EastEnders spoilers for the week of Monday, September 7 follow.
EastEnders viewers will not be seeing little Cherry Slater when the soap returns.
The toddler has had a rough start in life thus far, having been neglected as her mum Hayley (Katie Jarvis) struggled with alcoholism. Later, she was briefly kidnapped by her father Alfie Moon (Shane Richie).
In the end, Alfie and Hayley left the baby in Walford with the Slaters when they departed — but then Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami) had to take over as carer when Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Stacey (Lacey Turner) both temporarily exited too.
Related: EastEnders releases first official spoilers for the show's return week
Official spoilers from the soap's Instagram Story have shined some light on what's become of Cherry in more recent months.
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EastEnders has confirmed that Kat took Cherry back to her mum Hayley prior to the lockdown, then returned to the Square to ride out the quarantine with Kush.
There is no indication if or when EastEnders will ever bring Cherry back again, as there has been no talk of Katie Jarvis returning to the soap since her departure in March 2019.
Shane Richie indicated last October that he wouldn't be able to return in EastEnders in 2020 because he had "a busy year" lined up, though many of those plans have likely been cancelled or delayed until 2021 because of COVID.
Related: EastEnders offers first look at Jessie Wallace and Lacey Turner's return in Secrets from the Square
"I love playing Alfie Moon," he told This Morning. "I miss the people there, I still keep in touch with them, and occasionally I dip in and out of the show and find out if I get a mention!"
EastEnders resumes new episodes on Monday, September 7 at 8.05pm on BBC One.
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