“There’s a lot of resentment.”
EastEnders star James Farrar has hinted at a sad split for his character Zack Hudson and partner Whitney Dean.
Whitney is set to return to the Square next week, following the start of her exit storyline in Milton Keynes.
The special episodes saw Whitney become determined to foster troubled youngster Britney Wainwright, which didn’t go down well with Zack. As a result, he returned to Walford alone and later tried to kiss Whitney’s best friend, Lauren Branning.
“Zack feels a real sense of guilt about trying to kiss Lauren, and he still doesn’t know why that situation happened,” said Farrar.
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“I think he felt seen by Lauren because she empathised with him over the Britney situation, and there’s also a definitely physical attraction there.
“Zack has deep-rooted issues with people not showing him the love that he thinks he might deserve. Deep down, he’s worried that Whitney has chosen a different life with Britney to the one they had planned.”
The actor went on to explain Zack’s “shock” over Whitney unexpectedly arriving at The Vic with Britney, which will create a difficult atmosphere between the couple.
“There’s a lot of resentment. Zack feels like things could have been communicated better by Whitney. He can’t understand why she’s hiding things and worries there is a lack of trust between them,” he explained.
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“They’ve never hidden stuff like this from each other, and that’s why Zack and Whitney’s bond has been so strong. With everything they’ve been through, this doesn’t sit right with him.
“For such a lovely guy, Zack can be pretty brutal in his actions and beliefs. That’s probably based on the trauma he’s gone through in the past. He’s being incredibly selfish, and, no, he doesn’t want to foster. Not right now, not in this situation.”
On whether Zack and Whitney can resolve their differences, Farrar concluded: “I’m not sure. All the decisions being made are very irrational. Whitney’s decisions are irrational, and so are Zack’s. They should be able to meet halfway, but for some reason, they can’t seem to.”
EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
