Jessie Wallace and Michelle Ryan say this Christmas is ‘biggest’ on EastEnders
By Carla Feric, Press Association Entertainment Reporter
Actresses Jessie Wallace and Michelle Ryan have said this year’s Christmas episode of EastEnders is the “biggest one” for the Slater family.
Wallace, 54, and Ryan, 41, spoke about the upcoming festivities on Albert Square, as their characters – mother and daughter duo Kat and Zoe Slater – are at the centre of this years’ drama on the BBC soap.
Ryan and her on-screen mother, Wallace, agreed on this Christmas being the best year to film so far, saying: “I can’t really think of the Slaters being featured so much.”
Wallace agreed: “This is the biggest one.”
It follows Ryan’s return to EastEnders in June after 20 years, which has put the spotlight on her on-screen family.
Her character has been involved in some of the show’s best-known storylines, including one which saw her tell her mother “you ain’t my mother”, before finding out she was.
Zoe made her first appearance in the soap in September 2000 along with the rest of the Slater family, and last appeared on screen in June 2005, when she left Walford for Spain after revealing her part in Den’s murder to mum, Kat.
The duo recounted memories of their time on the long-running soap.
Wallace recalled the Christmas Day episode in 2003, during which her on-screen husband, Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) presented her with a snow machine outside the Queen Victoria pub – which she described as “brilliant”.
They both also listed drama as a “key ingredient” for an EastEnders Christmas special.
When asked about filming a Christmas dinner scene, Ryan said: “This year, there is no Christmas meal for the Slaters. That just didn’t happen.”
Wallace’s character is the current landlady of The Queen Vic pub – a set which she said is her favourite to film in at Christmas.
She joined the soap alongside Ryan in 2000 and has played the role of Kat on and off since.
Her character has been involved in a number of memorable and shocking storylines including the infamous baby swap incident with Ronnie Branning, played by Samantha Womack.
