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Vicki Fowler’s (Alice Haig) world starts to fall apart in EastEnders next week as someone finds out about her affair with Zack Hudson (James Farrar) and blackmails the pair.
Vicki and Zack fell into bed together earlier this year, as he provided her with comfort amid teen incel Joel Marshall’s (Max Murray) trial for brutally attacking her.
Despite their obvious feelings for one another, Vicki later got engaged to her long-term partner Ross Marshall (Alex Walkinshaw), swearing to Zack that their fling was a lapse in judgment.
However, with Zack having moved back into his sister Sharon Watts’ (Letitia Dean) place with Vicki and Ross, the pair have been having a hard time keeping a lid on their chemistry, which bubbles over next week as Vicki’s relationship with Ross hits another bump in the road.
As the day of their respective stag and hen dos arrives, the couple are at loggerheads as Ross has heard that his son Joel will soon be sentenced for attacking Vicki.
‘The news immediately triggers Vicki, who starts worrying about what this will mean for her – particularly the matter of where Joel will live when he eventually gets out,’ explains actress Alice Haig, who plays Vicki.
‘Ross and Vicki then quickly realise they’re not on the same page and head off to their parties feeling incredibly conflicted.’
Things get more complicated when Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) asks Zack to step in as the stripper for Vicki’s ‘60s fancy dress themed hen.
Already knowing that Vicki and Zack previously kissed, her aunt Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) tries to stop her niece from making another mistake by setting off the fire alarm, but it has little impact, as Vicki and Zack sneak off and share a passionate kiss.
Alice reveals: ‘It’s a tough moment for Vicki because she does care about Zack, but she also feels deeply let down by Ross. That mix pushes her into something she immediately regrets.
‘She does have feelings for Zack, but they’re tangled up in her hurt. The attraction is there, but the connection is really driven by feeling overlooked and unsupported by the person she’s meant to be building a future with.’
While it may be a moment of madness, unfortunately for Vicki and Zack, their embrace has been secretly recorded!
The following day, Zack is deflated when Vicki insists there can be nothing between them and turns to Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) for some words of advice, leaving him determined to move on.
Meanwhile, Vicki is buoyed when Ross confirms he will find alternative living arrangements for Joel upon his release.
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However, she is later horrified when she receives an anonymous blackmail text with an image of her and Zack kissing.
‘She’s totally panicked because she’s only just decided that whatever mistakes she made, whatever chemistry there is with Zack, Ross is the person she wants,’ Alice says.
‘He’s the man she should marry. And it’s right at that precise moment, when she finally knows where her heart is, that the text arrives.’
Vicki immediately sets about trying to find their blackmailer, and first believes her long-standing enemy Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) is responsible – but a later comment from Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) soon gives her a new suspect.
An innocent Ian is blindsided by both the accusation and the discovery of Vicki and Zack’s affair, and encourages her to come clean to Ross.
And when she then receives another text demanding £20,000 from the blackmailer in return for their silence, Vicki realises she’s out of options.
Alice says: ‘She decides she’s going to come clean, and, in truth, that would have been the better choice. If she’d told Ross then and there, there would have been no secrets between them, and maybe they could have worked through it together.’
While the revelation threatens to blow Vicki and Ross apart forever, Alice is still holding out hope that they can make it through her betrayal, though.
‘I think Ross and Vicki are genuinely made for each other, there’s so much mutual love there. Vicki does find Zack irresistible, but ultimately, I think Ross is the person she truly belongs with,’ she adds.
EastEnders airs these scenes from Monday 13th April at 7.30pm on BBC One or stream first from 6am on iPlayer.
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