In EastEnders, who is Zoe's son? The Slaters are about to find out
Zoe Slater is back in Walford after two decades away — and she's brought a secret with her.
After dropping the bombshell that she'd had twins, the second of those children is about to walk onto the Square and turn the Slaters' world over again. So who is Zoe's son? Here's the situation, as of June 2026.
Zoe's son is Josh
Zoe's long-lost son is Josh — Josh Goodwin in full — played by newcomer Joshua Vaughan. He's the twin brother of Jasmine Fisher, the daughter Zoe had already been hiding in plain sight, and both were born back in 2006. Josh was given up and raised by an adoptive mother, Sandra (Dawn Steele), and he arrives in Walford in early 2026 having followed her there — walking straight into a family that has no idea he exists.
How we got here: the twins bombshell
Michelle Ryan returned as Zoe in June 2025, twenty years after leaving, at first staying with her second cousin Stacey Slater. By September she'd revealed she gave birth to twins — a boy and a girl — and named Anthony Trueman (Nicholas Bailey) as the father.
The daughter was unmasked on 15 December 2025 as Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness), a newcomer who'd been acting suspiciously for months — and who happens to be dating Oscar Branning.
Walking into a family in crisis
Josh isn't arriving into a happy reunion. Some homecoming. On Christmas Day 2025, Anthony Trueman was killed in the Queen Vic — and both Zoe and Jasmine were arrested for his murder. So Zoe's son turns up to find his newly discovered mother and twin sister both suspects in his own father's death.
The story so far, at a glance:
- June 2025 — Zoe returns to Walford after 20 years, staying with Stacey.
- September 2025 — she reveals she had twins in 2006, fathered by Anthony Trueman.
- 15 December 2025 — daughter Jasmine Fisher is unmasked.
- Christmas Day 2025 — Anthony is killed in the Queen Vic; Zoe and Jasmine are arrested.
- Early 2026 — son Josh arrives, having followed his adoptive mum, Sandra.
Why this hits the Slaters so hard
For anyone who needs reminding, Zoe Slater is the woman behind one of EastEnders' most famous lines — "You ain't my muvver!" — screamed at Kat back in 2001. The gut-punch was that Kat was her mother: Zoe was the product of Kat's rape by her uncle Harry Slater, and she was raised believing Kat was her sister. Joshua Vaughan has said his arrival drops him at the crossroads of the Trueman and Slater families, describing Josh as "a big ball of love."
"Josh is a big ball of love." — Joshua Vaughan, 2026
Twenty years ago, Zoe was the Slaters' secret. Now she's the one keeping them.