Note: This article contains major spoilers for The Walking Dead season 9, episode 5, 'What Comes After'.

Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang has confirmed the answer to the long-standing mystery of Heath's disappearance.

Alexandria resident Heath, played by Corey Hawkins, has not been spotted on the show since the season 7 episode 'Swear' – getting separated from Tara near Oceanside and driving away in their RV.

Jackson Lee Davis/AMC

Two years later, the question of what happened to Heath has been answered – and the final clues were in Rick Grimes' final episode.

In 'What Comes After', Anne/Jadis was seen driving Heath's RV. And by the end, she left with Rick on the helicopter.

Kang confirmed to Business Insider that Heath was also traded by Anne supplies, saying: "That was kind of the intention that we had in the back of our heads this whole time.

"Even back in that season where you know we had to write the wonderful Corey Hawkins out because he had huge opportunities in the feature film world... those scenes were already set there."

AMC

This opens up a couple of fresh questions about Heath – is he an 'A' or a 'B'? And will Hawkins be seen in the newly-announced movie spin-off trilogy starring Andrew Lincoln?

Rick's 'fake-out' exit has proven controversial, and Walking Dead chief content officer Scott Gimple has defended the twist saying: "I hope it isn't treated like a cliffhanger. It's a promise of more story, but I suppose cliffhangers in general are looked upon a certain way."

The Walking Dead airs on AMC in the US and on FOX in the UK. You can also catch up on the show via NOW TV.

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