alfie – currently in Spain, looking for Zoe – Jean leapt to the conclusion that it was actually Hayley who was in trouble. Wrong Slater but right idea, as Alfie informed Stacey that he needed €50,000 to facilitate Zoe’s safe return.

With Jean’s help, Stacey sniffed out that this was probably a scam, and went ahead with lending Kat the money to buy The Vic instead.

Still, all this talk of Hayley and Cherry had fans wondering whether the soap was setting something big up for the future.

Alfie, Kat and Hayley Slater on astEnders
Alfie had a child with Kat’s cousin, Hayley (Credit: BBC)

EastEnders fans predict Cherry to return following Hayley death

As these scenes aired, fans shared theories on why Hayley‘s name was being suddenly being invoked after all this time. And, to some, this could be an omen of Cherry’s return… and Hayley’s off-screen death.

“I’m wondering if they’re building up to bringing Cherry back to create yet more drama between Kat and Alfie – maybe kill Hayley off screen and the little one ends up at their door,” wrote one fan on a Reddit discussion thread.

“That would be a good storyline. I think kat and Alfie would continue just fine if that happened tbh kat was taking care of cherry for a bit when the truth came out that Alfie was cherry’s dad, kat wouldn’t take that out on a child and if hayley was out the way too then there would be no jealousy/cheating storylines,” said another.

“The best thing they could do is kill off Hayley off screen and have Alfie gain legal custody of Cherry. She about 6, and this will bring a bit of drama into Kat and Alfie’s relationships without the need for either off them creating new problems,” a third fan wrote in another thread.

“That is the only way they should ever approach this,” a fourth agreed.

Is the soap setting up for Cherry’s return into Alfie’s life?

Alfie and Hayley Slater on Eastenders with Cherry

Hayley left the soap in 2019 (Credit: BBC)

What happened between Alfie and Hayley Slater?

Cherry Slater is the result of a one-night-stand between Alfie and Hayley, conceived while they were in Spain. Devastated after Kat cheated on him with a barman, Alfie sought revenge by sleeping with her cousin.

Months later, and she arrived in Walford, with the news that she was pregnant. She told Alfie that she’d be getting an abortion, but when she returned again, she did so with his daughter in tow.

Alfie tried to keep his indiscretion a secret, but it all came out on Christmas. As Kat accused him of taking advantage of her vulnerable cousin, a vicious row ensued, and Alfie was pushed down the stairs, where Hayley and Kat left him for dead.

Alfie then regained consciousness, kidnapping Cherry. He ultimately returned his daughter, but he and Kat took the child into their care when Hayley fell into a spiral of depression and tried to take her own life. They later returned the child to Hayley, following her exit from Walford in 2019.

Neither Cherry nor Hayley have been seen since, but his offspring is still out there…

Read more: Who’s leaving, joining and returning to EastEnders? Complete list of cast exits, arrivals and returns.