BBC Share By Kerry Barrett Dec 6 2025 By Kerry Barrett Dec 6 2025 EastEnders review: Jean's not coping, Anthony's a wrong'un, and Sam's back (finally!) And Zoe abandoned her cat! Features Jean Slater Sam Mitchell Zoe's stalker torment in EastEnders Share By Kerry Barrett Dec 6 2025 By Kerry Barrett Dec 6 2025 Our EastEnders review this week can be neatly summarised as “oh, what now?” as the endless Zoe stalker fandango rumbled on. There was a lot more shouting. More accusations. Zoe threatened to leave at least once. She actually did leave once, but she only went across the Square. And seemingly without the cat that she’s been obsessed with for weeks. WILL NO ONE THINK OF MINI-MO? “Oh god,” we wrote in our notes about this week’s Enders. “This Zoe stuff is relentless.” And that was just Monday’s episode – there was a whole lot still to come at that point. Harry’s still on drugs, Howie’s still being a massive wally, and we also learned some things about Anthony. Article continues below Read all the latest spoilers But somehow none of it was very interesting. Though there were some things we loved this week, too. Here’s everything we thought of what went on in this week’s EastEnders review. Jean’s been manic in the last couple of weeks (Credit: BBC/Composite: EI) Is Jean really Zoe’s stalker? For about ten seconds it looked like Tommy might be Zoe’s stalker which made him declare that he wished he’d never brought Zoe back to Walford. Us too, Tommy. Us too. But then everything changed when Jean fessed up to writing ‘die’ in fairy lights in the window of the Vic. (Which we were quite impressed by actually – that’s not an easy task.) Anyway, Jean also claimed she’d only done that bit of Zoe’s Never-ending Torment. Not the rest of it. We don’t care any more. But we do care that Jean is acting totally irrationally and could be on the brink of another mental health crisis. Meanwhile, teen mum Lily who is – let’s not forget – still only 15 – is left to pick up the pieces. It really makes no sense that she stayed behind when Stacey went to Brazil, but that’s where we are. Family dramas overshadowed Freddie and Anna’s exit (Credit: BBC) EastEnders review: Freddie and Anna left Walford Meanwhile another Slater – Freddie – said goodbye to Albert Square. Without so much as picking up the phone and telling his mum, Little Mo, about his plans. And with a teeny-tiny rucksack. As send-offs go it was a bit of a damp squib, mostly because of Zoe doing more whining. Is Anthony a danger? His ex-wife definitely seems to think so (Credit: BBC/Composite: EI) EastEnders review: Anthony was revealed as a Nasty Piece of Work So it turns out that Anthony’s ex-wife has a restraining order against him. He tried to convince his dad that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed but instead ended up just sounding as though he was about to don a Batman costume and scale Big Ben. It’s a strange decision, making Dr Trueman into a violent creep. We’re not sure how we feel about this quite yet. Kim couldn’t forgive Howie (Credit: BBC/Composite: EI) Howie’s secrets are out And Anthony wasn’t the only one whose secrets were revealed. Howie’s stealing was revealed, along with the fact that he’d bribed Oscar to keep quiet about him being the one to hurt Patrick. That’s another strange decision, turning Howie into a bad’un. We really liked the blended Fox/Danes/Trueman family and it seems a shame to break it up in this way. There was a lot to like in this week’s EastEnders review Anyway, there’s been enough whinging in this EastEnders review – we’re starting to sound like Zoe! There were some excellent moments in this week’s episodes, and it’s almost Christmas, so let’s have a think about everything we did enjoy instead! Ian’s on fire! (Credit: BBC/Composite: EI) Ian’s on fire! Ian’s been on top form recently – Ian-ing to perfection! And never more than this week when Peter said he’d give Cindy his dad’s love, and Ian replied “please don’t”! We also liked him being so understanding and kind to Lauren after she was scammed – Ian’s at his best when he shows a bit of light among the darkness! And we loved his chemistry with Elaine. Is there a potential romance there?! We also enjoyed everyone being fed up with Cindy going on about her most recent head injury. And we REALLY enjoyed Lauren saying Freddie would be back because “even the dead people come back to Walford”! Phil auditioned for Nigel’s film (Credit: BBC) Phil in a wig The auditions for Nigel’s film took place and once again we were reminded how much we love Priya who managed to be super-understanding about Nigel’s condition AND a massive diva all at once. And can we talk about Phil auditioning for the role of ‘grumpy old man’ in a most excellent wig? Bravo all round. Sam’s home! (Credit: BBC/Composite: EI) Sam’s back! YAY! Sam! We are very pleased she is back, giving Zoe daggers across the Square. We just need Chrissie to return again and the Witches of Walford will be reunited. Zoe’s return doesn’t really make sense without that iconic storyline being addressed, so we are very glad Sam’s finally back in Walford. But we have to say, stalking Zoe doesn’t really seem Sam’s style. She’s more direct than that. And actually, if we’re bearing grudges, it’s really should be Zoe who’s annoyed with Sam as she let Zoe believe she’d killed Den Watts when Sam knew it was really Chrissie… But who knows? Dr Trueman’s an evil domestic abuser now, so anything can happen. Read more: Who’s leaving, joining and returning to EastEnders? Complete list of cast exits, arrivals and returns. Share Good to Know Share By Kerry Barrett Dec 6 2025 By Kerry Barrett Dec 6 2025 Next Story
