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282-567: Kathleen " Kat " Slater (also Moon and Mitchell ) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders , played by Jessie Wallace . She was also played by Kate Peck in a flashback in 2001 and Sumar-Elise Sandford in a flashback in 2018. Kat is the second eldest Slater family sister and first appeared on 18 September 2000. Kat's usual dress is very short skirts and leopard-print tops, with much make-up and heavy fake tan. Her initial stint saw her involved in many storylines, most significantly in

564-411: A miscarriage , an affair with Derek Branning ( Jamie Foreman ) which briefly ends her marriage with Alfie, becoming penniless and permanently scarred in a fire and becoming a millionaire. In 2015, Kat's most prominent storyline – her rape, is revisited when it is revealed that Kat had given birth to twins and she has a secret son, Zoe's twin brother and this facilitates the character's second exit from

846-551: A 10-episode recurring role in EastEnders , the first episode being on 18 September 2012. Speaking of the storyline involving Trish, Harold told Inside Soap that when Trish arrives at Lola's house, "everything goes wrong at once", and explained that "Trish isn't given a good impression of Lola as a mother, and Lola isn't impressed when she sees her taking pages of notes". Lola is not happy about Trish getting involved in her life with daughter Lexi. All About Soap described Trish as

1128-403: A Christmas nativity play, he urges Kat to play Snow White . After the play, Kat kisses Alfie but immediately tells him that it was a on/off. When Phil returns Kat reveals the kiss, and he asks her to choose, in which she chooses Phil. DCI Keeble, in her final act of revenge against Phil, kidnaps Kat and Tommy. When Keeble threatens to shoot Tommy, Kat tries to wrestle her for the gun but the bullet

1410-683: 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

1692-413: A bad temper, so Lola's access does not change. Lola is angry and devastated, and Trish lends her support to Lola. After Phil and Lola sort their differences, Trish visits Phil and informs him that social services are preparing to increase Lola's visits to Lexi, with a view to returning Lexi to Lola in a couple of months. Checking on Lola's progress, Trish arrives unexpectedly and is invited to and attends

1974-556: A better chance of getting Lexi, and during a meeting between Trish, Phil and Lola, where Trish is assessing Phil, Sharon interrupts and introduces herself to Trish. When Alexa drops the assault charge, Lola thinks she will get Lexi back, but Trish informs her that the neglect case is still pending. Trish attends court where Phil is granted custody of Lexi, being her foster father, and Lola is allowed three access visits per week. When Lola learns that Phil wants to take Lexi on holiday for two weeks, Lola asks Trish's advice. Trish says that Lola

2256-643: A big part of the show over the past few months and with their current storyline, bosses felt that it was the right time for their characters to leave the Square. There is still plenty more drama to come from the Cokers before they leave Walford." Of Pat and Les, Kate White of Inside Soap said "Pat had, erm, 'relations' with Mr Coker the undertaker. What a forward-thinking way to get a discount on your funeral." The Daily Mirror 's Jane Simon commented on Les's scenes, saying "You don't often get laughs out of an undertaker, but

2538-495: 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

2820-625: 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

3102-530: A call from Lola on his 21st birthday, ending her relationship with him and revealing she is now with Dexter Hartman (Khali Best), who is determined to provide Lexi with a stable upbringing. On 20 December 2018, it was announced that Harold would reprise the role of Lola, set to return in April 2019 with her daughter, Lexi. John Hewland , played by Jesse Birdsall , is the fiancé of Sharon Rickman ( Letitia Dean ). He first appears on 13 August 2012, cast as part of

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3384-421: 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. 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

3666-693: A censorship apparatus for the inevitability of war. Due to the BBC's advancements in shortwave radio technology, the corporation could broadcast across the world during the Second World War. Within Europe, the BBC European Service would gather intelligence and information regarding the current events of the war in English. Regional BBC workers, based on their regional geo-political climate, would then further censor

3948-451: A chicken, and is annoyed when they do not win. On 21 August, Nico sacks Fatboy when he stands up to him about being mistreated at work. In Inside Soap magazine, Kate White said of Nico: "He may give Fat Boy a headache, but we have a crush on McKlunky's manager. He's not had the fanfare of Tyler (Tony Discipline) or Joey ( David Witts ), but he's the fittest fella on the Square right now!" Alice Branning , played by Jasmyn Banks ,

4230-521: 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

4512-579: A christening for her at the hospital with her uncle, Ricky Butcher ( Sid Owen ) and his stepdaughter Whitney Dean ( Shona McGarty ), as godparents. Janine and Michael bring Scarlett home on 7 August 2012 and Janine worries as there are no nurses to help her. On 14 September, Janine leaves Walford temporarily, leaving Scarlett in Michael's care. Eight years later, Scarlett reappears in London when she contacts her half-brother, Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendal) online. It

4794-406: 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

5076-409: A cough, so Trish decides to visit daily. When Lola is arrested for assault, Trish takes Lexi into care. In a desperate plea to save Lexi, Lola tells Ben's father, Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden ), that Ben is Lexi's father, following their one-night stand a year previously. Phil agrees to help get Lexi back, on the condition that Lexi lives with him. Lola eventually agrees and Lexi visits her 3 times

5358-403: A cough. Trish finds out that Billy has lied about being employed, and then decides to visit daily as she feels he and Lola are not coping as she has used a tea towel as a nappy and the flat has not been cleaned. When Lola is arrested for assaulting Alexa Smith ( Saffron Coomber ), she is angry to see Trish arrive with the police. She bites Trish to stop her taking Lexi, but fails to stop her and

5640-481: A couple with a boy watching them leave. Kat then finds out information about Redwater but she and Alfie then leave for Spain. 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 )

5922-438: A daily basis, to protect children, not to target families. EastEnders ' shabby portrayal of an entire profession has made a tough job even tougher. Another social worker said "Accurate procedures were not followed [when a character's baby was taken away]. Was it police protection, section 20? Where was the immediate risk to the baby? As a social worker, I was in tears, as was a colleague of mine, watching how our profession

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6204-582: A date with him. They begin a relationship, but Kat later discovers Nish's manipulative nature and ends things after a confrontation. Tommy starts to antagonise Kat with rebellious behaviour, and after a heated argument, Tommy punches Kat in the stomach, causing her to push him and he hits a table. Tommy later calls the police on Kat. Social services get involved but Alfie intervenes and Tommy admits that he lied about Kat hitting him, out of spite because she had refused to buy him new trainers. Tommy continues to rebel against Kat and assaults her. She conceals this from

6486-401: A detention on purpose, just to avoid working for Kim. When playing basketball with Kim and Morgan, the charity shop window is broken and Sasha takes the blame. Sasha then starts working at the shop to make up for it, and falls out with Kim. Kim treats her to dinner and sees that Sasha fancies Fatboy ( Ricky Norwood ). Kim then helps Sasha to find a work experience placement in a hospital, but

6768-471: 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). 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

7050-570: 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. 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

7332-525: A family dinner with Lola, Phil and Sharon. At the dinner, Sharon tells Trish that she and Phil are back together. At the court hearing, Trish is present when Lola is re-awarded custody of Lexi. She also visits Lola at home to see how she is coping. On another visit in August, Trish tells Lola she will cut back her visits to once a month as Lola is doing so well, and says soon she may not need to visit at all. In 2017, Trish visits Denise Fox ( Diane Parish ), who

7614-423: 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

7896-597: 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 and 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

8178-407: A future for the baby and her. She sets him this challenge and he buys it." "The storyline presented Ronnie with grief, disbelief and anger and the temporary breakdown of her relationship as well as her gradual coming to terms with her loss and the efforts to re-build her life following the tragedy. This underlined the fact to viewers that whilst the loss of baby James was a catalyst, Ronnie's reaction

8460-477: A guest character. He then appeared in five episodes between June and July 2012. Les was reintroduced for one episode on 25 March 2014 when he arranges Nick Cotton 's ( John Altman ) funeral. Following this, Sloman was reintroduced as a regular cast member with Les' wife, Pam ( Lin Blakley ) being introduced also. Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins said "Les and Pam are part of our plans to rejuvenate

8742-416: 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. 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

Kat Slater - Misplaced Pages Continue

9024-491: A job at his new restaurant. Jane does not want to take the job but, when Gethin rings the next day, her friend Tanya Jessop ( Jo Joyner ) arranges for them to meet up. Jane passes the interview, but reveals to Tanya that the restaurant is in Cardiff . Gethin returns to Walford to attend Jane's leaving party. Jane has doubts about leaving Walford but later assures Gethin she wants to take the job, with him revealing his plans to set up

9306-443: A kiss, Kat and Alfie decide to reunite once again. 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

9588-461: A larger brand: in 2003, BBC Choice was replaced by BBC Three , with programming for younger adults and shocking real-life documentaries, BBC News 24 became the BBC News Channel in 2008, and BBC Radio 7 became BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2011, with new programmes to supplement those broadcast on Radio 4. In 2008, another channel was launched, BBC Alba , a Scottish Gaelic service. During this decade,

9870-416: 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

10152-414: 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

10434-534: A liar after he denies having anything to do with Paul's death. When they arrive home, Pam tells him he needs to be Christine again. Les later suffers a small heart attack after talking to Linda Carter ( Kellie Bright ) who tries to comfort him and he eventually dresses up as Christine. Les then asks Pam if she would consider leaving Walford together for a fresh start after the trial is over which she agrees. Les and Pam are delighted when Babe returns all of their money. However, they decide to leave and Les appoints Billy as

10716-498: A loan shark named Shifty Shiv ( Peter Caulfield ) and is being threatened for repayment. Kat seeks Phil’s help to pay off Shiv and stop his threats. Kat’s nephew Freddie ( Bobby Brazier ) decides to search for his estranged father, Graham Foster ( Alex McSweeney ), despite the Slaters' objections. Kat is forced to reveal to Freddie that Graham had raped Little Mo, and she leaves Walford briefly to comfort Little Mo. When she returns, Kat

10998-471: 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

11280-528: 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. 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

11562-526: 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

Kat Slater - Misplaced Pages Continue

11844-519: 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. 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

12126-446: A murder scene. Kim exaggerates the details of the murder, which scares Sasha. Kim then hears from Ray that Sasha is a good dancer, but it emerges that she has no rhythm. Sasha then attends Kim's fitness class but does not enjoy it. When Kim opens her bed and breakfast, Sasha offers to help book theatre tickets for a customer. She is caught using Kim's credit card at school and gets a detention for it. However, she reveals she tried to get

12408-461: A new job in Birmingham . Lexi Pearce (also Mitchell ), played by Isabella Brown, is the daughter of Lola Pearce ( Danielle Harold ) and Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe/ Harry Reid / Max Bowden ), who is born in the live segment of 23 July episode . From 2012 until July 2015, Lexi was portrayed by Dotti-Beau Cotterill. She was previously played by two babies. Her return in 2019, alongside Lola's,

12690-599: A news and information service. In 1978, BBC staff went on strike just before the Christmas, thus blocking out the transmission of both channels and amalgamating all four radio stations into one. Since the deregulation of the UK television and radio market in the 1980s, the BBC has faced increased competition from the commercial sector (and from the advertiser-funded public service broadcaster Channel 4 ), especially on satellite television, cable television, and digital television services. In

12972-489: A number of additional channels and radio stations have been launched: Radio 5 was launched in 1990, as a sports and educational station, but was replaced in 1994, with BBC Radio 5 Live to become a live radio station, following the success of the Radio 4 service to cover the 1991 Gulf War . The new station would be a news and sport station. In 1997, BBC News 24 , a rolling news channel, launched on digital television services, and

13254-457: 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

13536-399: A plot twist that sees her supposedly sister Zoe Slater ( Michelle Ryan ), revealed to be her daughter after she was raped by her uncle Harry Slater ( Michael Elphick ) as a child. Kat and Zoe's relationship is tested several times, and a feud forms when they compete against each other for the affection of Anthony Trueman ( Nicholas Bailey ). Another key aspect to the character's storylines

13818-732: A proposal to cut 4,000 jobs, and to privatise parts of the BBC, disrupted much of the BBC's regular programming. In 2006, BBC HD launched as an experimental service and became official in December 2007. The channel broadcast HD simulcasts of programmes on BBC One , BBC Two , BBC Three and BBC Four as well as repeats of some older programmes in HD. In 2010, an HD simulcast of BBC One launched: BBC One HD . The channel uses HD versions of BBC One's schedule and uses upscaled versions of programmes not currently produced in HD. The BBC HD channel closed in March 2013 and

14100-478: A relationship and plan to leave Walford when Jay is wanted by the police. When Lola, Lexi and Jay try to leave, Jay is arrested by the police and Lola discovers that Billy was the one who reported Jay to try and stop Lola and Lexi leaving. Lola eventually convinces Billy that she does not want to live in Walford, so she and Lexi can have a better life. Billy and Lola share an emotional farewell and Lola leaves for Newcastle , taking Lexi with her. In October, Jay receives

14382-634: A relationship with Phil after sleeping with him, surviving an accidental hit-and-run by her friend Whitney Dean ( Shona McGarty ), taking temporary custody of Tommy's half-sister Scarlett Butcher (Tabitha Byron), a feud with Scarlett's mother Janine Butcher ( Charlie Brooks ), clashing with Phil's sister Sam Mitchell ( Kim Medcalf ) and his ex-wife Sharon Watts ( Letitia Dean ) over the Mitchell empire, her tumultuous marriage to Phil, and suffering parental abuse from her son Tommy. Wallace has won multiple awards for her portrayal of Kat, who has become one of

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14664-487: 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 ). It later transpired that Kat was the mother of Zoe, after being raped by her uncle Harry Slater ( Michael Elphick ). Actress Jessie Wallace

14946-566: A restaurant in Paris, with Jane as sous chef. Freegard auditioned for the part of Gethin but thought his audition did not go well because he found it "difficult without any sense of context to get the full grasp of what your character's all about." He filmed his scenes over two days in November 2011. Gethin is the first Welsh character in EastEnders since Huw Edwards , played by Richard Elis from 1996 to 1999. Sasha Dixon , played by Rebecca Sanneh,

15228-401: 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

15510-472: A second series, it was announced that Kat would instead return to EastEnders ; she returned on 22 March 2018. On 26 January 2020, Wallace was suspended from the soap for two months due to her off-screen behaviour; she ultimately returned to work when production of the series resumed during the COVID-19 pandemic . Kat departed on 23 March 2020 and returned on 7 September 2020. In the events of Kat's second stint on

15792-539: A series of strikes; however, the BBC stated that the cuts were essential to move the organisation forward and concentrate on increasing the quality of programming. On 20 October 2010, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced that the television licence fee would be frozen at its current level until the end of the current charter in 2016. The same announcement revealed that the BBC would take on

16074-422: 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. After Charlie suffers a stroke, Kat stays with him for

16356-646: A six-month contract in a reported bid to boost the show's ratings. 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

16638-533: 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

16920-448: A storyline to bring Sharon back to the series. A show insider called the storyline "dramatic" and said: "The scriptwriters have come up with a dramatic storyline that sees Sharon contact Phil ( Steve McFadden ) after she realises she doesn't want to marry her fiancé." John first appears when Sharon returns to her wedding to collect her son Dennis Rickman (Harry Hickles) after walking out on John, but forgetting to collect Dennis. Dennis

17202-441: A termination. Kat tells Lily that she does not have to go through with it if she does not want to. Lily tells her that it was her decision but she is having second thoughts. After a heart-to-heart with Kat about Zoe, Lily decides to keep the baby and tell the father Ricky Branning (Frankie Day). Kat provides financial support to Lily, which leads to tension with Stacey, who is struggling with debt. Kat learns that Stacey owes money to

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17484-430: A week. Lola is angered when Phil decides to tell Ben he is a father. Phil later wins custody of Lexi and is allowed to be her kinship foster carer and Lola's access is not increased, leaving her devastated. Phil organises a christening for Lexi on 1 January 2013, but Lola is angry to discover that he plans to name her "Mitchell" instead of "Pearce", however after a talk with Phil – Lola later agrees that they are all part of

17766-779: A wine bar, rebranding it "Peggy's", in honour of their late mother Peggy Mitchell ( Barbara Windsor ), 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

18048-583: Is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London , England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company , it evolved into its current state with its current name on New Year's Day 1927. The oldest and largest local and global broadcaster by stature and by number of employees, the BBC employs over 21,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 17,200 are in public-sector broadcasting. The BBC

18330-448: 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

18612-507: Is a foster mother and Pam used to help children in care. Les holidays in Gran Canaria with Claudette, although Pam sees it as a coincidence when she learns from Claudette's foster daughter Donna Yates ( Lisa Hammond ) that they are both there at the same time. Les arranges a party for the centenary of Coker & Sons, and Pam gets upset at the thought that their grandson, Paul ( Jonny Labey ), will not attend. The same day, Paul returns but

18894-476: Is a girl. During the live episode of 23 July 2012, Lola goes into labour whilst her grandfather Billy Mitchell ( Perry Fenwick ) is carrying the Olympic Flame through Walford . Aided by Cora Cross ( Ann Mitchell ), Jay, Ben, Patrick Trueman ( Rudolph Walker ), Fatboy ( Ricky Norwood ) and Nico Papadopalous ( Aykut Hilmi ), Lola gives birth to her daughter, with Billy making it just in time to witness

19176-489: Is also concerned when Lola returns with her friend Jay Brown ( Jamie Borthwick ), as he is on police bail for perverting the course of justice in relation to a murder. Trish comes back the next day with a list of concerns, and tells Lola she will be visiting more due to her bad attitude. Trish visits Lola again on several occasions, and sees paint on Lexi's feet, so tells Lola off as it could cause an allergic reaction, though it does not. Trish later worries when Lexi develops

19458-412: Is baby Alyssa 's father, becoming a father at 13. Kate White of Inside Soap said that she thinks Dennis' nickname "Denny" is, "the single most annoying thing in soap. If we hear Sharon shout it once more, we'll go mad!" After Landau's first appearance as Dennis, viewers reacted on social media website Twitter, saying that the "new Denny" looked nothing like the "old Denny". In August 2017, Landau

19740-439: Is born in the episode broadcast on 22 June 2012. Scarlett was written out of the series in late 2013, as part of Janine's upcoming exit storyline. On 14 June 2021, it was announced that Scarlett would be returning alongside Janine. On 16 August 2021, it was announced Tabitha Byron would be taking over the role of Scarlett. The character returned on 27 August 2021, and left on 26 January 2023, to tie in with Janine's fourth exit from

20022-447: Is cold towards Les. He reveals he is aware of his long running affair with Claudette and that was why he went to work abroad in the first place, not because of Pam's decision to euthanise his father as they previously believed. Paul threatens to expose the affair to Pam so Les tries to end things with Claudette, but Claudette tells Les that it will not be that easy. Claudette's son Vincent Hubbard ( Richard Blackwood ) then becomes aware of

20304-477: Is contacted by an unknown person for help and briefly leaves Walford. 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

20586-503: Is devastated again, so Billy asks Lexi's grandfather Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden ) for help, and Phil decides to apply for a residency order for Lexi to live with him. Trish later arrives at Lola's, but without Lexi as she is ill. Trish is present when Phil decides to take Lexi to see his son, Lexi's father Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe), who is in prison for murder, and Trish and Lola both refuse to let him. Phil asks Sharon Rickman ( Letitia Dean ) to pretend to be his fiancée to have

20868-402: Is devastated when Stacey hands herself over to the police for Archie Mitchell 's ( Larry Lamb ) murder (see Who Killed Archie? ), four 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

21150-417: Is devastated when Trish takes Lexi from her. Lola decides to fight for Lexi and visits Trish at her office, apologising for biting her and asking when she can take Lexi home. Trish says she will have to attend parenting classes and have three access visits a week. Lola gets angry, so Trish says that her behaviour could cause her to lose Lexi for good. Trish brings Lexi to Lola again, but after Lexi leaves, Lola

21432-505: Is disgraceful to see a publicly funded broadcaster deliberately spreading misinformation about the child protection process because it is too lazy and arrogant to get it right. We regularly give advice to programmes about social work storylines; we would like to know who advised EastEnders so badly. Social workers have a difficult enough job as it is. Unlike the writers and actors on EastEnders , they have to step through those front doors that no one else wants to step through, and they do it on

21714-490: 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

21996-522: Is distressed to learn that Alfie might have prostate cancer and that Phil had kept this from her. She calls off their wedding, and Phil subsequently sleeps with Emma Harding ( Patsy Kensit ) which he hides from Kat. Kat and Phil reconcile and marry in September 2023. During Sharon’s hen night, Kat overhears Sharon telling Linda Carter ( Kellie Bright ) that Phil is the father of her son, Albie Watts . Kat decides to tell Phil, but Sharon intervenes, threatening to use Albie to reunite with Phil if Kat reveals

22278-561: 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. Kat, alongside her family,

22560-424: Is entitled to her access visits and can seek legal advice, however Lola agrees to let Phil go. When Phil returns, Trish informs him that she is pleased with Lola and she may get full custody of Lexi soon, leaving Phil unhappy. Trish attends a court hearing, stating Lola's positive progress and recommending that Lola has increased access to Lexi, but Phil has his solicitor tell the court that Lola turns up late and has

22842-546: 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

23124-415: Is forced to reveal that she lied about knowing someone in forensics. However, she successfully gets Sasha a placement with Les Coker 's ( Roger Sloman ) firm of funeral directors, and Sasha enjoys her first day there. Nico Papadopoulos , played by Aykut Hilmi , is a worker at McKlunky's fast food restaurant, who Fatboy ( Ricky Norwood ) irritates after a night out. When Fatboy gets a job at McKlunky's

23406-413: Is her marriage to Alfie Moon ( Shane Richie ), prior to which she became briefly engaged to Andy Hunter ( Michael Higgs ); after Kat jilted Andy on their wedding day, he blackmailed her into sleeping with him in his revenge bid against Alfie and Kat. Kat was absent between November 2004 and May 2005 following Wallace's maternity leave, but returned early to tie in with Zoe’s exit storyline. Kat later left

23688-581: Is her son, and Dermott confirms this. 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

23970-619: Is horrified at him having lied to, and tells Les he disgusts her. However, Pam agrees to "meet" Christine. Les, as Christine, explains that this is how he can cope with things, as Christine is more open than Les, and he is still the same person. Pam apparently begins to accept this, but when Paul interrupts, Pam says she cannot accept it, so packs a bag and leaves, while Paul comforts Les. Paul manages to convince Pam to return home to talk to Les, but when she gets hesitant again, Les moves out to give Pam some time to think, and he moves in with Billy. Pam and Les have dinner together but she still cannot get

24252-493: 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

24534-489: 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

24816-424: Is instantly smitten with Jimmy and cries as she holds him for the first time. Carly and Jimmy leave Walford, taking Shirley to stay with them. Kellie Shirley said that she was worried about dropping the baby while filming, but said it was "a really nice experience, especially as he was a really good baby." She confirmed that Ryan's mother was on set during filming so that he did not become frightened or confused, and

25098-416: 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

25380-400: 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

25662-716: Is not too late to cancel, but Alfie insists he has moved on and proposes to Roxy. 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

25944-406: 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

26226-500: Is obviously of paramount importance." Reith succeeded in building a high wall against an American-style free-for-all in radio in which the goal was to attract the largest audiences and thereby secure the greatest advertising revenue. There was no paid advertising on the BBC; all the revenue came from a tax on receiving sets. Highbrow audiences, however, greatly enjoyed it. At a time when American, Australian and Canadian stations were drawing huge audiences cheering for their local teams with

26508-655: 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

26790-433: Is planning to have her baby adopted when it is born. She tells Trish that she does not want to spend any time with the baby. Trish visits Denise to inform her about how her son is doing with his potential adoptive parents. Trish and Denise both sign the paperwork for the adoption and Trish gives Denise a letter from the adoptive family, who have named the child Raymond . Churchard's official credits list her as having filmed

27072-421: 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

27354-425: Is questioned by Kim Fox ( Tameka Empson ) about Ray's past relationships. Ray introduces her to Morgan, angering Morgan's mother, Bianca Butcher ( Patsy Palmer ). In May Sasha returns to stay with Ray, and his girlfriend Kim. Kim struggles to accept Sasha and worries that Sasha will make her look stupid. Kim then looks after Sasha, and after Sasha tells Kim about her interest in forensic science, Kim takes her to

27636-448: Is ready to make amends, she will be waiting, likewise with her sisters Lynne, Belinda and Little Mo. 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

27918-426: 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

28200-406: Is responsible for operational management and delivery of services within a framework set by the board, and is chaired by the director-general , currently Tim Davie , who is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief. The corporation has the following in-house divisions covering the BBC's output and operations: Scarlett Butcher The following are characters who first appeared in

28482-453: 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

28764-465: 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

29046-630: Is set by the British Government , agreed by Parliament , and is used to fund the BBC's radio, TV, and online services covering the nations and regions of the UK. Since 1 April 2014, it has also funded the BBC World Service (launched in 1932 as the BBC Empire Service), which broadcasts in 28 languages and provides comprehensive TV, radio, and online services in Arabic and Persian . Some of

29328-514: Is set off. Keeble is shot and she threatens to have Kat arrested and sent to prison, but Phil threatens to expose her as corrupt if she proceeds to do so. Keeble agrees to drop her threats, but Kat once again contemplates her future with Phil. After a heart-to-heart with Alfie, Kat decides to reconcile with Phil when he promises to protect her and Tommy from another dangerous situation. In January 2023, Lily confides in Kat about her underage pregnancy and tells her that Stacey and Martin booked her in for

29610-399: 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. Kat visits a café that Charlie used to take her to when she was

29892-407: Is still in love with Kat. 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

30174-408: 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

30456-629: 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

30738-451: 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

31020-439: Is the blackmailer and orders her away. Pam and Les vow to tell Paul who she is, but Paul is killed in a homophobic attack. Pam struggles to cope, refusing to talk to Les about Paul, so he considers dressing as Christine; he explains why he cross-dresses to Billy and gives him his job back. Les then decides to be strong for Pam so tells Claudette he will no longer be Christine, but the blackmailing continues, with Pam refusing to go to

31302-434: Is the daughter of Derek Branning ( Jamie Foreman ). The character and casting were announced on 14 April 2012. Alice made her first appearance on 10 May 2012. On 22 September 2013, it was announced that Banks would be written out of the show and will leave following the conclusion of Michael Moon 's ( Steve John Shepherd ) exit storyline. Her last episode was on 24 December 2013. Joey Branning , played by David Witts ,

31584-601: Is the daughter of Ray Dixon ( Chucky Venn ) and half-sister to Morgan Butcher (Devon Higgs). She appears on 26 January 2012, and more regularly from 14 May 2012 onwards. The EastEnders website says that Sasha's father Ray sees Sasha as "being the best thing in his life, but he wishes her mother didn't exist." Ray is very loyal to Sasha, and Chucky Venn, who plays him, said that when Kim and Sasha fall out, he can create harmony between them. Sasha first arrives in The Queen Victoria public house in search of her father. She reveals she has an interest in forensic pathology and

31866-434: Is the estranged son and eldest child of Derek Branning ( Jamie Foreman ), and the brother of Alice Branning ( Jasmyn Banks ). He made his first appearance in the episode broadcast on 22 June. Witts quit his role in 2013 and left on 26 December 2013. Scarlett Butcher (also Moon ) is the daughter of Janine Butcher ( Charlie Brooks ) and Michael Moon ( Steve John Shepherd ). She was played by Amelie until 2013. She

32148-537: 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. Kat gives birth to Tommy , and

32430-586: 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. 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

32712-421: 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

32994-400: 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. Several months later, Kat's grandmother Mo discovers that she

33276-581: Is upset when Les insults Emma Summerhayes ( Anna Acton ) while drunk, fearful it will reveal a big secret they have been keeping; that she euthanised their dying son, Lawrie. Billy eventually establishes a good working relationship with Les and a friendship as they spend Christmas together. Billy discovers the business is deeply in debt and forces Les to tell Pam this. They vow no more secrets, but after Les meets with his "other woman", Claudette Hubbard ( Ellen Thomas ) and gives her an expensive necklace. Claudette and Pam are revealed to be old friends, as Claudette

33558-540: Is with John and is fine, until John demands to know why Sharon is leaving him. She says she and Dennis are not happy, and he says she will regret going. Sharon realises Dennis is missing, and sees John driving off with him. She and Phil follow in their car, but lose them. They go to John's house where they force his sister Nina ( Juliet Cowan ) to reveal where she is meeting John with their passports. They get there but Nina warns him and he drives away. Another car chase ends when they get stuck in traffic and Dennis escapes from

33840-471: 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

34122-577: The Archbishops of Canterbury and York came to St Paul's to broadcast to the UK and the world on the National Day of Prayer. BBC employees during the war included George Orwell who spent two years with the broadcaster. During his role as prime minister during the war, Winston Churchill delivered 33 major wartime speeches by radio, all of which were carried by the BBC within the UK. On 18 June 1940, French general Charles de Gaulle , in exile in London as

34404-449: The BBC soap opera EastEnders during 2012 listed by order of first appearance. New characters were introduced by Bryan Kirkwood , executive producer. He stepped down from the role in April. His last episode was on 13 July 2012. From 16 July, characters were introduced by his successor, Lorraine Newman . The first character to be introduced was the undertaker , Les Coker ( Roger Sloman ). The first regular character to be announced

34686-526: The BBC Television Service ) started from Alexandra Palace in November 1936, alternating between an improved Baird mechanical 240-line system and the all-electronic 405-line Marconi-EMI system which had been developed by an EMI research team led by Sir Isaac Shoenberg . The superiority of the electronic system saw the mechanical system dropped early the following year, with the Marconi-EMI system

34968-523: The British Association of Social Workers (BASW), calling the BBC "too lazy and arrogant" to get correctly portray the child protection process, and saying that the baby was taken "without sufficient grounds to do so". Bridget Robb, acting chief of the BASW, said the storyline provoked "real anger among a profession well used to a less than accurate public and media perception of their jobs". She stated: It

35250-511: The Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II , Fatboy lies to Nico to get off work, only for Nico to see Fatboy enjoying the festivities on television. Later, Nico calls the police when Lola Pearce ( Danielle Harold ) becomes aggressive with him, after he discovers that Fatboy has given her free food. Nico is later present at the birth of Lola's baby Lexi Pearce , which happens in the restaurant. Nico and Fatboy decide to use this to gain publicity for

35532-936: The MediaCityUK development in Salford , with BBC Three moving online only in 2016, the sharing of more programmes between stations and channels, sharing of radio news bulletins, more repeats in schedules, including the whole of BBC Two daytime and for some original programming to be reduced. BBC HD was closed on 26 March 2013, and replaced with an HD simulcast of BBC Two; however, flagship programmes, other channels and full funding for CBBC and CBeebies would be retained. Numerous BBC facilities have been sold off, including New Broadcasting House on Wilmslow Road in Manchester. Many major departments have been relocated to Broadcasting House in central London and MediaCityUK in Salford, particularly since

35814-406: The "bossy new social worker". The scenes where Trish takes Lexi from Lola were criticised by the charity The Who Cares? Trust on Twitter, who called the storyline an "unhelpful portrayal" and said it had already received calls from members of the public who were "distressed about the EastEnders scene where a social worker snatches a baby from its mother's arms". The scenes were also condemned by

36096-514: The 2025–26 season of the Women's Super League campaign. The BBC is a statutory corporation , independent from direct government intervention, with its activities being overseen from April 2017 by the BBC Board and regulated by Ofcom . The chairman is Samir Shah. The BBC is a state owned public broadcasting company and operates under a royal charter . The charter is the constitutional basis for

36378-467: The BBC announced a BBC News savings target of £80 million per year by 2022, involving about 520 staff reductions. The BBC's director of news and current affairs Fran Unsworth said there would be further moves toward digital broadcasting, in part to attract back a youth audience, and more pooling of reporters to stop separate teams covering the same news. In 2020, the BBC reported a £119 million deficit because of delays to cost reduction plans, and

36660-506: The BBC has played a prominent role in British life and culture. It is sometimes informally referred to as the Beeb or Auntie . In 1923 it launched Radio Times (subtitled "The official organ of the BBC"), the first broadcast listings magazine; the 1988 Christmas edition sold 11 million copies, the biggest-selling edition of any British magazine in history. Britain's first live public broadcast

36942-565: The BBC is subject to an additional 'Agreement' between it and the Culture Secretary , and that its operating licence is to be set by Ofcom, an external regulatory body . It used to be that the Home Secretary be departmental to both Agreement as well as Licence, and regulatory duties fall to the BBC Trust , but the 2017 charter changed those 2007 arrangements. The charter, too, outlines

37224-741: The BBC released minutes of the board meeting which led to Greg Dyke's resignation. Unlike the other departments of the BBC, the BBC World Service was funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office . The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, more commonly known as the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom abroad. A strike in 2005 by more than 11,000 BBC workers, over

37506-440: The BBC suddenly became the primary source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position. On the one hand Reith was acutely aware that the government might exercise its right to commandeer the BBC at any time as a mouthpiece of the government if the BBC were to step out of line, but on the other he was anxious to maintain public trust by appearing to be acting independently. The government

37788-477: The BBC was granted sufficient leeway to pursue the government's objectives largely in a manner of its own choosing. Supporters of the strike nicknamed the BBC the BFC for British Falsehood Company. Reith personally announced the end of the strike which he marked by reciting from Blake's " Jerusalem " signifying that England had been saved. While the BBC tends to characterise its coverage of the general strike by emphasising

38070-531: The BBC", was priced at tuppence (two pence ) on newsstands, and quickly sold out its run of a quarter of a million copies. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee. By now, the BBC, under Reith's leadership, had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified (monopoly) broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit

38352-459: The BBC's airwaves. In 1937, a MI5 security officer was given a permanent office within the organisation. This officer would examine the files of potential political subversives and mark the files of those deemed a security risk to the organisation, blacklisting them. This was often done on spurious grounds; even so, the practice would continue and expand during the years of the Cold War. There

38634-535: The BBC's censorship office, which surveilled and edited American coverage of British affairs. By 1940, across all BBC broadcasts, music by composers from enemy nations was censored. In total, 99 German, 38 Austrian and 38 Italian composers were censored. The BBC argued that like the Italian or German languages, listeners would be irritated by the inclusion of enemy composers. Any potential broadcasters said to have pacifist, communist or fascist ideologies were not allowed on

38916-512: The BBC's revenue comes from its commercial subsidiary BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide ), which sells BBC programmes and services internationally and also distributes the BBC's international 24-hour English-language news services BBC News , and from BBC.com, provided by BBC Global News Ltd. In 2009, the company was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in recognition of its international achievements in business. Since its formation in 1922,

39198-510: The BBC, and sets out the BBC's Object, Mission and Public Purposes. It emphasises public service , (limited) editorial independence , prohibits advertising on domestic services and proclaims the BBC is to "seek to avoid adverse impacts on competition which are not necessary for the effective fulfilment of the Mission and the promotion of the Public Purposes". The charter also sets out that

39480-575: The British government's asylum policy on social media. Lineker was suspended from his position on Match of the Day before being re-instated after receiving overwhelming support from his colleagues. The scandal was made worse due to the connections between BBC's chairman, Richard Sharp, and the Conservative Party. In April 2023, Richard Sharp resigned as chairman after a report found he did not disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest in his role in

39762-500: The CBBC Channel and CBeebies Channel. In addition to the television channels, new digital radio stations were created: 1Xtra , 6 Music and Radio 4 Extra . BBC 1Xtra was a sister station to Radio 1 and specialised in modern black music, BBC 6 Music specialised in alternative music genres and BBC7 specialised in archive, speech and children's programming. The following few years resulted in repositioning of some channels to conform to

40044-628: The Corporation's governance and regulatory arrangements as a statutory corporation, including the role and composition of the BBC Board. The current Charter began on 1 January 2017 and ends on 31 December 2027; the Agreement being coterminous. The BBC Board was formed in April 2017. It replaced the previous governing body, the BBC Trust, which itself had replaced the board of governors in 2007. The board sets

40326-642: The GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee. The committee recommended a short-term reorganisation of licence fees with improved enforcement in order to address the BBC's immediate financial distress, and an increased share of the licence revenue split between it and the GPO. This was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee to fund broadcasts. The BBC's broadcasting monopoly

40608-506: The Mitchell family, and agrees to change Lexi's last name to Mitchell. Lexi is baptised with Jay and Cora as godparents. Phil starts controlling Lola and Lexi's relationship and is determined to stop Lola from being reunited with her daughter. At a hearing to determine Lexi's future, his solicitor tells the court that Lola is an unfit mother, so her access is unchanged. Lola overhears Phil saying she will never get custody of Lexi, so she snatches her from Phil's house. They are eventually found, and

40890-927: 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. 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

41172-498: The Prime Minister, maintained the censorship of editorial opinions on public policy, but allowed the BBC to address matters of religious, political or industrial controversy. The resulting political "talk series", designed to inform England on political issues, were criticised by members of parliament, including Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George and Sir Austen Chamberlain . Those who opposed these chats claimed that they silence

41454-438: The Slaters and Alfie, though they find out. After Tommy has an outburst and pours hot soup on Freddie, Jean reports him to social services. They later discover that Tommy has also been harming Bert and Ernie, and is placed in foster care with Zack Hudson ( James Farrar ). Kat is furious when she discovers that Jean has reported Tommy, but she eventually forgives her. Alfie supports Kat with Tommy and they grow closer. After sharing

41736-492: The UK's first Independent local radio station, LBC came on-air in the London area. As a result of the Pilkington Committee report of 1962, in which the BBC was praised for the quality and range of its output, and ITV was very heavily criticised for not providing enough quality programming, the decision was taken to award the BBC a second television channel, BBC2 , in 1964, renaming the existing service BBC1 . BBC2 used

42018-573: The United States, the GPO proposed that it would issue a single broadcasting licence to a company jointly owned by a consortium of leading wireless receiver manufacturers, to be known as the British Broadcasting Company Ltd , which was formed on 18 October 1922. John Reith , a Scottish Calvinist , was appointed its general manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. L. Stanton Jefferies

42300-607: The affair or their marriage is over. Two months later, Les visits Claudette for comfort after Pam refuses to speak to him on Lawrie's birthday. He later calls Claudette, telling her he cannot stop thinking about her, and makes an excuse to Pam to go and be with Claudette again. He is then caught in his underwear in Claudette's house by Donna, who concludes they are having an affair, and despite Les and Claudette denying it, Donna tells Pam what she saw. Pam then goes to Claudette's house and sets about destroying gifts from Les until Claudette says

42582-622: The air and forced the British government finally to regulate radio services to permit nationally based advertising-financed services. In response, the BBC reorganised and renamed their radio channels. On 30 September 1967, the Light Programme was split into Radio 1 offering continuous "Popular" music and Radio 2 more "Easy Listening". The "Third" programme became Radio 3 offering classical music and cultural programming. The Home Service became Radio 4 offering news, and non-musical content such as quiz shows, readings, dramas and plays. As well as

42864-401: The ambulance. Billy calls Les a "pervert" to Pam, so she fires him from the funeral parlour. Pam then tells Les they should retire away from London and Les agrees; when Paul and his boyfriend Ben Mitchell ( Harry Reid ) find out, they decide they should take over the running of the funeral parlour. Paul's mother, Jenny Rawlinson ( Amy Marston ), arrives looking for him, but he only assumes she

43146-414: 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

43428-475: 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. 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

43710-659: 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." 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

43992-514: The birth of his great-granddaughter. Lola brings the baby home and names her Lexi, after an old friend, which later transpires to be Alexa Smith ( Saffron Coomber ), with the middle name Billie, in honour of her grandfather. Lexi then wins a local "beautiful baby" competition. Lola gets a new social worker, Trish Barnes (Tessa Churchard), who visits regularly, one time seeing paint on Lexi's feet and becomes concerned that Lexi could have an allergic reaction, and later worrying when Lexi develops

44274-458: The broadcast of baseball, rugby and hockey, the BBC emphasised service for a national rather than a regional audience. Boat races were well covered along with tennis and horse racing, but the BBC was reluctant to spend its severely limited air time on long football or cricket games, regardless of their popularity. John Reith and the BBC, with support from the Crown , determined the universal needs of

44556-411: The car. John calls Sharon and Dennis scum, so Phil punches John. Dennis Rickman Jnr , portrayed by Harry Hickles from 2012 to 2015 and Bleu Landau from 2015 to 2020, is the son of Sharon Watts ( Letitia Dean ) and Dennis Rickman ( Nigel Harman ). Born off-screen in 2006, he made his first appearance on 13 August 2012. The role was recast from Hickles to Landau in 2015; no specific explanation

44838-606: The challenge of better reflecting and representing a changing UK". Since 2017, the BBC has also funded the Local Democracy Reporting Service , with up to 165 journalists employed by independent news organisations to report on local democracy issues on a pooled basis. In 2016, the BBC Director General Tony Hall announced a savings target of £800 million per year by 2021, which is about 23% of annual licence fee revenue. Having to take on

45120-507: The chap who turns up to arrange Pat's funeral has Carol Jackson spluttering into her tea." A reporter writing for the Inside Soap Yearbook described Pam and Les as a "soap favourite" and hoped they would "hurry home soon". Ray Dixon , played by Chucky Venn , is an ex-partner of Bianca Butcher ( Patsy Palmer ) and the father of her son Morgan Butcher (Devon Higgs). He made his first on screen appearance on 10 January 2012. Venn

45402-420: 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

45684-466: 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

45966-535: 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

46248-407: 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. In episode 6, Bernie, a local garda , asks Kathleen about

46530-464: The closure of BBC Television Centre in March 2013. On 16 February 2016, the BBC Three television service was discontinued and replaced by a digital outlet under the same name, targeting its young adult audience with web series and other content. Under the new royal charter instituted in 2017, the corporation must publish an annual report to Ofcom, outlining its plans and public service obligations for

46812-582: 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

47094-457: The contrary. She noted that the public still associated her with her role, and that she was flattered people still remembered her. 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

47376-408: The corporation began to sell off a number of its operational divisions to private owners; BBC Broadcast was spun off as a separate company in 2002, and in 2005, it was sold off to Australian -based Macquarie Capital Alliance Group and Macquarie Group Limited and rebranded Red Bee Media . The BBC's IT , telephony and broadcast technology were brought together as BBC Technology Ltd in 2001, and

47658-448: 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!" 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

47940-553: The division was later sold to the German company Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS). SIS was subsequently acquired from Siemens by the French company Atos . Further divestments included BBC Books (sold to Random House in 2006); BBC Outside Broadcasts Ltd (sold in 2008 to Satellite Information Services ); Costumes and Wigs (stock sold in 2008 to Angels Costumes ); and BBC Magazines (sold to Immediate Media Company in 2011). After

48222-408: The early hours of New Year's Day 2006 and Sharon moves to Florida, where she gives birth to Dennis Jr. In 2014, Sharon is attacked in her bar. In November 2021, a baby is left on Sharon's doorstep and after several weeks, the baby's mother Jada Lennox (Kelsey Calladine-Smith) reveals that she had a one-night stand with Dennis while he was associated with drug dealing prior to his death, and that he

48504-466: 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 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

48786-570: The face, so Phil punches him. Inside Soap called Pete "a dodgy guy". All About Soap called him "a creepy man", a "slimy stranger" and a "sleazy stalker". Jimmy Wicks is the son of Carly Wicks ( Kellie Shirley ), born off screen in July 2012. He is portrayed by a baby named Ryan. Jimmy is named after Carly's dead brother James "Jimbo" Wicks (Lloyd Richards). He appears in the episode broadcast on 7 September when his mother introduces him to his grandmother Shirley Carter ( Linda Henry ). Shirley

49068-407: The facilitation of a loan to Prime Minister Boris Johnson . Dame Elan Closs Stephens was appointed as acting chairwoman on 27 June 2023, and she would lead the BBC board for a year or until a new permanent chair has been appointed. Samir Shah was subsequently appointed with effect from 4 March 2024. In October 2024 it was announced that the BBC along with Sky Sports signed a deal to broadcast

49350-540: 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

49632-475: The final court hearing, Phil says that Lola deserves her daughter and Lexi is returned to Lola. In March 2014, Lexi is kidnapped by Adam White (Ben Wigzell), but her grandfather, Phil, and his cousin Ronnie Mitchell ( Samantha Womack ) get Lexi back to Lola, who is unaware that her daughter was the subject of a confrontation between Adam and Ronnie about the whereabouts of Carl White ( Daniel Coonan ), who

49914-447: The first fully electronic television system in the world to be used in regular broadcasting. The success of broadcasting provoked animosities between the BBC and well-established media such as theatres, concert halls and the recording industry. By 1929, the BBC complained that the agents of many comedians refused to sign contracts for broadcasting, because they feared it harmed the artist "by making his material stale" and that it "reduces

50196-475: The first time and having a relationship with Kim Fox ( Tameka Empson ). Ray left the soap on 28 May 2013. Gethin Williams , played by Bradley Freegard , appears on 17 and 27 January. He is Jane Beale 's ( Laurie Brett ) former haute cuisine tutor, who attends a fundraising event organised by Jane after hearing about it on the radio. Impressed with her catering for the function, he asks her to interview for

50478-429: The following year, BBC Choice was launched as the third general entertainment channel from the BBC. The BBC also purchased The Parliamentary Channel, which was renamed BBC Parliament . In 1999, BBC Knowledge launched as a multimedia channel, with services available on the newly launched BBC Text digital teletext service (later rebranded as BBC Red Button), and on BBC Online . The channel had an educational aim, which

50760-402: The forthcoming ending of the remaining £253 million funding towards pensioner licence fees would increase financial pressures. In January 2021, it was reported that former banker Richard Sharp would succeed David Clementi , as chairman, when he stepped down in February. In March 2023, the BBC was at the centre of a political row with football pundit Gary Lineker , after he criticised

51042-499: The four national channels, a series of local BBC radio stations were established in 1967, including Radio London . In 1969, the BBC Enterprises department was formed to exploit BBC brands and programmes for commercial spin-off products. In 1979, it became a wholly owned limited company, BBC Enterprises Ltd. In 1974, the BBC's teletext service, Ceefax , was introduced, created initially to provide subtitling, but developed into

51324-612: The full cost of running the BBC World Service and the BBC Monitoring service from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and partially finance the Welsh broadcaster S4C . Further cuts were announced on 6 October 2011, so the BBC could reach a total reduction in their budget of 20%, following the licence fee freeze in October 2010, which included cutting staff by 2,000 and sending a further 1,000 to

51606-447: The funeral of her daughter Stacey Branning ( Lacey Turner ). Jean is distressed to hear that Stacey has died, but Mo Harris ( Laila Morse ) reveals she has just spoken to Stacey on the phone, meaning Stacey is alive. Les apologises profoundly before leaving. Les is seen by Sasha Dixon (Rebecca Sanneh) doing business with Anthony Moon ( Matt Lapinskas ) and it turns out that when someone dies, Les offers to empty their house and sells

51888-421: The goods to Anthony for his business. Sasha and her employer, Cora Cross ( Ann Mitchell ), then ask Les to offer every other house to them for the charity shop. He attends a wake for a former Walford resident at The Queen Victoria public house , where Kim Fox ( Tameka Empson ) pretends to know the deceased, and talks to Les, successfully gaining Sasha a work experience placement with Les's firm. He attends

52170-633: The government. Throughout the 1930s, political broadcasts had been closely monitored by the BBC. In 1935, the BBC censored the broadcasts of Oswald Mosley and Harry Pollitt . Mosley was a leader of the British Union of Fascists , and Pollitt a leader of the Communist Party of Great Britain . They had been contracted to provide a series of five broadcasts on their parties' politics. The BBC, in conjunction with The Foreign Office of Britain, first suspended this series and ultimately cancelled it without

52452-450: 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

52734-467: 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

53016-491: 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

53298-405: The higher resolution 625-line standard which had been standardised across Europe. BBC2 was broadcast in colour from 1 July 1967 and was joined by BBC1 and ITV on 15 November 1969. The 405-line VHF transmissions of BBC1 (and ITV) were continued for compatibility with older television receivers until 1985. Starting in 1964, a series of pirate radio stations (starting with Radio Caroline ) came on

53580-745: The image of him dressed as Christine out of her mind, soLes burns all of Christine's clothes and photos and Pam agrees to take things one day at a time, but Babe Smith ( Annette Badland ) is watching and finds and pockets a surviving photo of Les dressed as Christine. Shortly after, Paul encourages Les to remind Pam of the man she first fell in love with and she agrees to his moving back in as long as they sleep in separate beds. A few months later, Les spurns Babe, so she sends Les an anonymous email, blackmailing him over his crossdressing. When Pam notices money has been paid from their account, Les admits he has been blackmailed. The blackmailing continues regularly, and Pam starts to suspect Babe, and eventually they discover

53862-549: 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. Kat continues to grow closer to Alfie, and when he arranges

54144-495: 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

54426-534: The late 1980s, the BBC began a process of divestment by spinning off and selling parts of its organisation. In 1988, it sold off the Hulton Press Library, a photographic archive which had been acquired from the Picture Post magazine by the BBC in 1957. The archive was sold to Brian Deutsch and is now owned by Getty Images . In 1987, the BBC decided to centralize its operations by the management team with

54708-665: The leader of the Free French, made a speech, broadcast by the BBC, urging the French people not to capitulate to the Nazis. In October 1940, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret made their first radio broadcast for the BBC's Children's Hour , addressing other children who had been evacuated from cities. In 1938, John Reith and the Government of the United Kingdom , specifically the Ministry of Information which had been set up for WWII, designed

54990-487: The long-lost daughter of Cora Cross ( Ann Mitchell ) was introduced in November and Kirsty Branning ( Kierston Wareing ), Max 's ( Jake Wood ) secret wife, made her first appearance on Christmas Day. December also saw the arrival of Zainab Khan 's ( Nina Wadia ) family friend, Ayesha Rana ( Shivani Ghai ). Les Coker , played by Roger Sloman , first appeared on 9 January 2012. He subsequently appeared in five episodes in 2012, before returning for an episode in 2014. Les

55272-489: The loss-making consortium, and Reith was keen that the BBC be seen as a public service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 United Kingdom general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production, and with restrictions on news bulletins waived,

55554-467: The manager of Coker and Sons. Pam packs a box of Christine's wig and clothes suggesting she has accepted her. After saying an emotional farewell to his friends and after giving Billy his funeral hat, Les departs with Pam for a new life in Worthing . Having been originally introduced as the funeral director who arranged Pat Evans ' ( Pam St Clement ) funeral, Sloman appeared in one episode on 9 January 2012 as

55836-424: 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. Kat briefly works on the market again, but market inspector Aleks Shirovs ( Kristian Kiehling ) forces her off her stall when he discovers she

56118-754: The material their broadcasts would cover. Nothing was to be added outside the preordained news items. For example, the BBC Polish Service was heavily censored due to fears of jeopardising relations with the Soviet Union . Controversial topics, i.e. the contested Polish and Soviet border, the deportation of Polish citizens, the arrests of Polish Home Army members and the Katyn massacre , were not included in Polish broadcasts. American radio broadcasts were broadcast across Europe on BBC channels. This material also passed through

56400-408: 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

56682-530: The modest, church-going elderly or a member of the Clergy . Until 1928, entertainers broadcasting on the BBC, both singers and "talkers" were expected to avoid biblical quotations, Clerical impersonations and references, references to drink or Prohibition in the United States , vulgar and doubtful matter and political allusions. The BBC excluded popular foreign music and musicians from its broadcasts, while promoting British alternatives. On 5 March 1928, Stanley Baldwin,

56964-476: 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

57246-487: 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

57528-556: 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. 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

57810-509: The name, Michael registers the new name without telling her. A source from EastEnders said, "With a mother like Janine, this little girl is sure to be a fighter." Scarlett was portrayed by a prosthetic baby until the episode broadcast on 7 August 2012, when she was played by a real baby. AJ Ahmed , played by Phaldut Sharma , is the younger brother of established character Masood Ahmed ( Nitin Ganatra ). AJ made his first on-screen appearance on 9 July 2012. He left on 10 January 2014 to start

58092-413: The new corporation adopted the coat of arms , including the motto "Nation shall speak peace unto Nation". British radio audiences had little choice apart from the upscale programming of the BBC. Reith, an intensely moralistic executive, was in full charge. His goal was to broadcast "All that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavour and achievement.... The preservation of a high moral tone

58374-405: The next day when Trish visits, Phil says he intends to help reunite Lexi and Lola, and Lola is then given increased access to Lexi. Phil later takes Lola and Lexi to prison to see Ben, so Lexi can meet her father, although Ben tells Lola to keep Lexi away from Phil. Lexi is later taken to the hospital after Lola suspects Lexi has meningitis , although she is relieved to discover that Lexi is fine. At

58656-400: The next day, Nico gives him his uniform, revealing himself to be the manager. Nico later arrives in The Queen Victoria public house , revealing that he is a friend of Fatboy's friend Dot Branning ( June Brown ) and the nephew of her boss, Andonis Papadopolous . Later, while Fatboy is working a day shift, Nico tells him he has to work the late shift, meaning he will miss his DJ gig. During

58938-425: The next year. In its 2017–18 report, released July 2017, the BBC announced plans to "re-invent" its output to better compete against commercial streaming services such as Netflix . These plans included increasing the diversity of its content on television and radio, a major increase in investments towards digital children's content, and plans to make larger investments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to "rise to

59220-418: 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

59502-413: The notice of the public. Less radical politicians faced similar censorship. In 1938, Winston Churchill proposed a series of talks regarding British domestic and foreign politics and affairs but was similarly censored. The censorship of political discourse by the BBC was a precursor to the total shutdown of political debate that manifested over the BBC's wartime airwaves. The Foreign Office maintained that

59784-507: 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

60066-416: The opinions of those in Parliament who are not nominated by Party Leaders or Party Whips, thus stifling independent, non-official views. In October 1932, the policemen of the Metropolitan Police Federation marched in protest at a proposed pay cut. Fearing dissent within the police force and public support for the movement, the BBC censored its coverage of the events, only broadcasting official statements from

60348-516: 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. Phil taunts Kat for

60630-560: 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 his sister Sam Mitchell ( Kim Medcalf ) back to Walford to look after his businesses whilst he is in prison, leaving Kat unimpressed as she still holds resentment towards Sam for letting Zoe believe that she had killed Sharon's adoptive father Den Watts ( Leslie Grantham ) all those years ago. Sam persuades Phil to purchase Ruby's club and she turns it into

60912-523: The past and is no longer willing to let Harry control her. 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. Kat returns to Walford to spend Christmas with Stacey. Alfie follows with

61194-407: The people of Britain and broadcast content according to these perceived standards. Reith effectively censored anything that he felt would be harmful, directly or indirectly. While recounting his time with the BBC in 1935, Raymond Postgate claims that BBC broadcasters were made to submit a draft of their potential broadcast for approval. It was expected that they tailored their content to accommodate

61476-448: 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

61758-450: The police, but she tells Claudette that Babe is the blackmailer. After four months of blackmail, Claudette reveals this to Babe's family, and Babe, who has just been attacked by Abi Branning ( Lorna Fitzgerald ) and come close to death, tells Claudette that she now sees how bad she has been and regrets everything, so it will stop. Les and Pam later attend a court hearing for Paul's killers. Les calls one of them, Simon Atmore ( Tom Palmer ),

62040-455: 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

62322-435: The positive impression created by its balanced coverage of the views of government and strikers, Seaton has characterised the episode as the invention of "modern propaganda in its British form". Reith argued that trust gained by 'authentic impartial news' could then be used. Impartial news was not necessarily an end in itself. The BBC did well out of the crisis, which cemented a national audience for its broadcasting, and it

62604-422: The post, with a note saying 'We regret, etc.'" In the 1930s music broadcasts also enjoyed great popularity, for example the friendly and wide-ranging BBC Theatre Organ broadcasts at St George's Hall , London by Reginald Foort , who held the official role of BBC Staff Theatre Organist from 1936 to 1938. Television broadcasting was suspended from 1 September 1939 to 7 June 1946, during the World War II , and it

62886-401: The presents are not hers, and Pam should ask Les about Christine. When Pam asks Les, he reveals that Christine is his secret feminine alter ego , where he dresses up in women's clothes and has done so since he was seven years old, but after they married he did not need Christine until Lawrie died, when the alter-ego became a grief outlet for him, and Claudette has been supporting this secret. Pam

63168-434: The pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among the staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office (GPO), was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests and moved to rescind its ban in the wake of a petition by 63 wireless societies with over 3,000 members. Anxious to avoid the same chaotic expansion experienced in

63450-402: The public should not be aware of their role in the censorship. From 1935 to 1939, the BBC also attempted to unite the British Empire's radio waves, sending staff to Egypt, Palestine , Newfoundland , Jamaica, India, Canada and South Africa. Reith personally visited South Africa, lobbying for state-run radio programmes which was accepted by South African Parliament in 1936. A similar programme

63732-423: The radio and television divisions joining forces together for the first time, the activities of the news and currents departments and coordinated jointly under the new directorate. During the 1990s, this process continued with the separation of certain operational arms of the corporation into autonomous but wholly owned subsidiaries , with the aim of generating additional revenue for programme-making. BBC Enterprises

64014-414: The relationship between her and Les, and Paul tells Pam about it. Pam then finds Les's tie at Claudette's house, and when Les and Claudette give conflicting explanations, Pam leaves to stay with her sister. Les becomes very distraught at her departure, and Claudette urges him to tell Pam the truth, just as Pam returns and walks in on them together. Shortly after Claudette leaves the house, Pam urges Les to end

64296-467: The relocation of Pam's flower stall to Bridge Street Market. When walking home one night, Fatboy ( Ricky Norwood ) notices Les being handed money by Dot Branning 's ( June Brown ) grandson, Charlie Cotton ( Declan Bennett ). Fatboy tries to tell Dot what Les and Charlie are up to, but is unsuccessful. In July, Les hires Billy Mitchell ( Perry Fenwick ) at the undertakers, however he is disappointed when Billy doesn't turn up for work on his first day. Pam

64578-446: The restaurant, having Lola, Lexi and Lola's grandfather, Olympic Torch bearer Billy Mitchell ( Perry Fenwick ), appear with them in a photo for the local newspaper. On 7 August, Nico asks Fatboy for Lauren Branning 's ( Jacqueline Jossa ) number, to which Fatboy agrees, even though Lauren calls Nico a fascist. On 9 August, McKlunky's enters the local cook-off, competing against other local food establishments. Nico makes Fatboy dress as

64860-422: 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

65142-418: 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. Kat returns to Walford in September 2010, fleeing from a man she and Alfie conned for money, whilst in Spain. Alfie arrives but Kat

65424-443: The sales of OBs and costumes, the remainder of BBC Resources was reorganised as BBC Studios and Post Production , which continues today as a wholly owned subsidiary of the BBC. The 2004 Hutton Inquiry and the subsequent report raised questions about the BBC's journalistic standards and its impartiality. This led to resignations of senior management members at the time including the then Director General, Greg Dyke . In January 2007,

65706-445: The scenes were filmed quickly "because you can only film with a baby for a certain amount of time." Trish Barnes , played by Tessa Churchard, is a social worker. In 2012, she visits Lola Pearce ( Danielle Harold ), but Lola is out buying nappies for her daughter Lexi Pearce , and her grandfather Billy Mitchell ( Perry Fenwick ) has the baby. Billy lies to Trish that he still has a job, even though he has recently lost it. Billy

65988-559: 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. 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

66270-535: The second birth of the year: Lola Pearce 's ( Danielle Harold ) daughter Lexi , Newman's first introduction. After the announcement that Sharon Rickman ( Letitia Dean ) was returning, her son Dennis Rickman Jnr (Harry Hickles), was introduced, along with guest character, Sharon's fiancé John Hewland ( Jesse Birdsall ). Danny Pennant ( Gary Lucy ) arrived in September, as part of a love triangle storyline involving Syed Masood ( Marc Elliott ) and Christian Clarke ( John Partridge ). Ava Hartman ( Clare Perkins ),

66552-423: The show's best loved characters. 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 later the following year. Kat embarks on

66834-448: The show's older generation. It's already so exciting to watch the chemistry between Roger and Lin on set, playing characters who have been together for so long, they know each other inside out. Or so they think." Les and Pam arrived on 14 April 2014 when they relocated their funeral business to Turpin Road. Sloman and Blakley were axed by new executive producer Sean O'Connor in 2016, with a show insider commenting, "Pam and Les have been

67116-462: The show. Scarlett is 11 weeks premature via Caesarean section on her parents' wedding day and has no heartbeat, so is placed on a ventilator. Her condition stabilises and she is baptised, with Janine naming her Patricia, after her late stepmother, Pat Evans ( Pam St Clement ), but she starts to regret using the name Patricia and Michael registers the name Scarlett Patricia Moon. Concerned with Scarlett's deteriorating health, her parents organise

67398-438: The soap on 25 December 2005. Wallace reprised the role in 2010 and Kat returned on 17 September, before taking leave from the soap again between January and June 2012. Kat departed the soap again in May 2015, returning briefly between December 2015 and January 2016. Wallace reprised her role as Kat in the six-part spin-off series Kat & Alfie: Redwater in 2017. Following the confirmation that Redwater would not return for

67680-461: The soap, in what was called "the biggest soap story in probably the history of soaps", Kat and Ronnie Branning ( Samantha Womack ) both give birth on the same day, but Ronnie's son, James Branning , dies and while Kat is in hospital and her son, Tommy Moon , is unattended, Ronnie swaps James and Tommy. The storyline received over 6,000 complaints, making it the second most complained about EastEnders storyline. Kat's storylines also include suffering

67962-494: The soap. In Kat & Alfie: Redwater , Kat discovers her son is a murderous Catholic priest, Dermott Dolan ( Oisín Stack ). Since her reintroduction to the show in 2018, Kat's storylines have focused on the breakdown of her and Alfie's marriage and her separation from Tommy and their twin sons Bert and Ernie , a relationship with Kush Kazemi ( Davood Ghadami ), feuds with both her cousin Stacey Slater ( Lacey Turner ) and enemy Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden ), embarking on

68244-436: 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

68526-450: The social worker his feelings of guilt from starting the fire. 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

68808-427: The strategy for the corporation, assesses the performance of the BBC's executive board in delivering the BBC's services, and appoints the director-general. Ofcom is responsible for the regulation of the BBC. The board consists of the following members: The executive committee is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the broadcaster. Consisting of senior managers of the BBC, the committee meets once per month and

69090-557: The time was right for Kat and Alfie to return, saying that they "very much herald the new era of EastEnders ." 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

69372-423: The truth, though she eventually confesses. At Kat and Phil’s joint birthday party, Sam exposes that Phil had slept with Emma shortly before their wedding. Devastated, Kat ends their marriage and moves out. She then grows close to businessman Nish Panesar ( Navin Chowdhry ), who offers her a flat at a reduced rent. Despite warnings from Phil, Stacey, and her friend Eve Unwin ( Heather Peace ) about Nish, Kat goes on

69654-402: The truth. Les confides in Claudette and says he misses Christine, so she gives him some of her clothes and makeup that she still has. Stressed, Les dresses up again but is caught by Paul. Paul refuses to destroy Christine's things for Les, saying Les should not suffer for who he is. When Pam finds Les dressed as Christine, she chastises him and he suffers a heart attack. Billy sees him as he enters

69936-443: 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

70218-563: The value of the artist as a visible music-hall performer". On the other hand, the BBC was "keenly interested" in a cooperation with the recording companies who "in recent years ... have not been slow to make records of singers, orchestras, dance bands, etc. who have already proved their power to achieve popularity by wireless." Radio plays were so popular that the BBC had received 6,000 manuscripts by 1929, most of them written for stage and of little value for broadcasting: "Day in and day out, manuscripts come in, and nearly all go out again through

70500-454: The wake of a man previously known by Patrick Trueman ( Rudolph Walker ) and is annoyed when Cora turns up, as he has agreements with her and Anthony. Les later appears when Sasha starts her first day of work experience. Les appears again to arrange Nick Cotton 's ( John Altman ) funeral, although it is later revealed to be a scam in which Les is in on. Les moves his funeral business, Coker & Sons Funeral Parlour, to Turpin Road following

70782-424: 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

71064-407: 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. 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

71346-444: The £700 million cost for free TV licences for the over-75 pensioners, and rapid inflation in drama and sport coverage costs, was given as the reason. Duplication of management and content spending would be reduced, and there would be a review of BBC News . In September 2019, the BBC launched the Trusted News Initiative to work with news and social media companies to combat disinformation about national elections. In 2020,

71628-497: Was Ray Dixon ( Chucky Venn ), the biological father of Morgan Butcher (Devon Higgs), followed by Alice Branning ( Jasmyn Banks ), the daughter of Derek Branning ( Jamie Foreman ) and, Alice's brother, Joey ( David Witts ). June 2012 also saw the first birth of the year: Janine Butcher ( Charlie Brooks ) and Michael Moon 's ( Steve John Shepherd ) daughter, Scarlett . July saw the arrival of Masood Ahmed 's ( Nitin Ganatra ) brother, AJ Ahmed ( Phaldut Sharma ). July also saw

71910-447: Was a prostitute, and offers a discount on the funeral. He says that he arranged funerals for many of the other local residents, including David's father Pete Beale ( Peter Dean ), Pat's husband Roy Evans ( Tony Caunter ), Ethel Skinner ( Gretchen Franklin ), Pat's former sister-in-law Pauline Fowler ( Wendy Richard ) and Archie Mitchell ( Larry Lamb ). He returns to meet Jean Slater ( Gillian Wright ) to finalise arrangements for

72192-442: Was a widely reported urban myth that, upon resumption of the BBC television service after the war, announcer Leslie Mitchell started by saying, "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted ..." In fact, the first person to appear when transmission resumed was Jasmine Bligh and the words said were "Good afternoon, everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh ... ?" The European Broadcasting Union

72474-446: Was adopted in Canada. Through collaboration with these state-run broadcasting centres, Reith left a legacy of cultural influence across the empire of Great Britain with his departure from the corporation in 1938. Experimental television broadcasts were started in 1929, using an electromechanical 30-line system developed by John Logie Baird . Limited regular broadcasts using this system began in 1932, and an expanded service (now named

72756-462: Was announced on 20 December 2018. Isabella Brown's casting was announced on 19 March 2019. Lexi made her return alongside Lola and Ben on 1 April 2019. Lexi is conceived during a one-night stand and Lola discovers she is pregnant in November 2011. Lola denies that Ben is the father and Abi Branning ( Lorna Fitzgerald ) breaks up with Jay Brown ( Jamie Borthwick ) when she thinks he is the father of Lola's baby. In April 2012, Lola discovers her baby

73038-409: 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

73320-425: 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. 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

73602-461: Was born out of extreme personal trauma in her life and not as the direct and sole consequence of losing her baby. It is Ofcom's view that the broadcaster did not intend the storyline to suggest that her actions were a typical response of a mother who had experienced SIDS and therefore sufficient editorial context was provided to viewers." —Ofcom's broadcast bulletin clearing the storyline BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC )

73884-429: Was cast in the role after hearing that producers were interested in him for the part. The character and casting were then announced on 15 November 2011. > Ray is a former army soldier with "discipline and [the ability] to handle himself in certain situations." He is also described as "noble" and "a man of principles". He also has a daughter, Sasha Dixon (Rebecca Sanneh). His storylines include meeting Morgan for

74166-413: 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

74448-422: Was divided on how to handle the BBC, but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PM's own. Although Winston Churchill in particular wanted to commandeer the BBC to use it "to the best possible advantage", Reith wrote that Stanley Baldwin 's government wanted to be able to say "that they did not commandeer [the BBC], but they know that they can trust us not to be really impartial". Thus

74730-412: Was established under a royal charter , and operates under an agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport . Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts or to use the BBC's streaming service, iPlayer . The fee

75012-441: Was followed by the Government's acceptance of the recommendation made by the Crawford Committee (1925–26) that the British Broadcasting Company be replaced by a non-commercial, Crown-chartered organisation: the British Broadcasting Corporation. The British Broadcasting Corporation came into existence on 1 January 1927, and Reith – newly knighted – was appointed its first director general. To represent its purpose and (stated) values,

75294-425: Was formed on 12 February 1950, in Torquay with the BBC among the 23 founding broadcasting organisations. Competition to the BBC was introduced in 1955, with the commercial and independently operated television network of Independent Television (ITV) . However, the BBC monopoly on radio services would persist until 8 October 1973 when under the control of the newly renamed Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA),

75576-502: 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

75858-453: Was its first director of music. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved domestic manufacturers. To this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to "inform, educate and entertain". The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate. Set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between

76140-401: Was killed in the New Year by Ronnie. Lola worries that Ben might want involvement in Lexi's upbringing when she discovers that Ben will be returning to Walford for his father's wedding to Sharon Rickman ( Letitia Dean ). Ben informs Lola that she does not need to worry as he comments that she is a good mother to Lexi, who is in the right place to be brought up. In July 2015, Lola and Jay begin

76422-406: Was left to BBC Radio broadcasters such as Reginald Foort to keep the nation's spirits up. The BBC moved most of its radio operations out of London, initially to Bristol , and then to Bedford . Concerts were broadcast from the Bedford Corn Exchange ; the Trinity Chapel in St Paul's Church, Bedford was the studio for the daily service from 1941 to 1945, and, in the darkest days of the war in 1941,

76704-741: Was longlisted for Best Young Actor at the Inside Soap Awards . He did not progress to the viewer-voted shortlist. Pete , played by Jason Riddington, appears on 4 September. He is first seen in the local nightclub R&R , where he flirts with Tanya Cross ( Jo Joyner ), Shirley Carter ( Linda Henry ) and Sharon Rickman ( Letitia Dean ). Shirley calls him desperate, and he tells her he has just been released from prison. Shirley then gets drunk with him, but when he grabs club manager Sharon's buttock, she tells him to leave. Pete then meets Shirley's ex-partner Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden ), and leaves with Shirley. He buys chips for her but when she says goodbye, he grabs her, so she kicks him. He grabs her by

76986-486: Was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, as was the prohibition on advertising. To avoid competition with newspapers, Fleet Street persuaded the government to ban news bulletins before 7 pm and the BBC was required to source all news from external wire services. The Radio Times , the world's first and longest-running radio and television listings magazine, was launched by Reith in September 1923. The first edition, subtitled "The official organ of

77268-533: Was made from the factory of Marconi Company in Chelmsford in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mail ' s Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe and featured the famous Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba . The Melba broadcast caught the people's imagination and marked a turning point in the British public's attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920,

77550-400: Was modified later on in its life to offer documentaries. In 2002, several television and radio channels were reorganised. BBC Knowledge was replaced by BBC Four and became the BBC's arts and documentaries channel. CBBC , which had been a programming strand as Children's BBC since 1985, was split into CBBC and CBeebies , for younger children, with both new services getting a digital channel:

77832-820: 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." 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...

78114-669: Was nothing to do but return home to Walford for help, complete with a huge baby bump" Unwanted pregnancies, suicide attempts, miscarriages – Kat has been through it all. But it was her relationship with Alfie that changed everything. Obvious to everyone that Alfie and Kat were meant for each other from the moment they met, he tamed her for a while but she couldn't be happy for long." 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

78396-421: Was provided for the decision to recast the role. The character was killed-off during the soap's 35th anniversary celebrations, making his final appearance in the episode originally broadcast on 21 February 2020. The character's departure had not been publicised prior to broadcast. Having believed that she was infertile, Sharon discovers that she is pregnant on Christmas Day 2005. Dennis is stabbed and killed in

78678-399: Was reintroduced as a regular character in April 2014 and continued to appear until 14 October 2016 when the character was axed from the show. Les first appears when he visits Carol Jackson ( Lindsey Coulson ) and David Wicks ( Michael French ) to arrange Pat Evans ' ( Pam St Clement ) funeral. He tells them he used to know Pat when he was an apprentice, implying he was her client when she

78960-410: Was reorganised and relaunched in 1995, as BBC Worldwide Ltd. In 1998, BBC studios, outside broadcasts, post production, design, costumes and wigs were spun off into BBC Resources Ltd. The BBC Research & Development has played a major part in the development of broadcasting and recording techniques. The BBC was also responsible for the development of the NICAM stereo standard. In recent decades,

79242-479: Was replaced by BBC Two HD in the same month. On 18 October 2007, BBC Director General Mark Thompson announced a controversial plan to make major cuts and reduce the size of the BBC as an organisation. The plans included a reduction in posts of 2,500; including 1,800 redundancies, consolidating news operations, reducing programming output by 10% and selling off the flagship Television Centre building in London. These plans were fiercely opposed by unions, who threatened

79524-411: Was reported in May 2012 that the character of Janine would go into labour on her wedding day to Michael, three months early. It was then reported in June 2012 that the baby would be named Scarlett Patricia Moon, after Janine initially decides to call her Patricia, after her former stepmother Pat Evans ( Pam St Clement ), who died earlier that year on 1 January. However, when she has second thoughts about

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