EastEnders fans 'work out' the 'real father' of Zoe's baby - and it's not Dennis Rickman

BBC EastEndersfans were left stunned at the end of tonight's episode as Zoe Slater finally revealed the real father of her baby - or did she?

After weeks of fan theories, Zoe dropped the bombshell that Dennis Rickman was the father of her baby in an argument with Sharon Watts. Despite Sharon and Zoe calling a truce last night, things came to a blow when Vicki and Zoe had a physical fight on the Square.

Sharon then stormed into the pub and confronted Zoe, but Sharon was left speechless when she dropped the bombshell that she was looking for her son - who she shared with Dennis.

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Zoe and Dennis moved in together over 20 years ago, but he couldn't hide his feelings for his adopted sister Sharon. The pair then planned to move away to America together, but in a bid to stop them, Zoe pretended she was pregnant with his baby.

Dirty Den then convinced Zoe to sleep with him to get pregnant - with Dennis later finding the two in bed together in January 2025. Dennis was killed in 2006 after being stabbed by Johnny Allen’s henchmen.

Now, Zoe's claiming she and Dennis slept together in between this time, but fans aren't convinced. A lot of fans believe Zoe dropped the 'false bombshell' to wind Sharon up - as many believe Anthony Trueman is the father.

As Sharon accused Zoe of returning to Walford for money, she replied: "You wanna know why I need money? I need money because I have a baby. A baby that I gave away. And after all this time I want to find him. You want to know who the father is?

"Not your dad, your husband's. 20 years ago, Dennis Rickman slept with me. That's right Sharon. Precious Dennis. He got me pregnant," as Sharon looked on in tears.

The episode then came to a dramatic end, but fans aren't convinced Zoe's telling the truth. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one wrote: "I don't believe the baby is Dennis's baby. Zoe just said that to get a rise and hurt Sharon. #EastEnders It would be too easy if it were Dennis's kid."

Another penned: "Yeah it’s definitely not Dennis’s kids, she just saying it to wind up Sharon. Dennis never touched her and felt sick and he left in Jan 2005 came back in June 2005 for 3 days living in Pauline’s house."

"NO!! We are not changing history here!! wtf!? Dennis did not cheat on Sharon with Zoe!!" a third exclaimed, with a fourth writing: "Nope not buying Dennis is the dad. She knows Sharon has got money and lost Denny, so is hoping that if Sharon thinks Dennis has a child out there, she’ll want to find him, hence finance Zoe’s search for him."

Elsewhere in tonight's episode, Anthony tried to plant a kiss on his ex Zoe, but was fiercely rejected. Many fans are convinced that Anthony is the father of Zoe's twins, with many believing new character Jasmine is their daughter.

Although Zoe's daughter died, during the flashback, she appeared to leave before the doctor's confirmed the news, with many believing she may not be dead after all.

Taking to Reddit, one wrote: "I expect they'll play this angle long enough for people to stop speculating about Jasmine, while another said: "I don't understand why Anthony is sticking around, it must be the father of Zoe's kids story."

A third agreed: "It’s quite obvious Anthony is Zoe’s baby’s dad, while another said: "Anthony’s going to be the baby daddy and jasmine will be one of the twins."

But who is the real father and how will the storyline pan out?

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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