In EastEnders, both Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) and Zack Hudson (James Farrar) have been dealing with their loss of their child, Peach. Once Zack had the idea to plant a peach tree in remembrance of their baby, they were finally allowed to grieve the child they had lost in the soap opera episode airing on Monday, March 20.
This occurred on Mother’s Day, which made it all the more tragic. Because of her sadness, Whitney had been reclusive and hadn’t left her room much in recent days. In the meanwhile, Zack told Martin (James Bye) that he was finding it difficult to accept the loss of all of his daughter’s aspirations.
Martin related to him how they had commemorated the miscarriage of his then-partner Ruby (Louisa Lytton) with stones. Also, he spoke about his close buddy Kush (Davood Ghadami) and Shabnam, his girlfriend, whose baby Zaair was stillborn. To honour him, a tree had been planted. Martin said that he often sat under the tree because it gave him a chance to reflect about Kush and his little son.
When Zack visited Whitney, he said that he would plant a peach tree “in remembrance of our baby daughter.” Whitney wasn’t prepared to consider this at all. She said that because Peach wasn’t even there, she didn’t have parents and that it would be pointless to commemorate their infant’s death in this manner. Zack maintained that he needed to take action to bid his daughter farewell.
Later, while Chelsea’s (Zaraah Abrahams) kid Jordan was playing on the floor next to her, Whitney had a breakthrough. Chelsea moved to take the youngster out of fear that her friend might get unhappy, but Whitney objected, saying she loved having him around. Since Jordan’s birth, Chelsea said, life has been challenging for her, and Whitney has become Jordan’s “against all odds” mother. Whitney cried, but she was glad and appreciative to Chelsea for what she had said. This gave Whitney the courage to prepare, leave the house, and say goodbye to her daughter.
At the tree-planting ceremony, Zack had gathered a group of friends at the allotment, and he spoke in an emotional manner about how Peach had changed him for the better and that he would never forget her.
Whitney then showed up with the little box holding the infant’s ashes, and her remarks were just as moving and passionate as Zack’s.
She remarked, “I never got to touch my baby daughter when she was alive. “I assumed it meant I wasn’t fit to be a mother. I am a mother at heart. Not just to Peach, but also to Jordan, Lily (Lilia Turner), and all the other children in my life. She expressed the wish that one day Peach will have a younger sibling or brother.
Zack and Whitney were left alone while everyone else went to the Queen Vic. They had a tender moment together as they dispersed their little girl’s ashes at the base of the tree they had planted. They then kissed, but Whitney was perplexed when Zack first reacted but then withdrew.
Zack sought to convince Whitney that “it’s not you,” but he was unable to be honest with her about his HIV diagnosis.
Will he ever be able to share the important information keeping him silent?