Who is Zoe's son? EastEnders' Joel 'not secret child' as fans 'work out' twist

With Zoe Slater confirmed to have welcomed twins 20 years ago in a major EastEnders flashback twist, fans are speculating abouther mystery son.

A look back to 2006 revealedZoe giving birth in hospital after leaving Walford. It was revealed she had a boy and a girl, but sadly it seemed the baby daughter passed away.

Zoe fled the hospital and left the boy behind, wanting him to be adopted. So will we soon find out the identity of her estrange child?

For months fans have predicted that troubled teenager Joel Marshall will turn out to be the son of Zoe, after some apparent hints. But it seems the latest episode has now ruled this out for good, possibly.

READ MORE: Max Branning makes dramatic EastEnders return in shock Zoe Slater twist

READ MORE: EastEnders fans 'know' who father of Zoe's babies is - and it's not Max

If Zoe welcomed her babies in 2006, that would make them around 19 years of age now. Joel seems to be younger than this as he's still in school, and around the same age of the other teens.

As far as we are away Joel is currently 15 years old, so he's too young to have been born in 2006 and cannot be the son Zoe left behind. So if not Joel, who is the secret child?

Fans are speculating we will find out soon, but they are convinced it cannot be Joel amid a theory Den Watts is the father. One fan posted: "Joel ain't 19 kids. Neither is he a twin. I suspect we can chill on that theory."

Another fan tweeted: "JOELS NOT HER SON LETS GO HAHAHA." A third dan said: "Joel cannot be Zoe’s son btw if he was born in 2006 he’d be 19."

A further fan said: "The abysmal Joel isn’t Zoe’s son!!!" Another fan wrote: "Well, I guess that rules out Joel as her son…unless he’s secretly 20."

Going off of the timings and events in Walford, some fans believe Den is the father. Zoe had fallen pregnant after sleeping with Den but she had an abortion.

Some fans are are now wondering if Zoe didn't have the abortion or ended up having Den's babies. Taking to X one fan said: "If anything it’s Den’s baby." Another said: "Wait is Dirty den the dad."

A third fan posted: "Zoe Slater is the mother of twins by Den Watts, and one of them is dead." Another added: "No way she had Den’s baby???? No way right????" A further post read: "Is that Den’s baby?."

Other fans simply couldn't work out who might be the dad. A fan wrote: "I WONDER WHO THE FATHER IS OF ZOE’S TWINS??????" Meanwhile another viewer commented: "Max is the father."

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and Threads.