Who is Hayley in EastEnders and what happened to her?

Metro

6 hours ago

Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) has told a multitude of lies to cover his tracks in EastEnders – with wife Kat (Jessie Wallace) currently believing that he's been searching for former Albert Square resident Hayley Slater.
As we all know, he's actually been on the lookout for Kat's estranged daughter Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), who fled London for Barcelona after telling him that she'd done something 'so bad' that her family would disown her.
Initially saying that he was in Australia visiting brother Spencer (Christopher Parker), the fib unravelled and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) was forced to cover again.
She said that Alfie had suffered a cancer scare, and was in Spain trying to clear his head.
However, in the last week, he reached out to Stace' to ask for €50,000 in order to pay off some dodgy fellas that had information on Zoe. She initially agreed, but was full of regret after promising the cash to Kat, who planned to use it as a deposit on The Queen Vic.
Stacey's mum Jean (Gillian Wright) got wind of something suspicious happening, and assumed that the money was actually going to go to Hayley and her daughter Cherry.
Stacey changed her mind on handing over the dough to Alfie, realising that it would be better spent by Kat. But as she set up home behind the bar, Jean dropped Hayley into conversation, and Kat was left furious.
But who is Hayley, and what does she have to do with Alfie?
Hayley Slater, played by actress Katie Jarvis, is the first cousin of Stacey. This makes her a distant cousin of Kat.
She arrived in Walford in 2018, concealing a pregnancy from her family. It soon transpired that the father of the child was none other than Alfie! He told her that his heart was still with Kat, and he didn't want to have her child.
After arranging an appointment at an abortion clinic, she got drunk and forgot to attend.
Later, she went into labour and decided to drive herself out of the area in her uncle Charlie's (Derek Martin) taxi. The vehicle broke down and she was forced to give birth in a drug den.
Shortly afterwards, Alfie reunited with Kat and was stunned to learn that she hadn't aborted her pregnancy after all. Her child was his daughter.
They named her Cherry after his late mum.
Hayley decided to leave when Stacey discovered Cherry's paternity and saw her kissing Alfie. She left a lock of the child's hair with Alfie, which was later discovered by Kat.
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A huge row broke out and Alfie was knocked down the staircase, seemingly to his death. As the cousins discussed their action plan, they realised that Alfie had survived and ran off with his daughter. More Trending
They eventually returned and in the aftermath, Hayley attempted to take her own life by stepping in front of a minibus and stabbing herself with a screwdriver.
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She was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, and once she was discharged, welcomed Cherry back into her arms during the COVID pandemic.
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