title: Kat Slater

text: Kat arrives in Walford on 18 September 2000, followed by her family: father Charlie (Derek Martin), sisters Lynne (Elaine Lordan), Little Mo (Kacey Ainsworth) and Zoe (Michelle Ryan), grandmother Big Mo (Laila Morse) and later, cousin Stacey (Lacey Turner). A fourth sister, Belinda (Leanne Lakey) is also introduced. Kat embarks on a brief fling with Steve Owen (Martin Kemp), much to the annoyance of his girlfriend Mel Healy (Tamzin Outhwaite). She finds work in The Queen Victoria public house as a barmaid, where she is an instant hit with the customers. Fiercely defensive of her sisters, Kat embarks on a feud with Little Mo's abusive husband Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns) – though has a fling with Lynne's boyfriend Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves). Much to Zoe's frustration, Kat is often over-protective of her. When Zoe announces her decision to move to Spain for a new life with their uncle Harry (Michael Elphick), Kat refuses to allow her to go. It is then revealed that Kat is in fact, Zoe's mother, having been sexually abused by Harry aged thirteen. Charlie and his late wife Viv (Debi Gibson) had made the decision to raise Zoe as their own, meaning Kat had to become her "sister". Upon hearing of Harry’s interference with his daughter, Charlie punches him in The Queen Vic and banishes him from Walford. The entire family were aware of Zoe’s true parentage, with the exception of Belinda and Little Mo. Unable to accept these revelations, Zoe flees Walford, and Kat attempts suicide by cutting her wrists. She recovers, is romanced by local doctor Anthony Trueman (Nicholas R. Bailey), and later finds Zoe and brings her home. Their relationship improves, but after Kat breaks up with Anthony, he and Zoe begin an affair. Zoe disowns Kat for disapproving of their relationship, and later runs away when Anthony confesses that he is still in love with Kat.


title: Kat Slater

text: Anthony and Kat's relationship resumes, but she fails to impress his colleagues and breaks up with him as he is about to propose. Kat discovers she is pregnant by him and decides to have an abortion. Her boss Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) persuades her not to, but she suffers a miscarriage shortly after telling Anthony of the pregnancy. Alfie comforts her and realises that he is in love with her. Kat soon begins a relationship with local crime kingpin Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs), and they end up getting engaged. However, Kat confesses to Alfie's grandmother Nana (Hilda Braid) that she loves Alfie – who upon discovering this intervenes; he stops Kat and Andy's wedding and confesses his love for her. Kat leaves Andy, and she and Alfie marry on Christmas Day. Alfie later borrows money from Andy which he is unable to repay, so Andy threatens to kill him unless Kat has sex with him. A reluctant Kat does so, but unbeknownst to her Andy films the liaison and sends it to Alfie. Alfie becomes cold and distant and Kat resorts to alcoholism. After a one-night stand with a stranger, Roger (Russell Boulter), a disgusted Kat leaves Walford.


title: Kat Slater

text: Several months later, Kat's grandmother Mo discovers that she is in prison for prostitution. Upon her release, Mo convinces her to return to Walford. Kat is determined to win Alfie back, but he is now in a relationship with Little Mo. Though he opts to reconcile with Kat, she is unwilling once she learns of his relationship with her sister. Kat rebuilds her relationship with Zoe, and they part on good terms when Zoe leaves to work as a holiday rep in Ibiza. Before Zoe leaves, Kat discovers that Zoe was involved in the murder of Den Watts (Leslie Grantham), and tells Kat that she had been led to believe that she had killed Den until Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) had told her the truth about Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman) being the murderer. Kat confronts Sam about letting Zoe believe that she had killed Den and threatens Chrissie to not let Zoe's involvement become known to the police. Chrissie agrees, but in return, asks for an alibi. Stacey agrees to become Chrissie's alibi for the sake of Zoe, but Chrissie is later caught out and arrested for Den's murder. When Nana Moon dies, Kat comforts Alfie and their feelings for one another once more become apparent. On Christmas Day 2005, they confess their love and depart Walford to travel across the United States.


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat returns to Walford in September 2010, fleeing from a man she and Alfie conned for money, whilst in Spain. Alfie arrives but Kat is displeased to see him. She reveals to her family that while Alfie was serving time in prison, she had an affair with another man, who proves to be Alfie's cousin Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd) and is now pregnant with Michael's child. In an attempt to prove himself responsible, Alfie leases The Queen Victoria public house. He struggles to raise the rent, and enters into a partnership with Michael, unaware that Michael is the father of Kat's baby. After an argument with Alfie, Kat agrees to move back to Spain with Michael, but ultimately changes her mind and reconciles with her husband. When Kat’s cousin Stacey goes on the run in December 2010, Kat covers for her by lying to the police about her whereabouts. Kat receives a text from Stacey, explaining that her and her daughter Lily (Aine Garvey) are safe in Mexico.


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat gives birth to Tommy, and is rushed to hospital the next day due to complications. While she and Alfie are absent, James, the newborn son of local resident Ronnie Branning (Samantha Womack), dies of sudden infant death syndrome. Ronnie swaps the babies in an act of desperation. A devastated Kat believes her father is to blame for Tommy's death, as he left him alone to go for a drink. After the funeral, Ronnie attempts to return Tommy, but Kat misunderstands and believes that she is rejecting James. Charlie opts to leave Walford, although Kat forgives him before he departs. She is shocked when Michael returns to see his son, and upset when he shows no emotion at learning that he died. Kat's friend Martina Quinn (Tamara Wall) and her daughter Shenice (Lily Harvey) visit from Spain. After they leave, Kat and Alfie miss Shenice, and consider IVF to try for another baby. Their consultant feels it is too soon, and their relationship breaks down again, but eventually they reconcile. Four months after taking Tommy, Ronnie returns him and hands herself in to the police. Kat reacts with disbelief, but a DNA test reveals the truth, and Kat is reunited with Tommy. Kat is initially furious with Ronnie, but forgives her when she is sentenced to three years in prison.


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat and Alfie holiday in Spain, and bring Shenice back with them. Upon their return, Kat gets pregnant again. Alfie believes that he cannot have children and assumes Kat has cheated on him, despite her insistence to the contrary. Alfie learns that he is wrong, but Kat is hurt by his accusation and will not let him near her, even after suffering a miscarriage. Kat has a one-night stand with Mark Garland (Chris Simmons), which she instantly regrets. She eventually confesses to Alfie, and tells him that her behaviour is how she is and always will be. Alfie tells Kat he would rather have her cheat on him than not have her in his life. The couple attempt to mend relations with each other over Christmas, but Alfie overhears Kat saying that she thinks he no longer loves her. Alfie books a session with a marriage counsellor, which Kat initially refuses to attend. She turns up late, and Alfie tells her the counsellor never arrived. Alfie pays his friend Gerry (Paul Reynolds) to pretend to be a marriage counsellor, who comes to their home. Kat tells Gerry that she believes Alfie does not love her any more and so she wants to end their marriage.


title: Kat Slater

text: After Charlie suffers a stroke, Kat stays with him for a number of months, until Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons) calls Alfie, who is with Kat, asking him to return as Kat's relative Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) has gone through many troubles involving Michael. Kat returns with Alfie and comforts Jean, who has broken down. She confronts Michael about it, but he continues with his lies, saying that Jean has been stealing things. However, Kat is not fooled and says she will rip him apart when she finds out the truth. She continues to harass Michael and his fiancée, Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks), until the police get involved and caution Kat and Jean. Alfie informs Kat that he has taken a loan from Eddie Moon (David Essex) but Kat later learns that Eddie is in financial difficulties and so could not have lent them money. Kat is introduced to Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman) who reveals that Roxy and Alfie grew very close while she was away. Kat confronts Roxy who admits she had a crush on Alfie and confesses to giving Alfie the loan. Kat sacks her from her job as a result.


title: Kat Slater

text: Alfie tries to start a football team for the pub, and Kat takes it over. She flirts in order to get people to sign up, and continues flirting at a party, with Derek, Michael, Ray Dixon (Chucky Venn), Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) and Max Branning (Jake Wood), sharing a close moment with each of them. While in the kitchen alone, an unseen man enters and he and Kat have a sexual encounter. She feels guilty the next day and attempts to neglect calls and texts from the mystery man, who has bought her a new phone. Kat eventually responds and talks with the man to tell him to leave her alone, but changes her mind and they begin a frequent affair, and he supplies them with a flat to use. Kat endeavours several times to end it, but she continuously succumbs. He falls in love with her, with Kat reciprocating, and when he sends Kat flowers, Alfie becomes suspicious. Kat lies they are from Charlie, but Alfie does not believe her and asks her to be totally honest, to which Kat reveals her three-month affair, telling him he does not know the other man. Alfie is furious and throws her out. After a heart-to-heart with Michael, Kat returns to The Queen Vic to ask for Alfie's forgiveness and suggests going away for a while.


title: Kat Slater

text: Alfie forces her to end her romance, which Kat does, and they go away together to try and salvage their marriage. When they return, they are shocked to be sacked by Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). However, Kat convinces Phil to give them their jobs and home back, by telling him she is trying to repair their relationship after the affair. When her mystery lover gives her another key to their flat, she writes "Kat loves Alfie" in lipstick on a mirror. As time goes on, Alfie becomes steadily more paranoid of Kat's activity, believing she is still having the affair. Alfie follows her the bedsit where there are petals on the bed and candles are lit. She refuses to answer his questions but Alfie finds a letter address to Mr Branning. Alfie goes back to The Queen Vic where he confronts all three Branning brothers. One of their phones rings, and Alfie answers Kat's call. The phone is Max's, but Kat reveals that it is Derek she was having the affair with. Alfie kicks Kat out of their home and Kat stays with Derek, who promises to show Alfie a message on her phone where she tries to break up with him, but he plays a message where she begs to see him. Kat discovers this and an argument between them, along with Derek's other family arguments, leads to him dying from a heart attack.


title: Kat Slater

text: Alfie starts a relationship with Roxy, who moves in with Alfie, upsetting Kat. Kat teams up with Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) to earn money cleaning, first at the R&R and then at The Queen Vic after being given a job by Roxy. Kat and Bianca are fired from both jobs, so they decide to set up a market stall together, with Alfie offering money to help them start. Kat is upset when Alfie changes the licensee name from Kat to Roxy on the plaque above The Queen Vic doors. Alfie helps Kat when she is questioned over stolen goods, but to prove his love to Roxy, he decides he wants to divorce Kat. Kat fights with Roxy, and has sex with Michael, which she regrets the next day, Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) tells Kat to take control of her life, so Kat tells Roxy and Alfie she had sex with Michael and that he is a better lover than Alfie. Kat has an ongoing feud with Roxy, and is upset when she finds out Roxy and Alfie are trying for a baby. When a man named Josef (Aleksandar Mikic) tries to steal money from the pub's safe, Kat helps Roxy by convincing him not to. Roxy thanks Kat but then accuses her of trying to win Alfie back, which Kat denies. Kat and Alfie receive their decree nisi. Kat says it is not too late to cancel, but Alfie insists he has moved on and proposes to Roxy.


title: Kat Slater

text: When Kat learns that Roxy is not going to meet Ronnie at her release from prison, she goes instead. Ronnie is unwilling to talk to Kat at first, but soon the pair discover that various tragedies in their past mean that they have plenty in common. Kat offers Ronnie a bed for the night, and then gradually persuades Alfie to accept Ronnie's presence back in Walford. This and Michael's death bring Kat and Alfie closer together. The night before his wedding, Alfie visits Kat and it leads to them kissing passionately, but she stops it. Distraught that she cannot be with Alfie, Kat decides to leave Walford, but Bianca takes her to the wedding and Kat walks in to see Alfie say "I do" to Roxy. She leaves the church and heads for the airport, but after she has boarded the plane, Alfie embarks and declares his love for her. He is forced off by security and Kat follows, reuniting with a kiss.


title: Kat Slater

text: Phil decides to sell The Queen Vic, as revenge for Alfie's treatment of Roxy, and Kat and Alfie move back in with Mo. Kat then reveals that she is pregnant by Alfie, and discovers that she is having twins. Having spotted Stacey from the top deck of a bus, Kat decides to track her down. She visits Janine in prison, and agrees to provide a false witness statement for Michael's murder, in return for Janine dropping false charges against Stacey, so that she can return to Walford. At her trial, Janine confesses to her crimes, and Kat is charged with perjury. She is devastated when Stacey hands herself over to the police for Archie Mitchell's (Larry Lamb) murder (see Who Killed Archie?), five years previously. Kat attends a hearing, and is given a suspended sentence. After the market is merged with Spring Lane, Kat immediately clashes with her new rival, Donna Yates (Lisa Hammond) and is later surprised when Alfie reveals he has bought a pitch on the market. Kat gives birth to Bert and Ernie Moon. Stacey is released after she appeals her sentence and comes to live with Kat and Alfie. The financial situation becomes worse for the Moons when Alfie reveals they are to be evicted as they have not been paying their bills.


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat briefly works on the market again, but market inspector Aleks Shirovs (Kristian Kiehling) forces her off her stall when he discovers she is working and claiming maternity benefit. Alfie lies to her that he has managed to convince the council to give them more time to rally together the money they need, but secretly plans to claim house insurance by setting fire to their house. He does so, but is unaware Kat is inside at the time. She becomes trapped although Alfie rescues her. She is badly burnt and suffers permanent scarring to her face. On leaving hospital, she and Alfie remarry with two nurses as the only witnesses, before returning to the square and moving into a flat Alfie had organised for them to squat in. When the owners arrive, they are thrown out and Kat is angry with Alfie, although out of desperation they squat in a new flat with help from Donna. Lee Carter (Danny-Boy Hatchard) calls the landlord of the flat when trying to fix the boiler, so they are evicted again and they stay at The Queen Vic with Alfie's friend Mick Carter (Danny Dyer). After Kat makes an emotional speech to the social housing manager, they are offered a council house in Hull. Stacey tries to stop her but before they leave Kat discovers a photo of Nana that was not lost in the house. Alfie confesses that it was he who started the fire. Kat, appalled by the disclosure, insists their marriage is over and stays with Stacey and Lily. Mo tells Kat that Harry left her some money in his will. Alfie finds out, and tries to convince her to use the money to make a fresh start after the divorce. She takes the cheque from Mo and later rips it up in front of Alfie, insisting it doesn't change the past nor their impending divorce.


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat begins to have second thoughts about the divorce after Pam Coker (Lin Blakley) gives a speech about love and family. Stacey reveals to Alfie that their rent is increasing and Kat is struggling with money. Alfie then invites Kat to his flat for lunch and they reminisce about their relationship. The next day, Kat lashes out at Alfie for leaving leftovers for the children, but at the urging of Stacey, she agrees to be his date to Ian and Jane's wedding if he makes more effort for making up for the fire. On the wedding day, she gets heavily drunk, and during the reception, shoves Sonia Jackson's (Natalie Cassidy) head into the wedding cake. When the nursery raise their rates, Kat is forced to leave the children in Mo's care to work her shift at the market, but ends up having drinks with Kim Fox-Hubbard (Tameka Empson). When Mo brings the children over to the pub, they misbehave and Kat is thrown out of the pub. Undeterred, Kat and Kim continue drinking and sneak into the pub to steal another bottle of wine. Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), catches them, and while Kim leaves to find the cash to pay for it, Linda prepares to call social services to tell them of Kat's irresponsibility as a mother, but Kat snatches Linda's phone and throws it across the ground. When Kim returns with Shirley Carter (Linda Henry), she confesses her fears about being a bad mother, resulting in the other three women sharing their experiences of motherhood and reassuring her. Kat also tells Linda to speak to Mick about her fears that the baby may not be his. Linda then realises that the phone call was still connected, and promises to fix things to make sure social services do not know about what happened, however Kat receives a call from a social worker requesting to visit her. Kat is surprised when a lawyer visits her about Harry telling her about a compensation case with four other women also raped by Harry.


title: Kat Slater

text: After the visit from the social worker, Kat tells Stacey and Mo that she will start saving up to visit Zoe in Spain. Two days later, Kat receives a text from Zoe saying she does not want to see her. Kat is devastated and she writes a letter to the solicitors about receiving all the remaining money from Harry's will, and intends to post it the next morning. The next day, following a conversation with Shabnam Masood (Rakhee Thakrar), Kat changes her mind and throws the letter away but Mo retrieves it and posts it on her behalf. After Kat is robbed, Stacey discovers that Kat has been overdosing on Tommy's medicine. Kat admits to drinking the medicine to numb out her thoughts about Harry, but promises to stop. When Stacey tells Mo that the money would not be good for Kat, Mo has a change of heart and has Harry's money transferred to her own account. Kat later finds out about this, and then, after burning the money, falls into a depression and tries to kill herself. Alfie finds her and calls an ambulance, at the hospital he admits that he is still in love with her. He takes her home and decides to stay temporarily in order to help her with the children and her upcoming visit from another social worker. During the visit, Kat remains withdrawn from answering questions about how she is feeling and why she attempted suicide and insists she is fine, but Alfie says on her behalf that she is not fine but that they are working on it, and admits to the social worker his feelings of guilt from starting the fire.


title: Kat Slater

text: After she almost kisses Alfie, Kat nearly has sex with Max, but regrets it and goes to Alfie for comfort. The next day, she tells Alfie that she wants to get back together with him, but he tells her that he is not ready as he does not want to hurt her again. This causes Kat to reevaluate her life, so she visits the convent where she gave birth to Zoe to seek some answers, though it is now a nun's care home. A nun, Sister Ruth (June Whitfield), remembers her going into labour and they talk about the past and the future. Kat then leaves and goes to the police station to make a statement about Harry. Ruth checks their records and discovers that Kat also gave birth to a son. Later, a content Kat returns to Walford and tells Stacey and Alfie that she has finally made her peace with the past and is no longer willing to let Harry control her.


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat tells Alfie that she wants to reunite with him, and although he initially resists, he later changes his mind. They buy a lottery scratchcard and win £1,000,000. They then plan to move to Spain so Kat can be closer to Zoe. Alfie discovers he has a brain tumor and decides not to tell Kat, so as not to worry her. Kat and Alfie then leave with Tommy, Bert and Ernie to live in Spain.


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat returns to Walford to spend Christmas with Stacey. Alfie follows with the children, and it is revealed that Zoe does not want to see her. Kat is surprised when Sister Ruth visits her, and reveals the truth about her son, whom the nuns called Luke, and Ruth reveals he was adopted by an Irish family. Kat realises Mo knew about Luke, and argues with Mo and Charlie. Charlie has a heart attack and dies, leaving Kat devastated. Belinda returns (now played by Carli Norris) and blames Kat for Charlie's death. Alfie tells her that he has a brain tumour, but assures her it is benign. Kat vows to attend Charlie's funeral, despite her sisters not wanting her there, but on the day, Stacey is mentally ill so Kat stays with her at The Queen Vic. She makes amends with Belinda and tells her about Luke. Belinda then reveals that Viv once took the family (minus Kat) to a village in Ireland called Redwater, and Viv visited a church and left crying, blaming Kat for this, and Belinda saw a couple with a boy watching them leave. Kat then finds out information about Redwater but she and Alfie then leave for Spain.


title: Kat Slater

text: In episode 1 of "Kat & Alfie: Redwater", Kat (referred to as "Kathleen" in the series), Alfie and Tommy arrive in the Irish town of Redwater, where Kathleen is almost immediately convinced that Andrew Kelly (Peter Campion) is her son, while Andrew's grandmother, Agnes Byrne (Fionnula Flanagan) is suspicious of her. Alfie warns Kathleen to wait for the right time and make friends first, but Kathleen confides in Agnes's husband Lance (Ian McElhinney) that her son was taken away from her in 1983 and she believes he is in Redwater. Lance tells Agnes this, and Agnes immediately says Kathleen should not be told the truth as it would unravel everything they have built. Kathleen visits the Byrnes' farm and talks to Andrew about his life, but then Lance warns him to give the Moons a wide berth. Kathleen then admits to Alfie that she is scared of seeing how disappointed her son would be in her. Lance tells the local priest, Dermott Dolan (Oisín Stack), that Kathleen is his real mother. It is revealed that Iris Dolan (Orla Hannon) lost a baby in London and brought Dermott back as her own, and her husband Peter (Stanley Townsend) does not know the truth. The next day, Dermott murders Lance by drowning him.


title: Kat Slater

text: In episode 2, Kathleen and Alfie are invited to Lance's wake by Peter, and when speaking to Agnes and Lance's daughter, Eileen Harrington (Angeline Ball), Kathleen realises that Andrew cannot be her son. Agnes confronts Kathleen and Alfie, so Kathleen realises that Lance told her why they are there. Agnes says Kathleen gave up her right to see her son when she gave him up, but Kathleen explains she did not know she had a son as she had passed out during the birth. Dermott and Tommy hear this, and Tommy asks if he has a big brother. Later, Kathleen and Alfie decide to return to Spain, but Tommy wants to find his brother. Tommy sneaks out of the house, and Kathleen and Alfie try to find him. Andrew's mother, Roisín Kelly (Maria Doyle Kennedy), tells Kathleen that she saw Tommy at the church, so they go there, followed by Agnes. They find Dermott praying with Tommy, who tells Kathleen that he found his brother. Kathleen realises that Dermott is her son, and Dermott confirms this.


title: Kat Slater

text: In episode 3, Kathleen and Dermott have bonded, but she lies to him about who his real father is. Dermott worries that Tommy will tell Peter the truth and threatens him. Alfie realises that Kathleen lied to Dermott, which results in an argument. Dermott overhears them arguing about him not knowing the truth and Kathleen refusing to tell him. In episode 4, Agnes urges Kathleen to return to Spain. When Dermott learns of this he confronts Agnes about taking him from his mother. In episode 5, Agnes tells Dermott to keep Kathleen away from the christening of Bernie Kelly's (Susan Ateh) baby, but Dermott says Kathleen has made him feel welcome and invited him to meet his brothers in Spain, so Agnes reveals that Dermott has a twin sister. Dermott confronts Kathleen over this, who said she was waiting for the right time and insists there is nothing else that Dermott does not know.


title: Kat Slater

text: In episode 6, Bernie, a local garda, asks Kathleen about the last time she saw Lance and Kathleen wonders if she suspects something happened, but Bernie denies this. Meanwhile, Kathleen is unaware that Alfie is having an operation on his brain tumour. Alfie asks Dermott to find Kathleen and bring her to the hospital, as it means they are unable to go back to Spain. Bernie works out that Dermott was involved in Lance's death, and sees him on the beach with Kathleen. Kathleen tells Dermott that Bernie was asking about him. He sees the garda arriving so takes Kathleen in a boat, saying they will try to find the whale that was recently seen off the coast. Bernie shouts at him to stop and calls the coastguard. Kathleen asks Dermott if he did something to Lance. Dermott then accidentally crashes the boat into a rock and Kathleen is thrown into the water and cut by the propeller. Dermott gets Kathleen out of the sea but there is nobody around to help. Meanwhile, Alfie has his operation but loses his pulse and the medical staff start to resuscitate.


title: Kat Slater

text: In episode 1 of "EastEnders: The Podcast", "Kat's Indecent Proposal", set in Málaga in March 2018 and released in November 2018, Kat and Alfie have been running a bar in Spain but have split up and Kat is in a relationship with their business partner, Dimitri (Andrew Byron), who proposes to Kat. Kat finds out from Sofia (Gloria Sanders) that Dimitri invested in Kat and Alfie's bar so that he could run it into the ground and eliminate his competition. Kat wants to see the contract Alfie and Dimitri signed, which makes Alfie think she wants a divorce and he decides to close down the bar. Kat realises Dimitri's controlling ways and decides to take Tommy, Bert and Ernie back to England with Alfie, and leaves Alfie a voicemail saying this and telling him that she loves him. However, Alfie deletes the voicemail without listening to it. Kat and Dimitri go to the bar but Alfie is out, so they stay the night. The next morning, Dimitri does not allow Kat to leave the bed to make breakfast for the children. Tommy decides to make breakfast and Kat's relative, Hayley Slater (Katie Jarvis) arrives to witness Tommy dropping the kettle on Ernie, who is scalded. Kat sees this and screams.


title: Kat Slater

text: Big Mo returns to Walford, telling Stacey that Kat has died. Stacey raises money for Kat's funeral, but Jean arrives and tells Stacey that Kat is not dead as she spoke to her that day; Mo has lied to raise money as she has financial problems. Kat returns to Walford and is confused that The Queen Vic is holding a benefit night for her and confronts Mo, but hides when Ian brings the raised money. After Ian leaves, Kat reveals that she and Alfie are taking a break from their marriage and he is in Spain with their children running a bar with a Russian partner after their old bar failed. Kat, Stacey, and Mo arrive at The Queen Vic whilst Mick is giving a toast to Kat's memory, and she attempts to maintain that Mo made a mistake, but ends up fighting with Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley), which results in a pub fight. Jean pays off Mo's debt, and Kat starts a cleaning business to repay Jean. Kat is furious when she finds her cousin Hayley (Katie Jarvis) in Walford and she demands that Hayley leaves, however Hayley threatens to reveal what has happened in Spain. It is revealed that Kat had cheated on Alfie, and was not watching when Tommy accidentally burnt Ernie, leading to Alfie kicking her out. Kat is unaware that Alfie and Hayley had had a one-night stand soon after, which resulted in Hayley becoming pregnant. After Hayley tells Alfie about her pregnancy, he tries to persuade Hayley to have an abortion but Hayley decides to keep the baby, and refuses to name the father. Kat gets a video call from Alfie and he asks her to collect something for him. Believing him to still be in Spain, she follows his instructions and goes to a chapel where she is reunited with Alfie. Alfie is now running a funeral business and she is angry that he has not brought their children with him, but they make amends. She is later angry when he later reveals that he lied to her about not bringing their children with him to London, but Alfie soon returns to Walford with their children. Though he reunites with Kat, he is shocked to discover that Hayley did not terminate her pregnancy, and insists that they keep it hidden from Kat. Hayley develops feelings for Alfie and she names their daughter Cherry after his deceased mother. Jean finds out that Alfie is Cherry's father and insists that Alfie tells Kat, but he continuously delays telling her.


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat visits a café that Charlie used to take her to when she was a child and meets a family friend, Tony. She also meets Charlie's other friend, Maurice, but he is reluctant to meet her. He later tells her that he was with Charlie and her uncle Harry, and Harry said he "knew how to shut her up". Maurice realised that he was talking about sexually abusing Kat, but could not tell Kat if Charlie had heard this or not. Kat is devastated but Maurice admits that Charlie did not hear what Harry said and admits he lied because he did not like Charlie. On Christmas Day, Hayley gifts Alfie a lock of Cherry's hair which is discovered by Kat, and she realises that Alfie is Cherry's father. Kat and Alfie have a confrontation which causes Hayley to push Alfie down a flight of stairs to defend Kat, supposedly killing him. When the police arrive, they discover that Alfie had survived and had left with Cherry. Alfie returns but refuses to return Cherry and suggests that they adopt her and leave Walford together. Kat agrees but changes her mind and gives Alfie the option to take their children on the condition that he returns Cherry to Hayley. Alfie returns Cherry back to Hayley but takes her back, but returns her again and a sympathetic Kat allows him to spend time with their children. Kat reconsiders a relationship with Alfie, but Alfie's scam leads to debt and after borrowing money from Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and not being able to pay it back, Alfie flees Walford and fakes his death, leaving Kat with money which he took from Phil.


title: Kat Slater

text: Phil taunts Kat for the money that Alfie had stolen from him, but Kat does not know about the money or Alfie's whereabouts and Phil holds her responsible for Alfie's debt. However, Kat later finds the money and uses half of it to fund Jean's cancer treatment. After a brief fling with Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami), they begin dating, but their relationship is tested when Kush announces that he wants to file for joint custody over his and Stacey's son, Arthur. Stacey accuses Kat of supporting Kush and a rift forms between them. Kat attempts to rebuild their relationship but a hurt Stacey refuses and kicks Kat out of her home. Kat moves in with Kush and makes several attempts to reconcile with Stacey which backfires in her face when Stacey hides the money that Alfie had left her. Unfortunately for Kat, Phil revives his interest in the money and he asks Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) to retrieve the money back from the Slaters. They eventually give the money back but Phil continues to menace the Slaters about keeping the money. Whilst drunk in The Queen Vic, Kat drunkenly mocks Phil about the stolen money and as a result, Phil threatens her children. This leads to a showdown between Kat and Phil in The Arches. Martin tries to intervene but Phil becomes aggressive with him and Stacey, in defense, hits him across the head with a wrench. Phil's son Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) arrives soon after and orders the Slaters to leave, and Stacey and Martin flee Walford in fear of Stacey being imprisoned. Ben frames Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) for the attack and he also flees Walford. Kat reveals the truth about the attack to Kush and he moves into the Slater household to protect her against Phil. After recovering, Phil starts to remember details about the attack and confronts Kat who reveals that Ben had covered it up. Bianca's stepdaughter Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) asks Kat to cover her stall as she is being stalked by Leo King (Tom Wells). Leo informs the council that Kat has been working on Whitney's stall without a license, which causes a feud. When Leo is pushed off the balcony of The Prince Albert by Kush, Whitney agrees to help Kush by giving the police a stalking log that she had recorded of Leo. Whitney loses it and Kush is threatened with a criminal record, however, Whitney is imprisoned for murdering Leo. Whitney's lawyer Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) convinces Kush that pleading guilty will help with Whitney's case, but she is refused bail and Kush ends up with a criminal record. Whilst having celebratory drinks in The Queen Vic for Whitney's release from prison, Kat is contacted by an unknown person for help and briefly leaves Walford.


title: Kat Slater

text: Off-screen, Kat gives Cherry to Hayley and visits Stacey. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Kat and Kush face financial problems which are funded by Stacey, from money that she stole from Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton). When Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) increases their rent payments, Kat organises a heist alongside Kush, Phil, Ben and Shirley. This pushes Kat closer to Phil and they begin a fling after Kat breaks up with Kush. During an argument between Phil, Ben, and Callum, Kat is accidentally knocked down by Whitney. After recovering from the accident, Kat reveals her relationship with Phil and they buy the launderette together and convert the back of it into a taxi rank and name it Kat's Cabs. Kat becomes suspicious when Tommy goes missing an she later discovers that he has been talking to Michael's daughter Scarlett Butcher (Tabitha Byron). Scarlett reveals that her mother Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) abandoned her, and she has been living in foster care and is due to be taken into care. Tommy pleads with Kat to foster Scarlett but she is reluctant, not wanting the truth about Tommy's paternity to resurface. Kat is later forced to tell Tommy that Michael is his father, and not Alfie, and agrees to foster Scarlett. She is reunited with Janine and they battle for custody of Scarlett, which Kat wins. After a fire in the Mitchell house which Janine helps to save Tommy and Scarlett, Kat allows her to live with them. When Janine tells Tommy about Michael's character, Kat throws her out.


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat, alongside her family, is forced to move in with Phil after Suki evicts them. Kat becomes jealous over Phil and Sharon growing closer after it is revealed that her son and Phil's adoptive son Dennis Rickman Jnr (Bleu Landau), is the father of Alyssa. When Kim reports Phil's involvement in Vincent Hubbard's (Richard Blackwood) murder to the police, he attempts to leave Walford with his son Raymond Dawkins (Michael Jose Pomares Calixte). Kat tries to convince him to face imprisonment than to go on the run, but he decides to leave with Raymond. Kat and Sharon manage to track Phil down in Clacton-on-Sea and she persuades him to surrender to the police, and Phil is arrested and remanded in custody. He is later released, on the basis that he will become an informant, and they are briefly reunited until Phil ends the relationship, after discovering that he will be imprisoned for life if he refuses to cooperate with the police. He keeps this a secret from Kat but she discovers the truth, and they reunite and become engaged. During their engagement party, Phil is arrested and Kat is left in charge of his businesses. In Phil's absence, Kat struggles to run his business, alongside Tommy's rebellious behavior, and her relationship with Tommy becomes strained. She is forced to sign a package for Phil and to stash it and she visits him in prison, where he explains that the package secures his safety inside prison. Kat agrees to hide the package and later discovers that it is a gun. When Tommy accidentally stabs his bully Sid Bello (Buddy Skelton), Phil summons Sam back to Walford to look after his businesses, leaving Kat unimpressed as she still holds resentment towards Sam for letting Zoe believe that she had killed Den Watts. Sam persuades Phil to purchase Ruby's and she turns it into a wine bar, named Peggy's, with Kat and Sharon co-running it together. When Kat learns that Phil and Sharon have been having an emotional affair, she sacks Sharon and replaces her with Sam after Sam gets shot defending Kat from robbers, unaware that it had been orchestrated by Sam. Stacey's daughter Lily (now played by Lillia Turner) meddles in Kat’s life by finding Zoe online and inviting her to Kat and Phil's wedding. Lily also notices that Zoe has returned to London and arranges for her to meet Kat at Peggy’s bar that evening, however, Zoe ignores Lily’s message and does not turn up, leaving Kat disappointed again. Kat tells Lily that when Zoe is ready to make amends, she will be waiting, likewise with her sisters Lynne, Belinda and Little Mo.


title: Kat Slater

text: Whilst Phil is imprisoned, Sam sends threats to Kat and Sharon under the disguise of Phil’s nemesis Jonah Tyler (Mark Mooney), in her attempt to get revenge on the pair for pushing her out of the Mitchell empire. When Tommy is handed a bullet, Kat contemplates her future with Phil, but he pleads with her to stay and promises to sort it. Kat is later devastated when she hears from Sam and Sharon that Phil has been killed in prison, but he returns on the opening of Peggy’s wine bar, after taking a deal to become an informant for DI Samantha Keeble (Alison Newman). On Phil and Kat’s wedding day, Alfie returns and attempts to sabotage the ceremony by luring Bert and Ernie into his boat and locking Kat in when she finds them. When Alfie cannot find the keys to let Kat out, she jumps into a river but arrives late to the wedding. Kat and Phil are unable to get married but they decide to postpone it to another date, leaving Alfie devastated. Alfie continues to pursue Kat in Phil’s absence, but she tells him that she loves Phil. She discovers that Sam had been responsible for the incident at the bar and threatening her and her children, leading to Kat attacking Sam and throwing her out.


title: Kat Slater

text: In 2000, "EastEnders" executive producer John Yorke decided to introduce the "classic" Slater family. He felt the show needed to go back to its roots and bring back some traditional values. BBC's head of drama, Mal Young commented, "We do not have enough solid families in the soap, there were a lot of fractured families and people who were alone." The family were created as a replacement for the di Marco family, who were axed by Yorke. The family consisted of, grandmother Mo Harris (Laila Morse), father Charlie (Derek Martin), his four children, Lynne (Elaine Lordan), Kat (Wallace), Little Mo (Kacey Ainsworth), Zoe (Michelle Ryan), as well as Lynne's boyfriend Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves).


title: Kat Slater

text: It later transpired that Kat was the mother of Zoe, after being raped by her uncle Harry Slater (Michael Elphick). Actress Jessie Wallace was cast in the role of Kat after the character was developed at an improvisation session for thirty actors and actresses earlier in the year. Speaking of her casting, Wallace commented: "I'm pleased to be playing the champion floosie in the square. I want to achieve Cindy Beale proportions! Basically, Kat goes clubbing, steals other people's men and gets into fights. I love her. Everyone's warned me to expect a lot of stick in the street – Kat's such a full-on character. But I'm prepared for the fact that my life's going to change completely. I can't wait, but at the same time I'm scared." Wallace made her first on-screen appearance as Kat on 18 September 2000.


title: Kat Slater

text: The character was described as "a bit of a floozy", "fiery", "a bitch" and "feisty". Kat is described by the "EastEnders" website saying that as soon as she arrived in Walford with her "fake tan, heavy make-up and hoop earrings", viewers would know that Kat would bring a dose of "Viagra to the men of Albert Square". It continues to read: "Her mum had died, dad was grieving and nan (Mo) was touting stolen meat off the back of lorries (some things never change).


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat wasted very little time in establishing herself as a drama queen by shocking everyone with the revelation that her youngest sister, Zoe was in fact her daughter. Then she stole her dishy doctor boyfriend for good measure." It continues: "With her enemies closing in, there was nothing to do but return home to Walford for help, complete with a huge baby bump"


title: Kat Slater

text: Shane Richie revealed that viewers dislike seeing Kat and Alfie happy. Speaking to "Inside Soap" Richie commented: "People don't like it when Kat and Alfie are really happy. I never used to believe that, but I do this time around. The way that Jessie and I like to think of it is that there's the curtain in the Queen Vic that separates the bar from their home – until you go behind it, you'd never have any idea there were problems. The bar is Kat and Alfie's public stage." With the possibility that Alfie could be the father of Tommy, Richie added: "As soon as I found out, I thought, 'If Alfie isn't infertile, then surely Tommy could be his son'. Jessie and I spoke about the dates of when Alfie was in prison, and when he saw Kat before she had the fling with Michael. The writers reckon they don't match up, but we think they do. Jessie is quite adamant about it!"


title: Kat Slater

text: Upon the return of Kat's father Charlie, Wallace said that this will provide a "big boost" to her character. Talking to "We Love Telly", asked whether it's important for Kat to see Charlie again, Wallace replied: "Yes, definitely. With what happened the night they thought Tommy died, things were still unresolved for them. Although they cleared the air before he left, things weren't right between them, so to have him back with her now makes it all the more special. It's also Charlie that makes Kat realise that she needs to bond with Tommy. He makes her see that she can do this." Discussing what type of mother Kat will be, Wallace added: "I think she wants to be the best mum possible. She knows that this is her second chance to make a go of it and she is determined to do a good job."


title: Kat Slater

text: On 24 April 2004, it was announced that Wallace was pregnant with her first child and that she would take maternity leave from "EastEnders" later in the year. Wallace was intended to depart in December, however a pregnancy scare meant that she was forced to stop filming in August, and scripts featuring Kat subsequently had to be re-written. She returned to filming in February 2005 and made her on-screen return in May. Wallace signed a six-month contract in a reported bid to boost the show's ratings.


title: Kat Slater

text: In July 2005, the BBC announced that Wallace had decided to leave "EastEnders" in a mutual decision with producers. A spokesperson for the show praised Wallace's talent and thanked her for her contribution to the series, stating that "Jessie and the writers want Kat Moon to go out on a high." Kat's exit storyline centred upon her on-off relationship with husband Alfie. Shane Richie, who plays him, also announced his decision to quit in April 2005. In 2009, Wallace stated that she missed playing Kat but had no immediate plans to return to "EastEnders", despite rumours to the contrary. She noted that the public still associated her with her role, and that she was flattered people still remembered her.


title: Kat Slater

text: In February 2010, it was announced that Richie and Wallace would be reprising their roles as Alfie and Kat respectively, with Wallace commenting that she was "excited to slip back into Kat Slater's stilettos." Controller of BBC drama production John Yorke predicted that their return would make "fantastic viewing", given the wealth of new characters introduced since their departure. Wallace signed an initial one-year contract, and returned to filming in July. Wallace and Richie were the first cast members signed by new executive producer Bryan Kirkwood. The decision was made following the resignation of Barbara Windsor, who played Peggy Mitchell, which left what Kirkwood described as a "hole" in the programme. Kirkwood decided that the time was right for Kat and Alfie to return, saying that they "very much herald the new era of "EastEnders"."


title: Kat Slater

text: The plot saw Alfie and Kat regaining control of The Queen Victoria public house after it burned down, and Kat returning to Walford pregnant, with some public suspicions about the paternity of her child . To promote the characters' return, the BBC released a trailer across the BBC network in September 2010. The western-themed trailer sees Kat outside of The Queen Victoria, with various characters looking on and Kat saying "Where d'ya get a drink around 'ere?" with Alfie replying "I think you're gonna' need one." The advertisement uses the tag line "It's all kicking off in the square". The return, in September 2010, drew 9.22 million viewers and 37.7% of the total TV viewing audience. Kat returned on 17 September 2010.


title: Kat Slater

text: Wallace admitted she was nervous about reprising the role of Kat. Speaking to "TVTimes", Wallace said she'd feared she forgot how to play Kat. She commented: "I missed playing Kat," she said. "Now it feels like I've come home. I was nervous at first because I thought I might have forgotten how to play her, but as soon as I stepped back onto the Square she came back to me. Even when I was out of the show, people called me Kat every day in the street. I was flattered and now I'm having a great time. The recent scripts have been brilliant."


title: Kat Slater

text: Talking to "What's on TV", Wallace commented on Kat's reunion with Alfie. She said: "She punches him! Alfie has come looking for her and hasn't seen her for months. He keeps saying to her 'You're fat' and she says 'I'm not fat. I'm pregnant!' Then she says, 'Don't worry Alfie, it ain't yours'. She's peed off with him. He's been in prison and she's had to survive on her own pregnant. But she loves him unconditionally. No matter what they do, they will always end up together. She wants stability... a future for the baby and her. She sets him this challenge and he buys it."


title: Kat Slater

text: Richie revealed in an interview with "This Morning" that Kat and Alfie would be involved in an ongoing storyline, which he said is "going to be the biggest soap story in probably the history of soaps." At the end of 2010, Kat and Ronnie both give birth on the same day, but Ronnie's baby, James, dies and while Kat is in hospital and her baby, Tommy, is unattended, Ronnie swaps the infants. The storyline received over 6,000 complaints, making it the second most complained about "EastEnders" storyline. It was then decided to end the storyline earlier than originally planned. It was reported by the "Daily Star Sunday" that Ronnie experiences a change of heart after visiting relatives in hospital and seeing the midwife who delivered her son. An "EastEnders" spokesperson said, "We do not comment on future storylines but we have always said Ronnie will do the right thing and Tommy will be reunited with Kat." Wallace revealed that she doesn't regret her involvement of the baby-swap storyline, saying that she was "just doing her job". Wallace told "Bang Showbiz":"I stand by it. We're actors at the end of the day, we do our job and then we go home. It's drama, that's it." She also praised Womack's acting and vowed to move on to "bigger and better things" after she departed. She added: "[Samantha is] a fantastic actress who played a brilliant role in a fantastic storyline so I wish her all the best."


title: Kat Slater

text: Derek Martin said he was surprised by the new baby swap storyline when it was published in the media. Speaking on "This Morning", Martin commented: "I'm one of those actors – I don't know how many others do it – but when I get the scripts, I only read my bits. So I looked [and saw], 'Charlie leaves his grandson upstairs, goes downstairs, gets on the drink, gets drunk – the baby's dead'. So that's terrible guilt obviously – because I feel as though it's my fault that he's died. I was surprised when I saw the story come out – because I don't read the others' [lines] – that it was a baby swap." Discussing the surrounding controversy of the plot, Martin added: "Don't forget, there's millions of people – there's 60 odd million here, and they've all got different opinions. Every subject, everything that comes up... everybody will have opinions about that. So therefore you have to accept that's the public – some are for, some are against, and that's the way it is." He continues: Over the years, don't forget, EastEnders have always had subjects. When [Charlie's] brother had raped Kat and we didn't find out until later on, that was a very strong storyline. And when Little Mo was bashed by her husband Trevor. These stories are all part of real life."


title: Kat Slater

text: Nina Wadia has praised Womack and Wallace for their "acting skills" during the storyline. Marc Elliott added: "The storyline got whipped up into a massive frenzy. It's not representative in any way, shape or form of mothers who have lost their babies." "EastEnders" actress Patsy Palmer has also praised the plot for its "great acting". In an interview with "Take It Easy", asked whether the show's bosses handled the storyline well, Palmer replied: "I think they did. I know there's been loads of bad press, but something like that is always going to be sad to watch and it will upset people. But at the end of the day, it's a drama and it's not real. I think it got blown out of all proportion. Unfortunately, things like that do happen in real life. Babies get swapped and snatched in hospitals. I'm sure that any parent who has lost a child will find even talking about their experience very difficult, let alone watching it being acted out on television. Even my daughter got upset but she is only 9 so maybe I shouldn't have let her watch it. I just didn't realise it was going to be so heart-wrenching, which was down to the great acting."


title: Kat Slater

text: Samantha Womack admitted that she thought the plot was "implausible". She commented: "I thought it was implausible. Most women who lose a child would not go out and abduct one," she told the "Daily Mirror". "But Ronnie is a soap character and she is not necessarily representing real life. Soap is based on controversy and sensationalism because bosses are trying to get high ratings and they can't write things like 'Ronnie had a cup of tea'. Otherwise people wouldn't watch it." On 1 August 2011, Ofcom cleared the storyline. The baby swap storyline prompted a huge 1,044 complaints reported to Ofcom. Ofcom also added that many of the complaints were made because the storyline was presented "in an offensive manner" because it "appeared to suggest that a mother who has suddenly and tragically lost a baby through cot death would react by stealing another baby to replace that loss". Kym Marsh supported Ofcom's decision to clear the storyline. Marsh wrote in her magazine section: "Last week, EastEnders was cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom, the media regulator, over its baby swap storyline, and I think that's the right decision. It's just a storyline, like any other. I understand why people got upset about it, but no-one meant to upset anybody. Soaps are supposed to portray real life to a certain extent, but it's meant to be high drama for entertainment purposes. I mean, how many murders can you have in one square? There's a nod to real life but, for the most part, soaps help take people out of the real world."


title: Kat Slater

text: Wallace previously stated that filming the baby swap storylines "did not stretch her acting abilities". She told "Buzz": "None of it's been really tough for me, to tell you the truth. I go in, do my scenes and then I go home. As an actress you want to get roles you can get your teeth into. I leave it at the gates when I leave work. Years ago, with the storyline when Kat told Zoe Slater she was her real mother, I found it tougher because I was new to the game. But I've been doing it a lot longer now, and can detach myself from it. You have to." On a lighter note, Wallace added: "There are two babies playing Tommy, called Ralph and Shane, and they're dressed in outfits like zebra-skin babygros and little denim jackets – that's the Alfie (Shane Richie) influence. They keep going for Kat's big earrings and they're always grabbing at the chicken fillets I have to wear."


title: Kat Slater

text: In an interview with "Buzz", Richie said that although that Kat and Alfie have received Tommy back, the couple still have problems to face. He commented: "Kat and Alfie are happy to have Tommy back, but they still buried the baby they thought was their son. That destroyed them and their relationship. The cot-death storyline is just the start of what's going to happen to Kat and Alfie. I've also heard rumours about whether Alfie is really firing blanks. He had a fertility test in Spain. Could it be wrong?" Wallace and Richie have hinted that the plot could have a long lasting impact on Kat and Alfie. Shane Richie added: "While Alfie happily throws himself into being a dad to Tommy, it's Kat who's going to be finding things difficult."


title: Kat Slater

text: Shortly after Kat is reunited with her baby, it was announced that Kat would fall pregnant by Alfie, despite Alfie believing he is infertile. Shortly after finding out she is pregnant, Kat falls ill and is rushed to hospital and discovers that she has suffered a miscarriage. The "Daily Star" reports: "The pregnancy takes Kat and Alfie completely by surprise and neither of them know how they really feel about it," a source said. "Kat is understandably very nervous and anxious about having another baby. Her head is all over the place. But before she has a chance to get used to the idea she suffers a miscarriage. It is a cruel thing to happen to them after everything that they've already been through this year. And once again viewers will be in tears as they watch Kat come to terms with losing her baby." An "EastEnders" spokesperson added: "There is a little bit more heartache for Kat and Alfie as they try to rebuild their lives with Tommy."


title: Kat Slater

text: An additional "EastEnders" insider also commented: "The fact that Kat gets pregnant at all is amazing. Alfie has believed that he was infertile after trying to have kids with his wife for ages with no luck. So when Kat finds out that she's expecting, it's devastating not least because it raises some big questions in Alfie's mind." The insider added to "Inside Soap": "Who can blame Alfie for asking some questions here? He stood by Kat while she had his cousin's baby and through the misery of losing baby Tommy. It would be absolutely devastating for him to learn that all this tragedy has driven them apart again." "STV" added that after forgiving Kat for cheating on him with Michael, Alfie would find it hard to get over another betrayal.


title: Kat Slater

text: In 2011, Kat has a one-night stand with Mark Garland as Alfie is showing no interest in her. An insider said: "The trouble is that while Alfie is busy playing that game, a delivery driver who calls at the Queen Vic makes a big play for Kat – and soon she's facing serious temptation." The insider added: "Kat is vulnerable, insecure and at odds with Alfie. It's exactly the sort of state that could see her do something very stupid indeed. Alfie has done serious damage to their marriage but Kat could destroy it completely." Another source added: "In accusing her of cheating on him, Alfie has undone years of good work in building up Kat's self-esteem. No matter what he says now, she feels as though he still sees her as a woman of loose morals. He cooks up a hare-brained plan to keep Kat by treating her mean – and starts ignoring her, basically."


title: Kat Slater

text: In an interview with "All About Soap" Richie revealed how Alfie reacts. He commented: "It's the last thing he expected to hear. He didn't see it coming. He's upset and angry, especially when Kat tries to explain how he made her feel when he accused her of sleeping with someone else when she got pregnant again. He obviously didn't mean the things he said then – he just said them in the heat of the moment, but those words have stuck with Kat." Asked whether Alfie appreciates Kat's honesty, he replied: "Not at all – he'd rather not know. Deep down, Alfie knows that Kat has done things in the past that maybe she shouldn't have, but he didn't know all the details. Now he knows Kat has been unfaithful, he has got to confront the fact. The jury is still out on that one," he explained. "I don't know, if I'm honest. They always seem to take two steps forward and then one step back... They do tend to come through these things, so who knows?"


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat was written out of "EastEnders" temporarily in January 2012. The writers for "EastEnders" organised "emergency script changes" which saw Kat called away to care for her father Charlie after a stroke. It was announced shortly after Wallace's break from "EastEnders" that Sharon Watts, played by Letitia Dean, would return to the series. Numerous tabloids reported that the purpose of Dean's return is to replace Jessie Wallace; this was later denied by an "EastEnders" spokesperson. The spokesperson commented: "There is no link between Letitia's return to EastEnders and Jessie not being around at the moment. We have been working on plans to bring Sharon back for quite some time." An insider added: "Jessie and Letitia are two fantastic actresses and their characters are firm favourites with fans. Viewers can look forward to seeing them back on screen together later this year."


title: Kat Slater

text: Kat returned to the show on 7 June 2012. Wallace praised "EastEnders" writers for bringing back Kat's funny and feisty attitude. Wallace added that it's like going home to her family and that she has missed Shane Richie. Wallace further explained: "Before [my] break, I had the baby swap story and towards the end of last year, Kat was becoming very downtrodden. Now she's coming back fighting fit. It's almost like when Kat first arrived on screen in 2000. She's come back with those original feisty, tarty, funny and a bit cold sides to her. It's a new Kat."


title: Kat Slater

text: In June 2012, it was announced that Kat would embark on a long-running affair with another Albert Square resident after becoming bored with the lack of attention at home. The identity of her lover was kept secret from both the cast and the crew; all scenes of Kat with her lover were filmed with an extra. Speaking of the storyline, Executive Producer Lorraine Newman said: "The consequences are not only great for Kat and Alfie, but also for each individual suspect. The audience will join the cast and crew guessing across the summer and autumn as we eliminate the suspects one at a time, leading to one almighty explosion." After the storyline was announced, five suspects were revealed as potential candidates: Ray Dixon (Chucky Venn), Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd), Max Branning (Jake Wood), Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman) and Jack Branning (Scott Maslen). In a poll on the website "Digital Spy", Jack Branning was shown to be the favourite with 43.5% of the votes. Ray was eliminated when he walked in on Kat while she was on the phone to her lover. Michael was eliminated when Kat confessed to him that she was having an affair. With only the three Branning brothers left as suspects, it was revealed on 20 December that Kat's mystery lover was Derek.


title: Kat Slater

text: On 4 April 2015, the BBC announced that Wallace would appear in a six-part BBC One drama series alongside Richie and would also be departing "EastEnders". In the series, Kat and Alfie visit Ireland in the "search for answers to some very big questions". Speaking about the show, Wallace commented: "I have always loved working on "EastEnders" so when I heard of this new drama to take Kat and Alfie outside of Walford, I couldn’t believe our luck. To be exploring the next chapter for Kat as well as working alongside my best mate, Shane, is a dream come true and a huge compliment." The series, "" began airing in May 2017.


title: Kat Slater

text: "Kat and Alfie: Redwater" follows Kat and her husband Alfie as they arrive in the fictional Irish village of Redwater to "search for answers to some very big questions" and put their past behind them. Treadwell-Collins confirmed that "the discovery that Kat has a secret son will [...] ultimately lead to the Moons realising that the answers to so many questions lie across the sea in Ireland." Director Jesper W. Nielsen said the series is "About how one woman's search for a lost child opens Pandora's box; revealing the terrible lies and secrets in the little village of Redwater". Writer Matthew Graham said, "Kathleen Moon is an unwitting bomb in "Redwater" and creating the debris from her explosive arrival is what drew me to this project." He also said: "Everything [Kathleen] does comes out of the fact she doesn't think much of herself. So, her humour and her in-your-face qualities all come out of a place of insecurity. She doesn't think she's good enough. That's what I use when I'm writing Kat."


title: Kat Slater

text: Wallace was given a makeover for her part in "Redwater", different to how Kat looks in "EastEnders". Wallace explained that Kat's different look is because she has "mellowed" since leaving Walford and travelling to Spain, which she described as a "softer side to Kat than we've seen before", but said she still has a "fiery side to her, just not as much as we've seen in "EastEnders". Wallace described Kat as a "colourful person" with "a lot of layers to her" and said that after playing her for 16 years "means there's plenty underneath to bring to the surface." She said that Kat wants "peace and to settle down with no more drama in her life." In the series, the character is called "Kathleen" by all characters except Alfie, who calls her "Kat".


title: Kat Slater

text: On 20 December 2017, it was announced Jessie Wallace would reprise her role as Kat in Spring 2018. Her return was masterminded by interim producer John Yorke, who created the Slaters in 2000, and Kat will return alongside her grandmother Mo Harris (Laila Morse), and Jean Slater (Gillian Wright). Yorke commented: "The Slaters are one of the all-time great families in "EastEnders" and Albert Square has never felt quite the same since they scattered to different ends of the country, and in some cases beyond. It has been a real joy to find a way to bring them back together and we’re incredibly excited about where we are taking them next. It won’t just be familiar Slaters either as there are a couple of twists and characters to add fresh spice to an iconic creation." Wallace added: "I am thrilled to be returning to "EastEnders" next year and knowing what John Yorke has in store for the Slaters is incredibly exciting. I love Kat and Walford dearly and I cannot wait to get started – watch out Walford, Kat’s coming home."


title: Kat Slater

text: Wallace praised Yorke for returning to family orientated drama and for revitalising the Slaters, a family he introduced, stating that there is "hustle and bustle" within the family. Wallace explained that upon her return, Kat has "got debris to clear up, all the damage" caused by the news of her death imparted by Mo, but her "fun side" has returned, but wants Kat to remain single. With regard to other interactions, Kat could "clash" with Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley), matriarch of the newly established Taylor family.


title: Kat Slater

text: Wallace has won multiple awards for her portrayal of Kat. At the National Television Awards, she was named "Most Popular Newcomer" in 2001 and "Most Popular Actress" in 2003. She also received "Most Popular Actress" nominations in 2002, 2004 and 2005. At The British Soap Awards, Wallace won "Best Newcomer" in 2001. The following year, "EastEnders" won "Best Single Episode" for the episode in which Zoe learns Kat is her mother. Wallace was additionally nominated for the "Best Actress", "Best Dramatic Performance" and "Hero of the Year" awards in 2002, and Zoe's maternity was nominated "Best Storyline". She was again nominated "Best Actress" from 2003 to 2006 consecutively, and shared "Best On-Screen Partnership" and "Best Exit" nominations with Richie in 2004 and 2006 respectively. She was further nominated in 2011 for 'Best Actress'. The "Inside Soap" Awards named Wallace "Best Newcomer" in 2001, Zoe's maternity "Best Storyline" in 2002, and Kat and Alfie "Best Couple" in 2004. A 2009 poll by "Inside Soap" magazine named Kat as the UK's favourite drama queen in a soap opera. Wallace was named "Best Soap Actress" at the 2003 "TV Quick" Awards. Following Kat's suicide attempt, Wallace received the 2002 Mental Health Media Award in the "Soaps and Continual Drama" category. The character's 2018 return storyline was nominated for "Most Bizarre Soap Storyline" at the 2018 "Digital Spy" Reader Awards; it came in third place with 15% of the total votes.


title: Kat Slater

text: A 2010 poll by "Just Eat" to find the "most desired dinner companions" from "EastEnders" put Kat in second place. After the announcement of Jessie Wallace playing the role of Kat, Steve Hendry from the "Sunday Mail" referred to Kat as a "stunner". In February 2011, following Kat's return to "EastEnders", Wallace was nominated for Best Actress at the 2011 All About Soap Bubble Awards for her portrayal of Kat, and was also nominated alongside Richie for Best Comeback. She won the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) Award for "TV Soap Personality" in March 2011. Also in February, the scenes revealing Kat as Zoe's mother has become "one of the most iconic moments in the history of EastEnders". In September 2011, Kat and Andy's wedding was voted as a "wedding from hell" by "Yahoo!". After the announcement that Kat is to have a miscarriage, Tony Stewart from the "Daily Mirror" said that after the baby swap storyline, this is perhaps "too much agony for Kat to bear". An "EastEnders" source added that "It is a cruel thing to happen to them after everything that they've already been through this year". Laura-Jayne Tyler of "Inside Soap" enjoyed Kat's 2018 reintroduction and said that Wallace returned "on full gas, giving nothing less than her trademark powerhouse performances". She felt that Kat's return gave the show "the vital spark [it has] been missing." She added, "You can take the girl out of Walford, but you'll never take Walford out of the girl..."


title: 1211 Avenue of the Americas

text: 1211 Avenue of the Americas (also known as the News Corp. Building) is an International style skyscraper on Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Formerly called the "Celanese Building", it was completed in 1973 as part of the later Rockefeller Center expansion (1960s–1970s) dubbed the "XYZ Buildings". The Celanese Corporation later moved to Dallas, Texas. Currently, 1211 is owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge. The structure has a simple slab-like shape devoid of any decoration, its prosaic façade consisting of vertical alternating limestone and glass stripes. The façade stone piers are supernumerary; there are twice as many of them as structurally necessary. The glass bands are continuous and offer no indication of floor levels. These features ably create the visual lack of scale, so the tower does not look overly bulky.


title: 1211 Avenue of the Americas

text: The building was part of the later Rockefeller Center expansion (1960s–1970s) dubbed the "XYZ Buildings". Their plans were first drawn in 1963 by the Rockefeller family's architect, Wallace Harrison, of the architectural firm Harrison & Abramovitz. Their letters correspond to their height. 1251 Avenue of the Americas is the "X" Building as it is the tallest at 750 ft (229 m) and 54 stories, and was the first completed, in 1971. The "Y" is 1221 Avenue of the Americas, which was the second tower completed (1973) and is the second in height (674 ft and 51 stories). The "Z" Building, the shortest and the youngest, is 1211 Avenue of the Americas with 45 stories (592 ft).


title: 1211 Avenue of the Americas

text: The building served as the global headquarters for the original News Corporation, founded by Australian-born businessman Rupert Murdoch in 1980. It continues to serve as the headquarters for subsequent spin-offs Fox Corporation (2019–present) and the present-day News Corp (2013–present), and until 2019, 21st Century Fox (2013–2019). The building is well-known for housing the main Fox News studios, part of the Fox News Group which is currently owned by Fox Corp. Well-known News Corp divisions housed within the building include Dow Jones & Company, "The Wall Street Journal", and the "New York Post".


title: 1211 Avenue of the Americas

text: Other companies unaffiliated with News Corp that lease office space in the building include Annaly Capital Management and Ropes & Gray LLP.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enlarged the cello repertoire more than any cellist before or since. He inspired and premiered over 100 pieces, forming long-standing friendships and artistic partnerships with composers including Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutosławski, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Norbert Moret, Andreas Makris, Leonard Bernstein, Aram Khachaturian and Benjamin Britten.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich was internationally recognized as a staunch advocate of human rights, and was awarded the 1974 Award of the International League of Human Rights. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya and had two daughters, Olga and Elena Rostropovich.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Mstislav Rostropovich was born in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, to parents who had moved from Orenburg: , a renowned cellist and former student of Pablo Casals, and Sofiya Nikolaevna Fedotova-Rostropovich, a talented pianist. Mstislav's father (1892–1942) was born in Voronezh to , a composer of Polish noble descent, and Matilda Rostropovich, née Pule of Belarusian descent. The Polish part of his family bore the Bogoria coat of arms, which was located at the family palace in Skotniki.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Her elder sister Nadezhda married the cellist Semyon Kozolupov, who was thus Rostropovich's uncle by marriage.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich grew up in Baku and spent his youth there. During World War II his family moved back to Orenburg and then in 1943 to Moscow. At the age of four, Rostropovich learned the piano with his mother. He began the cello at the age of 10 with his father.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: In 1943, at the age of 16, he entered the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied cello with his uncle Semyon Kozolupov, and piano, conducting and composition with Vissarion Shebalin. His teachers also included Dmitri Shostakovich. In 1945 he came to prominence as a cellist when he won the gold medal in the Soviet Union's first ever competition for young musicians. He graduated from the Conservatory in 1948, and became professor of cello there in 1956.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich gave his first cello concert in 1942. He won first prize at the international Music Awards of Prague and Budapest in 1947, 1949 and 1950. In 1950, at the age of 23 he was awarded what was then considered the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, the Stalin Prize. At that time, Rostropovich was already well known in his country and while actively pursuing his solo career, he taught at the Leningrad (Saint-Petersburg) Conservatory and the Moscow Conservatory.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich had working relationships with Soviet composers of the era. In 1949 Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Cello Sonata in C, Op. 119, for the 22-year-old Rostropovich, who gave the first performance in 1950, with Sviatoslav Richter. Prokofiev also dedicated his Symphony-Concerto to him; this was premiered in 1952. Rostropovich and Dmitry Kabalevsky completed Prokofiev's Cello Concertino after the composer's death. Dmitri Shostakovich wrote both his first and second cello concertos for Rostropovich, who also gave their first performances.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: His international career started in 1963 in the Conservatoire of Liège (with Kirill Kondrashin) and in 1964 in West Germany.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich went on several tours in Western Europe and met several composers, including Benjamin Britten, who dedicated his Cello Sonata, three Solo Suites, and his "Cello Symphony" to Rostropovich. Rostropovich gave their first performances, and the two had an obviously special affinity – Rostropovich's family described him as "always smiling" when discussing "Ben", and on his death bed he was said to have expressed no fear as he and Britten would, he believed, be reunited in Heaven. Britten was also renowned as a pianist and together they recorded, among other works, Schubert's Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A minor. His daughter claimed that this recording moved her father to tears of joy even on his deathbed.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich also had long-standing artistic partnership with Henri Dutilleux ("Tout un monde lointain..." for cello and orchestra, "Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher" for solo cello), Witold Lutosławski (Cello Concerto, "Sacher-Variation" for solo cello), Krzysztof Penderecki (cello concerto n°2, "Largo" for cello and orchestra, "Per Slava" for solo cello, sextet for piano, clarinet, horn, violin, viola and cello), Luciano Berio ("Ritorno degli snovidenia" for cello and thirty instruments, "Les mots sont allés..." for solo cello) as well as Olivier Messiaen ("Concert à quatre" for piano, cello, oboe, flute and orchestra).


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich took private lessons in conducting with Leo Ginzburg, and first conducted in public in Gorky in November 1962, performing the four entractes from "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" and Shostakovich's orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Songs and Dances of Death" with Vishnevskaya singing. In 1967, at the invitation of the Bolshoi Theatre's director Mikhail Chulaki, he conducted Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin" at the Bolshoi, thus letting forth his passion for both the role of conductor and the opera.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich played at The Proms on the night of 21 August 1968. He played with the Soviet State Symphony Orchestra – it was the orchestra's debut performance at the Proms. The programme featured Czech composer Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor and took place on the same day that the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia to end Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring. After the performance, which had been preceded by heckling and demonstrations, the orchestra and soloist were cheered by the Proms audience. Rostropovich stood and held aloft the conductor's score of the Dvořák as a gesture of solidarity for the composer's homeland and the city of Prague.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich fought for art without borders, freedom of speech, and democratic values, resulting in harassment from the Soviet regime. An early example was in 1948, when he was a student at the Moscow Conservatory. In response to the 10 February 1948 decree on so-called 'formalist' composers, his teacher Dmitri Shostakovich was dismissed from his professorships in Leningrad and Moscow; the 21-year-old Rostropovich quit the conservatory, dropping out in protest. Rostropovich also smuggled to the West the manuscript of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, emphasizing Soviet indifference to the Babi Yar massacre.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: In 1970, Rostropovich sheltered Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who otherwise would have had nowhere to go, in his own home. His friendship with Solzhenitsyn and his support for dissidents led to official disgrace in the early 1970s. As a result, Rostropovich was restricted from foreign touring, as was his wife, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, and his appearances performing in Moscow were curtailed, as increasingly were his appearances in such major cities as Leningrad and Kiev.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich left the Soviet Union in 1974 with his wife and children and settled in the United States. He was banned from touring his homeland with foreign orchestras and, in 1977, the Soviet leadership instructed musicians from the Soviet bloc not to take part in an international competition he had organised. In 1978, Rostropovich was deprived of his Soviet citizenship because of his public opposition to the Soviet Union's restriction of cultural freedom. He would not return to the Soviet Union until 1990.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: On December 17, 1988, Rostropovich gave a special concert at Barbican Hall in London, after postponing a trip to India for the Armenian Earthquake relief program. The event was part of an effort called "Musicians for Armenia," which was expected to raise more than $450,000 from donations worldwide, including gifts from musicians, concert proceeds and film and recording rights. Prince Charles and the Princess of Wales attended the concert in the sold-out 2,026-seat concert hall.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: On February 7, 1989, a cello concert was organized by the Armenian Relief Society and the Volunteers Technical Assistance (VTA) for the victims of the Spitak Earthquake. At the concert, Rostropovich played his favorite cello repertoire, including Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor; Haydn's cello concerti in C and D; Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto; the two cello concerti of Shostakovich, and others. The evening with Rostropovich raised awareness and helped hundreds of earthquake victims put food on their table. The concert was held at the Kennedy Center and over 2,300 were in attendance.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: From 1977 until 1994, he was music director and conductor of the U.S. National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. while still performing with some of the most famous musicians such as Martha Argerich, Sviatoslav Richter and Vladimir Horowitz. He was also the director and founder of the Mstislav Rostropovich Baku International Festival and was a regular performer at the Aldeburgh Festival in the UK.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: His impromptu performance during the fall of the Berlin Wall as events unfolded was reported throughout the world. His Soviet citizenship was restored in 1990. When, in August 1991, news footage was broadcast of tanks in the streets of Moscow, Rostropovich responded with a characteristically brave, impetuous and patriotic gesture: he bought a plane ticket to Japan on a flight that stopped at Moscow, talked his way out of the airport and went to join Boris Yeltsin in the hope that his fame might make some difference to the chance of tanks moving in.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich supported Yeltsin during the 1993 constitutional crisis and conducted the National Symphony Orchestra in Red Square at the height of the crackdown.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: In 1993, he was instrumental in the foundation of the Kronberg Academy and was a patron until his death. He commissioned Rodion Shchedrin to compose the opera "Lolita" and conducted its premiere in 1994 at the Royal Swedish Opera. Rostropovich received many international awards, including the French Legion of Honor and honorary doctorates from many international universities. He was an activist, fighting for freedom of expression in art and politics. An ambassador for the UNESCO, he supported many educational and cultural projects. Rostropovich performed several times in Madrid and was a close friend of Queen Sofía of Spain.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: With wife, Galina Vishnevskaya, he founded the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation, a publicly supported non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, D.C., in 1991 to improve the health and future of children in the former Soviet Union. The "Rostropovich Home Museum" opened on 4 March 2002, in Baku. The couple visited Azerbaijan occasionally. Rostropovich also presented cello master classes at the Azerbaijan State Conservatory. Together they formed a valuable art collection. In September 2007, when it was slated to be sold at auction by Sotheby's in London and dispersed, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov stepped forward and negotiated the purchase of all 450 lots in order to keep the collection together and bring it to Russia as a memorial to the great cellist's memory. Christie's reported that the buyer paid a "substantially higher" sum than the £20 million pre-sale estimate


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: In 2006, he was featured in Alexander Sokurov's documentary "Elegy of a life: Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya".


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich's health declined in 2006, with the "Chicago Tribune" reporting rumours of unspecified surgery in Geneva and later treatment for what was reported as an aggravated ulcer. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Rostropovich to discuss details of a celebration the Kremlin was planning for 27 March 2007, Rostropovich's 80th birthday. Rostropovich attended the celebration but was reportedly in frail health.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Though Rostropovich's last home was in Paris, he maintained residences in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, London, Lausanne, and Jordanville, New York. Rostropovich was admitted to a Paris hospital at the end of January 2007, but then decided to fly to Moscow, where he had been receiving care. On 6 February 2007 the 79-year-old Rostropovich was admitted to a hospital in Moscow. "He is just feeling unwell", Natalya Dolezhale, Rostropovich's secretary in Moscow, said. Asked if there was serious cause for concern about his health she said: "No, right now there is no cause whatsoever." She refused to specify the nature of his illness. The Kremlin said that President Putin had visited the musician on Monday in the hospital, which prompted speculation that he was in a serious condition. Dolezhale said the visit was to discuss arrangements for marking Rostropovich's 80th birthday. On 27 March 2007, Putin issued a statement praising Rostropovich.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: He re-entered the Blokhin Russian Cancer Research Centre on 7 April 2007, where he was treated for intestinal cancer. He died on 27 April.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: On 28 April, Rostropovich's body lay in an open coffin at the Moscow Conservatory, where he once studied as a teenager, and was then moved to the Church of Christ the Saviour. Thousands of mourners, including Putin, bade farewell. Spain's Queen Sofia, French first lady Bernadette Chirac and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, where Rostropovich was born, as well as Naina Yeltsina, the widow of Boris Yeltsin, were among those in attendance at the funeral on 29 April. Rostropovich was then buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery, the same cemetery where his friend Boris Yeltsin had been buried four days earlier.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich was a huge influence on the younger generation of cellists. Many have openly acknowledged their debt to his example. In the "Daily Telegraph," Julian Lloyd Webber called him "probably the greatest cellist of all time."


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich either commissioned or was the recipient of compositions by many composers including Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Benjamin Britten, Henri Dutilleux, Olivier Messiaen, André Jolivet, Witold Lutosławski, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Leonard Bernstein, Alfred Schnittke, Aram Khachaturian, Astor Piazzolla, Andreas Makris, Sofia Gubaidulina, Arthur Bliss, Colin Matthews and Lopes Graça. His commissions of new works enlarged the cello repertoire more than any previous cellist: he gave the premiere of 117 compositions.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich is also well known for his interpretations of standard repertoire works, including Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Between 1997 and 2001 he was intimately involved in the development and testing of the "BACH.Bow", a curved bow designed by the cellist Michael Bach. In 2001 he invited Michael Bach for a presentation of his "BACH.Bow" to Paris (7th Concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch). In July 2011, the city of Moscow announced plans to erect a statue of Rostropovich in a central square, and the statue was unveiled in March 2012.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: He was also a notably generous spirit. Seiji Ozawa relates an anecdote: on hearing of the death of the baby daughter of his friend the sumo wrestler Chiyonofuji, Rostropovich flew unannounced to Tokyo, took a -hour cab ride to Chiyonofuji's house and played his Bach sarabande outside, as his gesture of sympathy—then got back in the taxi and returned to the airport to fly back to Europe.


title: Mstislav Rostropovich

text: Rostropovich is included in the Russian-American Chamber of Fame of Congress of Russian Americans, which is dedicated to Russian immigrants who made outstanding contributions to American science or culture.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Steve Perry, and Carly Simon helped define the signature sound of the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Jackson Browne and Don Henley have recorded many songs written or co-written by Kortchmar, and Kortchmar was Henley's songwriting and producing partner in the 1980s.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: Kortchmar is the son of manufacturer Emil Kortchmar and author Lucy Cores. Kortchmar first came to prominence in the mid-1960s playing with bands in his native New York City, such as The King Bees and The Flying Machine, which included a then-unknown James Taylor (Kortchmar having been a long-time friend of Taylor's as both summered on Martha's Vineyard in their teens). In Taylor's autobiographical composition "Fire and Rain", the line "sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground" is a reference to the breakup of that band. During 1966, Kortchmar traveled to England, where he spent time as a session musician.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: In 1967, Kortchmar joined The Fugs, appearing on their 1968 "Tenderness Junction" album before following bassist Charles Larkey to California, where they joined Carole King in forming a trio named The City. The group produced an album in 1968, "Now That Everything's Been Said", which received scattered good reviews but was not a commercial success. The group subsequently broke up but Kortchmar continued backing King on her more successful solo career, including the groundbreaking 1971 album "Tapestry". In 1970, Kortchmar reunited with Taylor on his breakthrough album "Sweet Baby James". Kortchmar's work with Taylor and King made him one of the top LA session guitarists in the 1970s and 1980s.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: Kortchmar worked on his own, reuniting with Larkey in the band Jo Mama in 1970 and 1971 and recording solo albums "Kootch" (1973) and "Innuendo" (1980), but he experienced his greatest success backing other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, Harry Nilsson and Jackson Browne (when Browne recorded Kortchmar's song "Shaky Town" for the "Running on Empty" album, Kortchmar sang harmony vocals). In the 1970s he made three albums with Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, and Craig Doerge, as The Section.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: Kortchmar recorded two albums as part of the band Attitudes, with Jim Keltner, David Foster and Paul Stallworth, for George Harrison's Dark Horse record label. The self-titled album "Attitudes" included Kortchmar's "Honey Don't Leave L.A.," which James Taylor also recorded. The second album, "Good News," included several Kortchmar compositions.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: He wrote music for the Cheech & Chong film "Up in Smoke" and he also produced recordings by Don Henley, Neil Young, Jon Bon Jovi, Stevie Nicks, Billy Joel, Hanson, Tracy Chapman, Louise Goffin and others. Kortchmar is featured on guitar on Carole King's 1975 album, "Thoroughbred".


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: In the early 1980s, Kortchmar toured and recorded extensively with Linda Ronstadt and appeared in two of her music videos. He can be seen playing guitar in the video for "Get Closer". In 1983, he played Linda's love interest in the music video for "What's New?". He also appeared with Linda when she performed on the twenty-fifth anniversary Grammy Awards telecast.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: Kortchmar had a cameo as Ronnie Pudding (Spinal Tap's bass player in their early years) in the "Gimme Some Money" video segment of the 1984 mockumentary "This Is Spinal Tap".


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: In 1984, he co-produced and played on Don Henley's album "Building the Perfect Beast". On that album, Kortchmar wrote the songs "You're Not Drinking Enough" and "All She Wants To Do Is Dance". Also on that album, he co-wrote the songs "You Can't Make Love", "Man with a Mission", "Not Enough Love in the World", "Building the Perfect Beast", "Sunset Grill", and "Drivin' With Your Eyes Closed".


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: In 1989, Kortchmar co-produced and played on Don Henley's album "The End of the Innocence". Also on that album, he co-wrote the songs "How Bad Do You Want It?", "I Will Not Go Quietly", "New York Minute", "Shangri-La", "Little Tin God", and "If Dirt Were Dollars".


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: In 1990, Kortchmar co-produced and played on Jon Bon Jovi's #1 album "Blaze of Glory". In 1992, he co-produced Toto's eighth studio album "Kingdom of Desire", he also wrote two of the songs on the album: "Kick Down the Walls" and the title track. In 1993, he co-produced and played on Billy Joel's album "River of Dreams".


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: In 1995, Kortchmar produced and played rhythm guitar on several tracks of The Fabulous Thunderbirds album "Roll Of The Dice".


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: In 1996, Kortchmar formed the group Slo Leak, playing primarily blues rock, and released an eponymous album.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: Kortchmar was brought aboard to produce Van Halen's abandoned second album with former Extreme singer Gary Cherone in 1999.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: In 2004, Kortchmar started a new group, the Midnight Eleven, and the band released its first album in 2005.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: In 2006 he co-produced Hanson's album "The Walk", which was released in the US in the summer of 2007.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: Also in 2006, Kortchmar participated in the Japanese tour of the Verbs, a unit consisting of Steve Jordan and Jordan's wife, Meegan Voss.


title: Danny Kortchmar

text: In 2010 Kortchmar joined the Troubadour Reunion Tour supporting James Taylor and Carole King along with Section bandmates Lee Sklar and Russ Kunkel. In the souvenir book for the tour, his biography stated that he was working on an album of his songs that were originally recorded by other artists.


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP; ), also known as the Chang'e Project () after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program incorporates lunar orbiters, landers, rovers and sample return spacecraft, launched using Long March rockets. Launches and flights are monitored by a telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) system, which uses radio antennas in Beijing and antennas in Kunming, Shanghai, and Ürümqi to form a VLBI antenna. A proprietary ground application system is responsible for downlink data reception.


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: Ouyang Ziyuan, a geologist, chemical cosmologist, and the program's chief scientist, was among the first to advocate the exploitation not only of known lunar reserves of metals such as titanium, but also of helium-3, an ideal fuel for future nuclear fusion power plants. Ye Peijian serves as the program's chief commander and chief designer. Scientist Sun Jiadong is the program's general designer and Sun Zezhou is deputy general designer. The leading program manager is Luan Enjie.


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: The first spacecraft of the program, the Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter, was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center on 24 October 2007, having been delayed from the initial planned date of 17–19 April 2007. A second orbiter, Chang'e 2, was launched on 1 October 2010. Chang'e 3, which includes a lander and rover, was launched on 1 December 2013 and successfully soft-landed on the Moon on 14 December 2013. Chang'e 4, which includes a lander and rover, was launched on 7 December 2018 and landed on 3 January 2019 on the South Pole-Aitken Basin, on the far side of the Moon. A sample return mission, Chang'e 5, which launched on 23 November 2020 and returned on 16 December in the same year, brought 1,731 g (61.1 oz) of lunar samples back to earth.


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: As indicated by the official insignia, the shape of a calligraphic nascent lunar crescent with two human footprints at its center reminiscent of the Chinese character , the Chinese character for "Moon", the ultimate objective of the program is to pave the way for a crewed mission to the Moon. China National Space Administration head Zhang Kejian announced that China is planning to build a scientific research station on the Moon's south pole "within the next 10 years," (2019–2029).


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is divided into four main operational phases, with each mission serving as a technology demonstrator in preparation for future missions. International cooperation in the form of various payloads and a robotic station is invited by China.


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: The second phase is ongoing, and incorporates spacecraft capable of soft-landing on the Moon and deploying lunar rovers.


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: After the "3 steps" phase is done, the phase for the development of an autonomous lunar research station near the Moon's south pole will commence.


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: , China was reviewing preliminary studies for a crewed lunar landing mission in the 2030s, and possibly building an outpost near the lunar south pole with international cooperation.


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: In 2021, China and Russia announced they will be building a moon base together, also formally invited more countries and international organizations to join their International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project being developed by the two nations, as a competitor to the American Artemis Program.


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: The biggest challenge in Phase I of the program was the operation of the TT&C system, because its transmission capability needed sufficient range to communicate with the probes in lunar orbit. China's standard satellite telemetry had a range of , but the distance between the Moon and the Earth can exceed when the Moon is at apogee. In addition, the Chang'e probes had to carry out many attitude maneuvers during their flights to the Moon and during operations in lunar orbit. The distance across China from east to west is , forming another challenge to TT&C continuity. At present, the combination of the TT&C system and the Chinese astronomical observation network has met the needs of the Chang'e program, but only by a small margin.


title: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

text: The complexity of the space environment encountered during the Chang'e missions imposed strict requirements for environmental adaptability and reliability of the probes and their instruments. The high-radiation environment in Earth-Moon space required hardened electronics to prevent electromagnetic damage to spacecraft instruments. The extreme temperature range, from on the side of the spacecraft facing the Sun to on the side facing away from the Sun, imposed strict requirements for temperature control in the design of the detectors.