Charlie Slater

**Charlie Slater** was the father of Lynne Slater, Kat Slater, Little Mo Slaterand Belinda, husband of Viv Slater and grandfather of Zoe, Luke, Vivienne, Freddie, Tommy, Bert and Ernie.

Charlie was a protective and a close father to his daughters, often doing anything for them. For instance, he adopted Zoe in order to protect Kat at a young age and took in his troubled niece Stacey and eventually her mother and brother. Charlie also willingly sheltered two of Stacey's friends in Ruby Allen and later Danielle Jones.

Charlie had his difficulties during his time though first being helping his daughter, Little Mo escape her abusive and nasty husband, Trevor Morgan and when she was raped by Graham Foster. He later found out his own brother Harry Slater raped his daughter Kat, and his granddaughter Zoe slept with Den Watts and was involved in his murder. Charlie also had a battle with Stacey's brother Sean for not respecting the family, was bitten by a poisonous Spider and had to deal with Jean and Stacey's bi polar breakdowns.

Charlie was a well liked local cab driver, having friendships with many of the Walford residents. He had a brief relationship with landlady Peggy Mitchell and found love in Brenda Boyle. Charlie departed from Walford in 2011 but continued to made sporadic appearances until his death in January 2016. In 2021, his daughter Kat opened a Taxi Service in memory of Charlie.

## Biography

### 2000-2006: Family issues

Charlie, at the time, a taxicab driver and the widow of Viv Slater, arrives in Walford in September 2000 with Viv's mother, Mo Harris and his five daughters being Lynne, Kat, Belinda Little Mo, and Zoe, plus Lynne's boyfriend Garry Hobbs. Later on after their arrival, it soon comes to light that Kat is actually Zoe's biological mother and that it has been kept a secret from the whole family except Kat's late mother, Viv. Furiously demanding to know the identity of Zoe's birth father, Zoe and Charlie are disgusted to discover that it was actually Charlie's brother, Harry Slater, who had raped Kat when she was 13, only a teenager. After the dust settles between Kat, Zoe and the family, Little Mo, is raped by Graham Foster, whilst she is married to Billy Mitchell. When Charlie finds out about this, he violently attacks Graham after luring him into his taxi, then locking him inside - as a consequence for this, Charlie is arrested and remanded in custody for grievous bodily harm, to which he pleads guilty however the family now has to pay Graham £10,000 compensation. In addition to this, Charlie's cab licence is also revoked, but is luckily restored later on. Some time later, Lynne, now happily married to Garry, leaves Walford after her baby, Vivienne, is sadly stillborn. Charlie's great-niece Stacey Slaterthen moves in, and Charlie becomes a great father figure to her, assisting her curb her rebellious and wayward attitude. At the same time, he comforts Zoe after she has an abortion. Zoe eventually leaves, soon followed by Kat who is now married to Alfie Moon. However, Stacey's mother Jean Slater moves in with the family.

### 2006-2011: Relationships

Charlie puts an advertisement in a lonely hearts column and becomes a member of an internet dating website, meeting and falling for Brenda Boyle, a Salvation Army member from Clacton. However, their romance begins to fizzle out. After not seeing each other for several weeks, Brenda ends the relationship, telling Charlie that she and her brother are moving to Madeira. Not wishing to end the relationship, Charlie gets approval from Stacey and Mo to go with her. He returns not long after with a Russian woman named Orlenda. Mo is suspicious of her and follows her around. On seeing her with another man, Mo takes a photo to show Charlie. Charlie confronts Orlenda who admits that she was using Charlie for his money and he asks her to leave. When Stacey stops taking medication for her bipolar disorder, Charlie insists that she has to start again as she almost lost her baby Lily. Charlie asks Dot Branning to speak to Stacey as he believes that Lily's father is Stacey's deceased husband Bradley Branning, Dot's step-grandson. Dot then reveals that Lily is not Bradley's. Charlie asks Stacey why she has not told the truth and begs her to take her pills, trying to force one into her mouth. Stacey says she has already taken them and Charlie apologises, then walks out of the house in tears. He spends the night at Patrick Trueman's house, and invites Patrick and Jim Branning for drinks. Later, Sam Mitchell asks Charlie to take her to the hospital because she is worried her baby Richard is unwell, however after driving part way, Charlie tells her the symptoms are normal. As he turns around, he reverses into some boxes in front of a van, and is then stopped by a police officer. The next day, Mo opens a letter for Charlie and learns was caught driving over the limit. They argue as he could lose his driving licence, and Charlie later apologises to Stacey for forcing her to take her pills.

Charlie is shocked when his daughter Kat returns to Albert Square. Kat is trying to avoid some thugs to whom she owes money. They catch up with her at Charlie's house, and Kat tries to escape. In the commotion, Charlie reminds Kat that she hasn't even asked about his life or anyone else's in Walford. Kat's estranged husband Alfie then arrives and chases the thugs away. However, Charlie is then dismayed to learn that Kat is pregnant, and Alfie is not the father. Alfie and Kat reopen The Queen Vic as landlords and give Charlie a job there as a potman. Kat gives birth to Tommy, on the same day Ronnie Branning gives birth to her son, James. Kat is rushed to hospital, leaving Tommy in Charlie's care, but he joins the New Year's Eve party instead. James dies of cot death, so Ronnie secretly swaps him with a perfectly healthy Tommy. Alfie and the rest of the family then discover the dead baby, believing it to be Tommy. Charlie admits to Kat that the baby was left alone as he was drinking, so Kat blames him for the baby's death. Charlie tries to make things right, but eventually realises it is best for him to leave. Mo begs him to stay but he refuses. Mo tells Kat and Alfie, and when Alfie says fathers have feelings too, they run to the tube station. Kat forgives Charlie, and he leaves to stay with Lynne. When Kat and Alfie receive Tommy back, Charlie visits Kat and helps her bond with her son. Kat asks Charlie to return to Walford, but he refuses as he is in a relationship with a younger woman named Eileen, and they are getting married. Soon after, he returns to Lynne's. Off-screen, Charlie suffers a stroke. Kat, Alfie, Tommy and Shenice Quinn go to visit him in hospital and stay with him for a while. Soon after Alfie returns with Shenice and reveals Kat and Tommy are staying with Charlie until he recovers. Kat later returns to Walford with Tommy. Charlie visits Kat and Alfie for Christmas to celebrate their last days in The Queen Vic, and is delighted to learn that Kat is pregnant again.

Charlie returns following the birth of Stacey's son Arthur Fowler. Kat then learns that she had given birth to a boy along with Zoe. Charlie admits to Kat that he knew about Stacey's father, Brian's, other family and that he did nothing to stop him. When an angry Kat demands the truth from Mo about her son, Charlie suffers a heart attack. Charlie manages to tell Kat that he loves her, before going into cardiac arrest. The paramedics arrive minutes later, but are unable to save Charlie, and he is pronounced dead. Alone, Kat says her final goodbyes to her father before kissing him goodnight on the forehead. Shortly afterwards, Stacey runs away from Walford, however, she has a hallucination of Charlie (a symptom of her post-partum psychosis), in the form of a taxi driver who convinces her to return home.