EastEnders‘ executive producer Ben Wadey has revealed which characters will be taking centre stage on the show this autumn.

Fans can expect big drama for the Brannings, the Slaters and newcomer Joel Marshall in the coming weeks.

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The BBC soap’s autumn season kicked off with a bang this week as Zoe Slater made her long-awaited return to Walford after 20 years.

In an unexpected storyline twist, Zoe’s comeback converged with Max Branning’s reappearance as flashbacks showed they’d had a fling earlier this year.

Speaking to us at an EastEnders press event this week, Wadey commented: “This week kicks off a really big autumn for us. There’s lots of drama ahead for lots of different families, so we’ve seen a few stories really building recently.

“We’ve got Joel’s story, which in the next couple of months is going to really come to a head.

“We’ve got Lauren and Peter and Oscar. There’s plenty of drama to unfold there.

“And of course, Zoe is now back in the Square, and Zoe and Kat’s relationship is complicated…”

Revealing how Kat and Zoe’s reunion plays out from here, he continued: “There’s 20 years there for them to try and recover and get to know each other. I think Kat’s been expecting one thing when Zoe would come back and actually, meeting your adult daughter is more complicated than perhaps Kat thinks.

“There’s a lot for them to get to understand about each other. Zoe has a lot of secrets that she’s going to bring into the Square with her. So the Slaters are in for a whole ride this autumn – and there’s a lot to kick off there.”

The show’s team are also thought to be working on a new spin-off documentary for BBC Three and iPlayer, which will further explore the issues raised in Joel’s radicalised misogyny storyline.