The Slater family are a fictional family from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, that have appeared since Episode 1997, first broadcast in September 2000. The family are introduced as a central family unit, originally consisting of father Charlie Slater (Derek Martin), grandmother Mo Harris (Laila Morse), Charlie's daughters, Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), Lynne Slater (Elaine Lordan), Little Mo Morgan (Kacey Ainsworth) and Kat's teenage daughter Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan), and Lynne's partner Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves). A fifth sister, Belinda Peacock (Leanne Lakey), was introduced one year later. The family were the eighth to be introduced in the soap's history, replacing the di Marco family who departed during the previous month. The Slaters were created by Tony Jordan and introduced by John Yorke. The Slater sisters were cast in an improvisation session. In their first years on the show, the family were involved in storylines about child sexual abuse and domestic violence.

Following multiple cast departures, three new cast members – Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater), Gillian Wright (Jean Slater) and Robert Kazinsky (Sean Slater) – joined the show as an extension of the family. Stacey and her mother, Jean were used to highlight the topic of bipolar disorder, working with the charity Mind. In 2010, Wallace reprised her role and Turner left the series. The following year, Kat featured in a controversial story which sees her newborn son swapped for a deceased baby. Turner returned in 2014 and the Slater family were later expanded. Riley Carter Millington, the first transgender actor to portray a transgender character in a British soap opera, was cast as Stacey's half-brother, Kyle Slater. Former Coronation Street actress, Denise Welch, appeared in one episode as Kyle's mother, Alison Slater.

The family became a focal point across New Year 2016 when Kat discovers that she has a secret son and Charlie is killed-off. The events are followed by a spin-off drama, Kat & Alfie: Redwater, focusing on Kat's search for her son in Ireland, who is revealed to be murderous Catholic priest Dermott Dolan (Oisín Stack). 2016 also sees Stacey begin suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness associated with bipolar mothers. Prior to the storyline, the family were merged with the Fowler family following Stacey's pairing with Martin Fowler (James Bye). Following his reappointment, Yorke revived the Slater family by reintroducing Kat, Jean and Big Mo, and casting Katie Jarvis as new family member Hayley Slater. He also made the family a focal point across Christmas 2018 with a paternity reveal.

As of 2026, a total of eight blood Slaters appear on the programme: Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace); her children, Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall), Bert Moon (Elliot Briffett) and Ernie Moon (Cody Briffett); Zoe's children, Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) and Josh Goodwin (Joshua Vaughan); Stacey's daughter Lily Slater (Lillia Turner) and her daughter Charli Slater. There are others that have married into the family, such as Kat's ex-husband Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and her current husband Alfie Moon (Shane Richie), Stacey's mother Jean Slater (Gillian Wright), and Stacey's ex-wife Eve Panesar-Unwin (Heather Peace), while Kat's grandmother and Charlie's mother-in-law, Mo Harris (Laila Morse), is also considered to be part of the family.

Creation On 30 August 2000, it was announced that a new family, the Slaters, would be introduced to EastEnders to replace the di Marco family, who departed the series during that month. The family, who first appear in September, mark the eighth to be introduced in the soap's history. Executive producer John Yorke hoped that the introduction of the family would return EastEnders to its familial roots, describing them as "the classic EastEnders family which is all about surviving and fighting back all the time." Head of BBC drama series, Mal Young, said the family were introduced as at the time, the serial had a deficit of "solid families", expanding, "there were a lot of fractured families and people who were alone."

The Slater family was created by series consultant Tony Jordan during an improvisation session with 30 actors and actresses. Prior to the workshop session, Yorke assumed he would create a more traditionally structured family, consisting of a mother, a father and two children. He was surprised to find that the presiding influence over the Slaters as they were created was a dead matriarch, Viv Slater (Debi Gibson), who exerted a "powerful influence" from beyond the grave. Yorke selected Jessie Wallace (Kat Slater), Elaine Lordan (Lynne Slater), Kacey Ainsworth (Little Mo Morgan) and Michelle Ryan (Zoe Slater) to play four of the Slater sisters as they got along so well during the improvisation session. Derek Martin was cast as patriarch Charlie Slater later than his screen daughters, in his third audition for EastEnders, having previously been considered for the roles of Den Watts and Frank Butcher. Laila Morse was chosen to portray Charlie's mother-in-law, Mo Harris. Leanne Lakey was later cast as the fifth daughter, Belinda Peacock, a recurring character introduced in 2001. Lakey enjoyed portraying Belinda on a recurring basis due to her second role on Family Affairs.

Development Upon the introduction of Charlie's brother Harry Slater (Michael Elphick) in 2001, it transpired that Zoe was actually Kat's daughter, conceived as a product of rape following her molestation by her uncle. Both Harry and Little Mo's abusive husband Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns), introduced in December 2000, were outsiders to the core family unit, never given a permanent home on Albert Square. Yorke felt that this was an important distinction to make, as when the possibility of a child sexual abuse storyline was discussed, it was concluded that the audience would feel "betrayed" were such a revelation to be made about a long-established and well-liked character. Both characters were also easily removed from the family, with Trevor dying in a fire, and Harry exiled to Spain where he died from a heart attack.

Departures and introductions

Between July 2004 and May 2006, each original Slater sister departed the series. Lynne became the first original Slater character to leave the series after executive producer Louise Berridge decided not to renew Lordon's contract. Lynne departs after ending her marriage to Garry. After becoming pregnant in 2004, Wallace was confirmed to be taking maternity leave from the show. Despite this plans for Kat to leave in December, the actress stopped filming in August following a pregnancy scare. After a short absence, Wallace returned to filming in January and Kat reappeared in May. Shortly afterwards, Zoe made her final appearance following Ryan's decision to leave the series. Ryan filmed her final scenes in May and Zoe departs after deciding to move to Ibiza. On 19 July 2005, it was announced that Wallace had decided to leave EastEnders. Richie had announced his intentions to leave two days previously, and the characters depart together on Christmas Day. The final Slater sister actress, Ainsworth, announced her plans to leave the show to pursue new projects in April 2006. Her character, Little Mo, departed during the following month when she moves to Barnstaple. Little Mo's son Freddie Mitchell, portrayed by twins Alex and Tom Kilby, was also written out of the series.

Following the spree of exits in the family, producers created three new additions of the family. Lacey Turner was cast as Stacey Slater, Charlie's "feisty" great-niece, who is billed as "one hell of a bitch". Turner originally auditioned for a part in the Miller family. Stacey's mother, Jean Slater (Gillian Wright), was later introduced as a minor character. Following a short stint in 2005, the character was gradually developed into a main character, a process which Wright found difficult as she struggled "to turn her from someone who was quite an intensive character to someone who could be watched on a regular basis." The topic of bipolar disorder is explored through Jean, who suffers from the condition. Wright spoke to a bipolar sufferer regularly to make her portrayal accurate. Robert Kazinsky was cast as Stacey's brother, Sean Slater, in 2006 and the character first appears in August. A show spokesperson stated that Sean would feature in "some of the biggest storylines of the year". It is revealed that Sean feels responsible for the death of his father, Brian, who died of an aneurysm the day after Sean punched him. Kazinsky continued in the role until 2009 after deciding to explore new projects.

Writers paired Stacey with Bradley Branning (Charlie Clements) in 2006 and they married during the following year. Stacey subsequently became more integrated in the Branning family unit. Stacey embarks on a "dramatic" affair with Bradley's father, Max Branning (Jake Wood). The affair is revealed to their family on Christmas Day through a DVD made by Max's daughter, Lauren Branning (Madeline Duggan), and Bradley ends their marriage. In 2009, Stacey was used to highlight the issue of bipolar disorder, a storyline which was created as part of the BBC's Headroom campaign tackling mental health awareness. By the point of Stacey being diagnosed, Jean's condition was being portrayed as a characteristic rather than a storyline. EastEnders worked with mental health charities, including Mind, to portray Stacey's bipolar disorder. Stacey is later sectioned after Bradley decides to move to Canada with his girlfriend, Syd Chambers (Nina Toussaint-White). When Bradley returns, the couple reunite. Clements enjoyed working with Turner and opined that they had good chemistry on-screen. Stacey became pregnant in 2009 and gave birth to a daughter, Lily Branning, in June 2010. Stacey and Bradley had remarried four months previously.

Cast exits, Kat's return and baby swap

To celebrate the soap's 25th anniversary, producers created a storyline, "Who Killed Archie?", to kill off Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb). The story builds to a revelation in a live episode broadcast on 19 February 2010. Stacey was central to the storyline and was revealed to be Archie's killer in the live episode, which also features Bradley's death. Days later, Turner and Wood (Max Branning) feature in a two-hander episode written by series consultant and lead writer Simon Ashdown. Following his appointment in 2010, executive producer Bryan Kirkwood opted to write out multiple characters from the series, including Charlie. Kirkwood originally planned for Charlie to be killed-off when he suffers a heart attack, but after Martin spoke to Yorke, the then-head of drama, plans were changed to allow Charlie to leave alive. On 29 April 2010, it was announced that Turner and Wright would be leaving the series in "dramatic departures". At the time of her departure, Kirkwood called Turner "one of the best young actresses on TV" and wished her luck for the future. He also praised Wright, commenting, "Gillian has brought real heart and pathos to the role of Jean Slater". It was later confirmed that Wright had been handed a reprieve and Jean would return shortly after her exit. Stacey escapes to Mexico with Lily on Christmas Day 2010 after confessing to Archie's murder. Weeks later, Jean leaves after being sectioned, but she returns in March.