Zoe Cotton (née Newton) first appeared on 27 July 1993 and is portrayed by Elizabeth Chadwick. The character returned on 18 June 2001 and was portrayed by Tara Ellis (who had also appeared in the spin-off Return of Nick Cotton in 2000).
Backstory[]
Zoe was born in 1968,
At 14, whilst she was still at school, Zoe was in an on-off relationship with Nick Cotton - which Zoe's parents were not very happy about and they never got on with Nick.
Zoe became pregnant and gave birth to her and Nick's son Ashley Cotton back in August 1983, when Zoe was just 15 years old. Nick was not around to see the birth of his son as he was across London in a pub 'celebrating that got out of hand'.
Zoe's parents never got know their grandson Ashley, due to a family fall out.
Storylines[]
1993-1997: Arrival, meeting Dot Cotton[]
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Zoe arrives in Walford in 1993, keen that Nick's mother Dot Cotton (who she had not met prior) gets a chance to meet her grandson, Dot and Ashley eventually grow close after a few meetings. Zoe and Nick are planning to move away to Gravesend and Zoe wants Dot to come and live with them. Dot is reluctant at first but later agrees to move away and leaves Walford with them in August 1993.
When Dot returns to Walford in 1997, she reveals that off-screen Zoe and Ashley had moved away after Zoe grew tired of Nick's criminal activities and he had been arrested for drugs possession.
2000-2001: Return for Ashley Cotton's funeral[]
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In a spin-off episode Return of Nick Cotton (broadcast on 1 October 2000), Nick is released from prison and reunites with Ashley and Zoe after Zoe's brother, Eddie Newton, tells Nick about her whereabouts. Zoe isn't happy to see him back and offers him money to leave for good. Some thugs then come after him. After trying to escape from the thugs, he and Ashley steal a car to escape them. Zoe doesn't want Ashley to go with Nick knowing how much of a bad influence he is but she cannot stop him and he drives off with Nick back to Walford.
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When Nick and Ashley return to Walford in November 2000, Nick gets into a feud with his old enemy Mark Fowler. It leads to Nick cutting the brakes on Mark's motorbike in June 2001. Ashley steals the bike and dies after crashing into a shop window. Zoe is devastated when she returns for his funeral and attacks Nick, blaming him for Ashley's death. She knew that Nick would never be a good father to Ashley and Ashley should have never come with Nick to Walford. After the funeral, she leaves Walford and has not been seen or heard from since.
List of appearances[]
1993[]
Appeared in 10/105 episodes
2001[]
Appeared in 3/179 episodes