Charlie Slater
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| EastEnders character | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Charlie Slater | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Derek Martin Jason McGregor (flashback) |
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| Created by | Tony Jordan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | John Yorke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2000— | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 4 September 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 13 May 1941 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Widowed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | 23 Albert Square | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Taxi driver | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Charles "Charlie" Slater is a character in the British soap opera EastEnders. He is played by actor Derek Martin, making his first appearance on 4 September 2000. He was played by Jason McGregor in flashbacks in 2001.
[edit] History
Charlie is the head of the Slater family, the first child of Frederick Slater and his wife Mary. His daughters have run him ragged with revelations and personal problems. His major character transformation began when his long suffering daughter Little Mo Mitchell was raped by Graham following a violent relationship with and rape by Trevor. Taxi driver Charlie decided that the wisest course of action was to re-enact Travis Bickle's vigilante attack on the rapist Graham while giving him a lift in his taxi. Charlie's plea of not guilty when Graham sued him cut little ice in the civil court, as he had already pleaded guilty to GBH in the criminal court and been sent to prison. Charlie was surprised to discover the taxi drivers' licensing authority did not consider vigilante justice an appropriate use of his licence, which was revoked. It is alleged that Charlie's character has matured a great deal as a result of this, from a lazy man to a family man looking out for his daughters.
Charlie also had to support his niece and granddaughter Zoe Slater, who has aborted her baby but claimed she had a miscarriage.
He has recently had to start wearing glasses, but said he can't get used to them.
He and his mother-in-law are the only Slaters to have appeared constantly since their introduction, as his daughters have all left or taken several months break.
On 1 November 2007, Charlie walked his great-niece Stacey Slater down the aisle as she prepared to marry Bradley Branning. He then gave a tearful speech at their reception, before proudly seeing them off as they left on their honeymoon to Lanzarote.
In February 2008 after Stacey Slater took an overdose, Charlie admitted to Mo Harris that he felt he had failed Stacey as he had failed his other daughters. Mo phoned Belinda Peacock and invited her for tea with her family to cheer Charlie up however Belinda phoned up and said she could not make it to Charlie's disappointment.
On Valentine's Day, after much badgering from Mo, Charlie decided to put an ad in the "Lonely Hearts" section of the Walford Gazette, looking for a female companion. Mo and Jean also put Charlie on a new diet plan to help him lose weight, all the locals were informed about the diet and were told to help Charlie along. On February 25, after receiving some replies, Charlie got ready for a date with someone named Elizabeth. However, Charlie was stood up so instead took Peggy Mitchell for a meal at Fargo's, although it was just as friends. When Charlie leaned in to kiss Peggy for a great evening, he accidentally brushed her breast and looked rather embarrassed. Peggy later told Yolande Trueman and the two women had a laugh about it, and later that day Yolande told Charlie she would be taking him for a game of badminton to help him lose weight. When arriving back in Walford after the game, Yolande bent over to pick up her equipment when Charlie spotted a 'humbug' stuck to her bottom (Charlie had these hidden in his taxi so nobody knew he was breaking his diet), without thinking, Charlie reached out and grabbed the sweet and took Yolande by surprised. Yolande was furious and hit Charlie with the badminton racket when her husband Patrick Trueman ran out to see what the fuss was about, telling Charlie 'he could never trust him again'. Poor Charlie was branded a pervert by the locals for groping both Peggy and Yolande, and he couldn't explain himself. He eventually confessed to removing the sweet from Yolande's bottom and the crowd in the Vic roared with laughter and Charlie was forgiven.
[edit] In popular culture
The character of Charlie Slater has been spoofed in the cartoon sketch show 2DTV. Also, when Derek Martin appeared as a guest star on the third series of Little Britain, he played himself and was constantly referred to by the character of Marjorie Dawes as "Charlie Slater".
[edit] External links
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