EastEnders fans "screamed and jumped" as villain Theo Hawthorne (William Ellis) appeared out of nowhere after weeks away during last night's episode (Thursday, November 23).
Theo has made Stacey Slater's (Lacey Turner) life a living hell after he began stalking and terrorising her for months.
The evil teacher managed to worm his way into Stacey's life after he started giving her pregnant daughter Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) private tutoring and he soon went to dangerous lengths with his obsession.
His vile behaviour spiralled out of control when he tried to rape Stacey in her home, until her cousin Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) walked in on the scene and attacked Theo with an iron, leaving him unconscious.
Following the attack, Eve Unwin (Heather Peace) walked in on the crime scene and attempted to make it look like Freddie acted in self defence by fabricating evidence.
Freddie was arrested for attempted murder, but was released on bail. However, Theo woke up in hospital and gave his statement that contradicted Stacey and Freddie's.
Stacey was granted the interim stalking protection order against Theo, but just as she got some peace from his reign of terror, Theo made a shock return to the Square last night.
In the morning, Stacey revealed to Lily that she wouldn't be going to Theo's court hearing as she believed he would plead not guilty and would have to attend a long trial later down the line anyway.
Later on, as Stacey walked through the market, she received a call telling her that the trial had been adjourned.
However, she was left terrified when Theo unexpectedly appeared behind her and said hello.
"You can't be here," Stacey told him.
"Just give me 30 minutes to talk. It'll be worth your while," he replied.
Fans "jumped out of their skin" when Theo popped up behind her and were left screaming at their TV...
I genuinely screamed & jumped when Theo appeared out of nowhere behind Stacey 😭. It was like something out of a horror film! Another evil scumbag is back 🤬 #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/ZuLz8GcOLLNovember 23, 2023
theo made me jump out of my skin #EastEndersNovember 23, 2023
@bbceastenders OMG! 😱 I didn’t expect to see Theo - he made me jump! #EastEndersNovember 23, 2023
also the way i gasped when theo appeared #eastendersNovember 23, 2023
EastEnders continues tonight at 7:30pm on BBC One.
