Jean Elaine Slater (previously Walters) is the ex-wife of Brian Slater and Ollie Walters, mother of Sean and Stacey and grandmother of Lily, Arthur and Hope. She suffers from bipolar disorder, having Stacey inherit it.
Storylines
Stacey and Bradley reconcile and she tells him that she is pregnant. He is overjoyed, thinking the baby is his until she says that she is 3 months pregnant, and the baby cannot be Bradley's. After admitting Archie raped her, Bradley vows to raise the child as his own but after Bradley dies, Ronnie Mitchell tells Stacey that Archie was sterile, due to cancer treatment, making Stacey realize that Ryan must be the father. However, Stacey doesn't tell him and goes into labour alone but Ryan finds her and takes her to hospital. During labour, the baby is starved of oxygen, but is born healthy and is named Lily. Everyone in the square thinks that Bradley is the baby's father but Stacey tells them that he isn't but would of made a great dad. After Stacey and Lily return home from the hospital, Stacey refuses to take Lily out of the house and panics when her mother Jean does so without her knowing. However, Max soon convinces Stacey to take Lily outside.
After Ryan kisses Stacey, his girlfriend Janine Butcher reveals it was for a bet, leaving Stacey upset. Disgusted by Janine's cruelty, Ryan splits with her. However, they reunite soon after and go on holiday together. When they return, the couple decide to get married. Janine's brother Ricky Butcher throws Ryan a stag party where they get drunk and bond. The next day, Ryan attends his wedding, but Janine stops the service, and admits to Ryan that she almost had an affair as she is scared of commitment. Ryan assures her that he is scared too, and the pair marry anyway. They then attend their reception at the Queen Victoria pub, where Stacey attempts to tell Ryan about his paternity to Lily. However, Janine's stepmother Pat Evans stops her from telling him, just minutes before a fire erupts in the pub. Everyone leaves safely, except for Stacey and Lily. Ryan rescues the baby and an unconscious Stacey before the pub explodes. Upon seeing her daughter unharmed, Stacey admits to Ryan he is Lily's father. Ryan goes to see Stacey in the hospital when she and Lily recover from the fire, and Stacey tells Ryan she isn't asking for anything and offers to let Ryan hold Lily, but Ryan declines and walks out and goes on honeymoon with Janine without telling her that he shares a daughter with her rival enemy.
When they return, Stacey tells Max that Ryan is Lily's father and has been acting like he does not care. Max confronts Ryan, revealing to Janine that Ryan is the father. He then confronts Stacey saying that he wants nothing to do with his daughter. Janine discovers that Lily is Ryan's daughter and is angry about it. She phones Social Services to report Stacey for neglecting Lily but the social worker, Maria de Costa, can see that Lily is fine and notes that the allegation was false. When Stacey finds out that it was Janine, she attacks her. Ryan discovers what happened and stops Janine going to the police, saying she would not get away with it and that he would never forgive her if she got the mother of his daughter locked up in prison. On Janine's birthday, Ryan tells her he is getting her a surprise gift but she finds out that he is with Stacey, having Lily's birth certificate changed to get Ryan's name added onto it and Ryan later lies to Janine about where he was and she doesn't tell him that she knows. They attend a party at the Slaters' house and Janine kidnaps Lily, packs her and Ryan's things and they make their way to France to get Stacey out of their lives as she knows that Ryan would not agree to move to another country and leave his daughter behind. However, when Ryan finds Lily in the car, he orders Janine to stop. She does stop—on a level crossing with a train approaching and unable to restart the car. Ryan gets Lily out but Janine cannot open her door. The barriers then lower and Janine is still unable to start the car until the last second just in time for the train to miss hitting her car. Ryan insists they return Lily to her mother in Walford. Stacey has called the police telling them that her daughter is missing. Ryan takes Lily and Janine home and explains to Stacey that Janine heard Lily crying so only took Lily to look after her but Ryan promises Stacey he did not know Janine took Lily. Janine is happy that Stacey isn't letting Ryan see Lily but Ryan is devastated and he begins to miss his daughter. The next day, Janine assumes Ryan has left her but they later reconcile and agree to forget about the recent events. While Stacey and Janine are in R&R nightclub and then arrested, Ryan is left to look after Lily for the first time. He struggles at first but realizes just how much he loves his daughter. The next morning, Ryan tells Janine and Stacey he wants to be a father to Lily. Stacey does not want to let him but Ryan later agrees to pay maintenance and gets a job stealing cars for Phil Mitchell, so Stacey lets him see Lily again.
Wanting to do whats best for Lily, Ryan gets a new job as a barman at the newly refurbished Queen Vic pub, and when alone with Stacey, they kiss. However, Stacey tells Ryan to forget it happened. Stacey goes missing and Janine stops him visiting her by locking him in The Queen Victoria's walk-in fridge. Although Ryan thinks it was accidental and Janine saved him, Pat reveals it was deliberate and Janine becomes jealous over Lily. After Stacey's cousin Kat Slater allows Ryan to visit Stacey, he realizes she is planning to leave and stops her. He reveals he wants to be with Stacey, not Janine and they start an affair. Pat discovers it and tells Janine, who starts to poison Ryan with pills. Eventually he escapes the flat and Stacey finds him as he collapses. Ryan is hospitalized and when he wakes up, Janine admits to overdosing him on sedatives and says she knows about his affair. Ryan tells Janine that he is till going to be a part of Lily's life. Janine says if he loves her, he will not let her go to prison for her actions. Ryan allows Janine to believe he still loves her but then publicly declares his love for Stacey in The Queen Victoria. Janine then walks in to see them kissing. She fears she has lost him until she discovers Stacey was Archie's real killer after receiving a taped confession from Lauren Branning. Although the recording is wiped, Janine reveals the truth. Ryan wants to be with Stacey regardless and they plan to flee. However, Stacey is unsure of her feelings for Ryan and takes Lily, leaving without him. Ryan visits Janine in hospital, because she stabbed herself in an attempt to frame Stacey. Janine forgives Ryan but he is unable to forgive her so he removes her oxygen tubes and walks out as she struggles to breathe. Pat discovers this and tells Ryan to end the feud. He then gives his wedding ring to Whitney and tells her that her, Stacey and Lily are his priority.
When Stacey returns to Walford, she confesses to killing Archie, which leads to her being imprisoned with a five-year sentence, and Lily is left in Jean and Ollie's care. A few months later, Jean arrives at Kat and Alfie's home with Lily. She visits Stacey in prison, urging her to appeal her sentence, but Stacey refuses. Jean struggles to cope with looking after Lily, and when she overhears Alfie and Kat talking about her, she attempts suicide. Stacey is allowed to visit Jean in hospital, where Stacey realises how much her family need her, especially as Jean wants to stay in a psychiatric hospital. Jean eventually convinces Stacey to appeal her sentence and then returns to a psychiatric hospital in Brighton. Stacey has been a magnet for trouble, especially where Max Branning is concerned. When Stacey's bipolar started to develop, she began having irrational behavior and went out clubbing. She got really drunk and Jack Branning told her to go home but she refused and got even more drunk. Stacey's older brother Sean Slater went to carry her home but she had a fit and was taken to hospital.
Kat sees Stacey walking into a salon, from the top deck of a bus. Kat finds out where she lives and visits, where she meets Lily and Stacey's boyfriend, Luke Riley. Luke believes that Stacey's name is "Jenny Smith" and is unaware of her criminal history. Stacey sees Kat leaving and confronts her in Albert Square. Kat later tells Luke "Jenny" is really Stacey Slater so he ends the relationship. Stacey and Lily spend the night at Kat and Alfie's house and the following day, Kat visits Janine in prison to ask her to withdraw the statement she made accusing Stacey of stabbing her. Janine agrees so Stacey returns to Albert Square. Luke visits Stacey, but leaves, after discovering that she killed Archie.
After listening to what Luke said, Stacey decides to clear Bradley's name and calls the police, telling them that she killed Archie. She is arrested and later sentenced to five years in prison. Stacey appeals her sentence after realising how much Lily is missing her, and is successful. Stacey returns to Walford, moving in with Kat and Alfie.Alfie commits arson, destroying the home and everything that belonged to Bradley. Stacey works for Dean Wicks at his salon, Blades and they start dating. She and Lily move into Dean's flat and Stacey discovers that Alfie caused the fire. Stacey discovers that Dean raped Linda Carter, so she ends the relationship and forces him to move out.Stacey talks to Sean over video chat, and he tells her to look after a key. Stacey is worried about Kat and Alfie leaving, following their lottery win. She is roughed up by Dean, who asks her about his daughter with Shabnam Masood. Shabnam's on-off boyfriend Kush Kazemi rescues her; they kiss and she tells him that Shabnam had a daughter she abandoned.
After Kat realised she had selfishly stood in the way of Jean's happiness, she tried to track Ollie down after he left Walford for Brighton... little did she know, Ollie had had seconds thoughts, and decided he didnt want to go to Brighton unless Jean was there with him. Realising she had well and truly fallen in love, Jean finally threw caution to the wind and departed Walford with Ollie. Her and and her sausage surprise will be sorely missed! When Stacey returns to Walford, she confesses to killing Archie, which leads to her being imprisoned with a five-year sentence, and Lily is left in Jean and Ollie's care. A few months later, Jean arrives at Kat and Alfie's home with Lily. She visits Stacey in prison, urging her to appeal her sentence, but Stacey refuses. Jean struggles to cope with looking after Lily, and when she overhears Alfie and Kat talking about her, she attempts suicide. Stacey is allowed to visit Jean in hospital, where Stacey realises how much her family need her, especially as Jean wants to stay in a psychiatric hospital. Jean eventually convinces Stacey to appeal her sentence and then returns to a psychiatric hospital in Brighton.
Jean finds Stacey's cousin Hayley Slater and she tells her that she can move into Stacey's house alongside the rest of the family, like Jean, Stacey, Stacey's cousin Kat Slater, their Nan Mo, Stacey's kids Lily, Arthur and Hope and Lily's auntie Whitney Dean and her sister Tiffany Butcher. A while later in the Queen Vic, Hayley goes to the bathroom and raps a bandage round her stomach so no one will suspect that she is pregnant, however a woman warns her that it is dangerous for the baby, so Hayley stops. Hayley resorts to getting drunk, rather then facing up to her problems.
On the night of the Royal Wedding, after Mo and Kat give Hayley a makeover, Jean passes her an umbrella as Kat and Mo plan to tip water on her. Hayley then goes outside to confront them and they stop. She then heads to a hotel room outside of Walford where it is reveled that Kat's husband Alfie Moon is the father of her unborn child after they had a on night stand. The pair talk and Alfie asks about Kat because Kat's son Tommy (who is the biological son of Alfie's brother Michael Moon) and Kat and Alfie's twin boys Ernie and Bert need to see their mum as Aflie is currently raising them after a fall out with Kat - which has made Kat refuse to even see her boys. Alfie tells Hayley he loves Kat but Hayley tells Alfie she thinks the baby is a girl and she could boss her big brothers around and Hayley will raise them as her own. However Alfie replies by telling Hayley that Kat is the boys' mother, not her. Hayley gets mad and wants to have an abortion but Alfie tells her not to but later changes his mind after Hayley talks him round. Alfie gives her the money and the next day Hayley makes an appointment at the hospital for a termination. Hayley then gets drunk and turns up late to her appointment, which makes them refuse to see her. She then makes a new one but changes her mind after Kat tells her she's a good person really. A few weeks later Hayley is shocked when Stacey announces that her and Martin are back together and he will be moving back into the house. The Slater's then get an even bigger surprise when an envelope is put through the letter box saying Slater's. They all don't know if to open it or not and Hayley tells everyone that she is the only Slater. While pointing to Tiffany, Stacey, Mo and Jean, she arrogantly says "Fowler, Harris, Walters - oh and Buchard" to prove a point that she should open the letter as she is the only Slater in the house. But Tiffany very sarcastically replies to Hayley saying "It's Butcher, actually".
Stacey open's the letter and to their surprise, it is the key's to Charlie Slater's old cab, with a note reading telling them that Charlies friend had the cab and he promised Charlie that when he retired he had to give the cab to the Slater's. Hayley tells Stacey she can fix it but she doesn't believe her so Hayley goes to see fellow mechanic Keanu Taylor where she asks if there is any jobs, however she didn't really want a job and was just trying to destract him while she stole some tools to fix her Uncle Charlie's cab. Later on she uses Tiffany's laptop so she can go online and see if anyone is interested in buying the cab. Tiffany spots her and this causes them to argue. Stacey pulls the pair apart but Tiffany goes to slap Hayley which causes another fight to break out. Stacey pulls them apart once again and while Tiffany's back is turned, Hayley eats her piece toast - which makes Tiffany mad. Since the Slater Family house is a bit over crowded, Martin gets annoyed with everyone. He then gets ready to go in the shower but realizes Tiffany is in. When Martin asks her is she is done, she replies "in washing my hair". Martin then comes down stairs and Tiffany comes out the shower, just as Mo runs up the stairs to use the bathroom. When the Bathroom is finally free, Martin goes in the shower but is disturbed when Jean walks in. She then runs down stairs and Martin goes after her. Jean runs into the kitchen where everyone is and Martin explains what has just happened. Tiffany laughs, as does everyone but Jean says "To be fair Martin, I didn't see much". Everyone laughs again and Kat replies "Poor Stacey". Martin goes to turn away and Kat pulls down his towel, which is covering his body. Everyone screams and Tiffany covers her eyes but Stacey grabs the cloth and puts it over Tiffany's eyes. Martin goes up stairs to resume his shower and get ready. When he comes down stairs into the Kitchen he spots Lily on Tiffany's ipad and tells her she should play outside and get some air in her lungs because she looks pasty. A few minutes later, Lily comes downstairs tanned as Tiffany covered her in fake tan because Martin said she looked pasty. Martin then promises to take Lily to the pictures after he is been to work but later gets robbed. Lily over hears Martin talking to the rest of the family about it and decides to make her own movie, with the help of Hayley handing out the 'tickets'.
Jean then begins to take Hope, Lily and Arthur to church, hoping to convince Lily to get christened. However once Jean confronts Stacey about this, Stacey disagrees. Jean then decides to see Martin and Kush to see how they would feel about having the children christened. She asks Kush if he would like to see Arthur christened but Kush replies saying that he is a Muslim. Jean then asks Martin but he says that he isn't really religious and doesn't know how Stacey would feel about having Hope christened. Jean then mentions it to Stacey about having Lily christened and when Stacey asks Lily about this, she says she doesn't want to have one. Martin then begins to see how much a christening would mean to Jean after Jean confides in him that it would be the perfect idea for a big family gathering. Martin agrees as long as Jean manages to talk Stacey round. However Stacey tells her that she has three kids and she ain't treating one different from the rest butt Jean talks her round and eventually, Stacey agrees. Jean shows Stacey the dress she wore for her christening and she smiles. On the day of Hope's christening, Martin is drunk after a lads night out for his birthday with Kush and Robbie. The start of the day turns out to be a disaster when no body can find Hope's christening dress. Stacey picks Kat as hopes godmother and Martin picks Robbie as her godfather. Kat then goes a wall and tries to phone her husband Alfie so she can talk to her kids. Hayley then discovers that Hope's christening dress is inside the towel on her head and takes it to the church. With Kat being missing, Stacey needs to decide on a godmother for Hope and suggests Mo but Martin says her doesn't want Mo to be a godmother to his daughter and everybody laughs. Tiffany then says she will do it but her cousin Bex Fowler says she is to young. The vicar then says that these decisions can not be rushed just as Hayley walks in the room. Hayley is then forced to get Hope changed into her christening dress and Jean talks her round into becoming Hope's godmother. Hope is about to be christened when Kat walks in the room. Hayley then hands over Hope to Kat and walks off. Jean then goes after her and Hayley confides in her that she is pregnant. After that Hayley walks out the house and gets drunk - once again.
Jean then starts buying clothes for the baby, which gets Hayley mad as she doesn't want anyone finding out about her pregnancy. Soon, they agree to tell the whole family about the news. Hayley becomes friends with Kim Fox-Hubbard after they start going to mother and baby classes together. Stacey tells Hayley she can have Hope's old baby clothes, pram and Moses basket. Later Hayley's mother Bev Slater arrives on the square, promising Hayley that she is a changed woman and she came to see her because she found out she was pregnant. At first Hayley is very optimistic and mad to find her mother in the square. Soon Hayley asks her mother to prove she has changes and the pair go shopping together. After the shopping trip, they go to along to E20, only for Hayley to find out that her mothers intentions were to con money off the baby's dad. The pair cat fight and Hayley is just about to through a glass in Bev's face. However they are both thrown out by Billy Mitchell. Bev tells Hayley that she is just like her and the baby is going to end up just like Hayley. Bev then calls for a taxi and Hayley starts to bleed, but Bev smiles and says that Hayley should of got rid of the baby while she had the chance. She smiles and asks the taxi driver to pull away as Hayley sits crying for her mum in the middle of the street. Hayley then goes into town and gets drunk.
In October, Jean sends Hayley to go shopping and get everything she needs for when the baby arrives. Hayley becomes stressed in Honey Mitchell's shop when she cant figure out what size nappies to buy the baby. Honey tries to calm Hayley down just as Mariam Ahmed walks in. She tells Hayley to go home with her and they chat. Mariam asks Hayley to look after her foster child Harley, while she finishes cooking. Hayley does this and stops him from crying. Hayley then walks into the living room and spots some pictures of lot of children, whom Mariam and her partner Arshad have fostered in the past. Hayley spots this one child who suffers from deformations due to his mother drinking while she was pregnant. Hayley tells Mariam how her and her mates used to make fun of this girl at school because she looked like that. Then Hayley becomes upset that her baby might have this as she drinks all the time during her pregnancy. She runs off home and confronts Jean about it. Jean tells Hayley that she isn't always drunk... well most of the time.
The next day, Hayley decides to go out and buy some vodka. She sees Keanu looking miserable and tells him that the will be miserable together. They sit in the park and Hayley tells him all about how her mum would go out for days and just leave her on her own without food and not even caring if she went to school or not. Keanu tries to reassure Hayley shat she is nothing like her mum. Hayley then gets out the vodka and dis about to drink it, just as Keanu grabs is and stops her and Hayley leans in for a kiss but Keanu pulls away, saying he has his own problems. He tells Hayley about his sister Bernie, who lost her baby (whom was named Belle). Hayley tells Keanu that his sister was lucky as she had family around her and a brother who loved her. Hayley continues saying that she has nothing and no one loves her but Keanu puts her straight and tells her to go home. After a while hev goes to her house to make sure she got there safe but no one had seen her. Jean then says she knows where Hayley is and her and Kat go to Bev's old flat looking for Hayley as that is where she was brought up. They spot her sitting on the edge of the balcony with earphone's in. Jean tells Kat she remembers which flore it was so they go up. Kat assumes Hayley is just relaxing sitting on the edge but soon realizes that Hayley is about to commit suicide. Hayley continues to sit on the edge listening to music and drinking her vodka. She tells her to stop being selfish and to get down but she doesn't listen and tells Kat she will really do it, just as she stands up with her arms out. Kat screams for Hayley to get back down, and she does - telling Kat that if she knew the truth she would want her to do it. Jean intervenes and Hayley drops her vodka to ground, watching it smash into a million pieces. After a long time of trying, Jean eventually convinces Hayley to get down. The next day a social worker arrives to speak to Hayley and tells her that she was brought up in care and just wants to help people. Hayley then tells her that she canceled her abortion appointment and actually wanted to keep the baby. After the social worker leaves, Jean walks in and Hayley automatically blames her for calling social services. Jean denies it, just as Stacey and Kat walks in and Kat admits it was her not Jean. Hayley apologises to Jean and goes upstairs to pack her things to leave. Kat tells Stacey she was so close to jumping and needs help.
In December 2018, Jean enters a relationship with Ian Beale.
Character development
2018 return
On the 20th December, 2017, it was announced that Jean, portrayed by Gillian Wright (Calendar Girls, Sir Gadabout, the Worst Knight in the Land) would be returning to EastEnders, along with fellow Slater ladies Kat and Mo, after moving to Brighton and making multiple visits to Walford over the past few years. No details have been released on upcoming storylines. Gillian said of her return: "‘I am delighted the Slater women are to be reunited once more. I have always adored working alongside Lacey, Jessie and Laila and I am looking forward to being reacquainted with everyone at EastEnders again!", whilst EastEnders executive consultant said "The Slaters are one of the all-time great families in EastEnders and Albert Square has never quite felt the same since they scattered to different ends of the country, and in some cases beyond." In February 2019, Jean was diagnbised with ovarian cancer, but it later told she doesn't have it anymore. Sadly for Jean, her boyfriend Daniel passes away. A sofa bed is then given to the Slaters. Mo tells Jean it can't stay in front of the door and Jean agrees.
See also
Jean's Character Trailer
Gallery
.jpg "Jean Slater Drawing from Kids (19 May 2020).jpg (162 KB)")
(19 May 2020)
.jpg "Jean Slater Eyebrows (11 January 2021).jpg (339 KB)")
(11 January 2021)