EastEnders fans fear character has left Walford for good after comeback scrapped

EastEnders fans were left devastated on Monday night after a character’s return to Walford was scrapped before it even began

EastEnders fans and characters were dealt a blow on Monday night’s episode of the BBC soap. A much-anticipated return was abruptly cancelled by the character involved.

Just days ago, spoilers revealed that Lily Slater (played by Lillia Turner) would be making her way back to Walford after a lengthy absence from the show. She has been residing with her father Ryan Malloy (Neil McDermott) and her baby daughter Charli.

However, following an incident involving her mother Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) this week, her return was abruptly called off as she announced she wouldn’t be returning that evening as initially planned.

This comes in the wake of teenager Joel Marshall (Max Murray) planning nasty revenge on Stacey after she put him in his place in a recent episode for his disrespectful language towards women.

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In the latest episode (11th August), Stacey was shocked to discover that someone had leaked images and videos from her SecretCam site. Soap enthusiasts will remember that Stacey uploaded content to the adult site last year, which led to a terrifying ordeal at the hands of stalker Theo (William Ellis).

Last week, viewers saw Joel uncover this information and subsequently find Stacey’s profile. So when her content was leaked and made public this week, Stacey didn’t hesitate to confront Joel, suspecting he was the culprit, reports the Mirror.

Viewers also suspected Joel, thinking he did it in retaliation after Stacey slapped him and reprimanded him for his remarks. Joel was seen smirking as multiple characters kept glancing at Stacey, but she remained oblivious until later on.

Stacey was left horrified after a leak led to a confrontation with Joel, but the situation escalated when she received a call from her daughter Lily. Upon discovering what had transpired with the cam images and videos, Lily immediately cancelled her return to Walford.

Lily informed Stacey that her friends were discussing the videos, leaving her too embarrassed to show her face. Consequently, she announced that her return to Walford was off, scrapping the comeback – with no information on when she might actually return.

The spoilers hadn’t indicated that this planned comeback would be cancelled, and they seemed to suggest that Lily would be back this week. However, fans are now concerned that the character may not return at all, as some questioned why the spoilers stated a comeback was definitely happening.

One fan expressed their confusion on social media, saying: “So wait is Lily not coming back this week after all? Nooo.”

Another fan remarked: “I hope it’s not too long before Lily comes back to Walford. I also hope they haven’t recast her.”

A third anxious fan said: “I thought she was meant to be back, I hope she’s not leaving”. Another comment read: “I think Lilly ain’t coming back.”

The reactions continued with another post reading: “I was excited to see Stacey and co finally on track waaaa 🙁 wonder what’s happening, isn’t Stacey meant to be taking a break soon?”

Expressing their bewilderment, another fan said: “I’m so confused,” with one more suggesting: “It could just be one of those spoilers that doesn’t play out the way we think it does.”

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and iPlayer