EastEnders fans make desperate plea as Sonia Fowler exit raises red flags

Sonia Fowler’s surprise departure from has left fans in shock — and many are convinced her new life abroad is going to unravel just as quickly as it began. In Tuesday night’s episode viewers finally got an idea of how Sonia () might be written out of the soap after 22 years in Walford.

Her long-lost dad Terry Cant turned up out of the blue, and by the end of the episode, she was seriously considering jetting off to Bali with him. Terry (Glen Davies) told Sonia he wanted to make up for lost time after years of estrangement, and invited her to leave life in East London behind in favour of a fresh start in paradise.

Initially, she was furious when her father revealed how short his visit was going to be, saying: "I want to spend the next 48 hours hitting all the hotspots of Walford. Should take about five minutes. Then we’ll go up west."

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But after she went on a tirade about him leaving so quickly after not having seen her in years, he dropped a bombshell invitation, telling Sonia: "Come to Bali with me. Nobody knows you there… come for a few weeks, a few months, maybe even stay."

Although Sonia is seriously considering the offer after spending months dealing with the fallout of her ex fiancé being a murderer, fans are not happy with this exit for the character. One person complained: "Sonia's Dad turning up and her going off with him to Bali is such a forced plot as now we know how she leaves. They've known for months that Natalie Cassidy was leaving and could have built up a really good final story for her. This just seems rushed and a bit meh."

Meanwhile, others are not just annoyed with the way Sonia is leaving the show, but fuming about who she is leaving with. Bianca (Patsy Palmer) is suspicious of Terry and confronted him in Wednesday night's instalment of the soap.

Terry quickly turned nasty, mocking Bianca's family and threatening her, but proving in the process that fans are right and his charming behaviour has just been an act.

One viewer took to social media, saying: "Could tell straightaway he was a nasty piece of work." Another agreed: "Sonia’s dad has shown his true colours… knew he was a wrong ’un!!"

Fans have pleaded for the show's writers to rethink her exit storyline. One took issue with how Sonia is being portrayed, writing: "Are they making Sonia dumb on purpose? Like seriously, hasn’t she learned her lesson about going off with strange men?" A second added: "For such an intelligent person Sonia trusts anyone apart from who has actually got her back."

Natalie Cassidy announced she was leaving for the "very final" time in January, saying: "After another 11 solid years back on the square, I have decided it's time to move on to pastures new. EastEnders is in my bones so I will never forget where I started my career and I will continue to love the show.

"Thank you to [executive producer] Chris Clenshaw for the opportunity to be such a big part of the 40th anniversary - it's an honour. See you, Sonia, going but never forgotten."

EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on One and BBC .

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