| Jean Slater | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Gillian Wright | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2004–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 2852 16 December 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Tony Jordan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by |
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| Spin-off appearances | EastEnders E20 (2011) Tamwar Tales – The Life of an Assistant Market Inspector (2013)[1] The Queen Vic Quiz Night (2020) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Jean Slater (also Walters) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gillian Wright. Her first appearance is in the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 16 December 2004. Having only been introduced for one episode, Wright was reintroduced for four more episodes the following year and became more of a regular character in the following two years. The character is introduced as the mother of Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) who suffers with bipolar disorder. Her disorder strains her relationship with her children, Stacey and Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky). Wright researched the disorder to prepare for the role. In April 2010, it was announced that Jean would be written out of the series, however, Wright was awarded a reprieve in late 2010. Jean departed on 13 January 2011 and returned on 29 March 2011. Wright announced her intentions to leave the series in July 2013, and Jean departed on 17 September 2013. Following her departure, Wright reprised the role for 15 episodes between 2014 and 2017. In December 2017, it was announced that Jean would be reintroduced as a regular character, along with Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and Mo Harris (Laila Morse).[2] She returned on 20 March 2018. On 11 December 2023, Wright appeared in her 1,000th episode as Jean.
Jean’s storylines include supporting Stacey with her bipolar disorder, relapsing and attempting suicide after Stacey flees Walford due to being framed for attempted murder by Janine Malloy (Charlie Brooks), a feud with Pat Evans (Pam St Clement), an unlikely friendship with Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd) in which he begins conning Jean in a storyline tackling investment fraud, revealing to Stacey that her deceased husband Brian had been bigamous, being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and suffering another bipolar episode after her medication becomes ineffective. Other storylines include a failed marriage to Ollie Walters (Tony O'Callaghan), and relationships with Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick), Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), Daniel Cook (Ade Edmondson), and Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman).
- ^ Brown, David (26 June 2013). "EastEnders: Tamwar Masood in new online spin-off". Radio Times. Immediate Media. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ "EastEnders IS bringing back Jessie Wallace as Kat Slater — and Big Mo and Jean Slater are returning too". Digital Spy. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.