There are others that marry into the family like Kat's husband Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and her ex-husband Alfie Moon (Shane Ritchie), Stacey's mother Jean and her wife Eve Unwin (Heather Peace), while Kat's grandmother and Charlie's mother-in-law, Mo Harris (Laila Morse), is also considered to be part of the family.

[2][3] Prior to the workshop session, Yorke assumed he would create a more traditionally structured family, consisting of a mother, a father and two children.

[2] Derek Martin was cast as patriarch Charlie Slater later than his screen daughters, in his third audition for EastEnders, having previously been considered for the roles of Den Watts and Frank Butcher.

[6] Upon the introduction of Charlie's brother Harry Slater (Michael Elphick) in 2001, it transpired that Zoe was actually Kat's daughter, conceived as a product of rape following her molestation by her uncle.

Both Harry and Little Mo's abusive husband Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns), introduced in December 2000, were outsiders to the core family unit, never given a permanent home on Albert Square.

Yorke felt that this was an important distinction to make, as when the possibility of a child sexual abuse storyline was discussed, it was concluded that the audience would feel "betrayed" were such a revelation to be made about a long-established and well-liked character.

Lynne became the first original Slater character to leave the series after executive producer Louise Berridge decided not to renew Lordon's contract.

[16] The final Slater sister actress, Ainsworth, announced her plans to leave the show to pursue new projects in April 2006.

[27] The affair is revealed to their family on Christmas Day through a DVD made by Max's daughter, Lauren Branning (Madeline Duggan), and Bradley ends their marriage.

[27] In 2009, Stacey was used to highlight the issue of bipolar disorder, a storyline which was created as part of the BBC's Headroom campaign tackling mental health awareness.

[35] Days later, Turner and Wood (Max Branning) feature in a two-hander episode written by series consultant and lead writer Simon Ashdown.

[36] Following his appointment in 2010, executive producer Bryan Kirkwood opted to write out multiple characters from the series, including Charlie.

[45] It was confirmed that Kat and Alfie would become the landlord and landlady of The Queen Victoria pub, a pivotal location in the series, when it reopens following a fire.

The birth forms a new story for the family when Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack) swaps her dead baby with Tommy.

[59] Nine months later, Kat gives birth to their twin sons, Bert and Ernie Moon (Freddie and Stanley Beale).

Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins described Stacey as "one of EastEnders' best-loved characters, played by one of television's finest actors".

At the time of the reveal, the story was described by Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy as "one of the longest-running mysteries in EastEnders history".

[75] The controller of BBC One, Charlotte Moore, said about Kat and Alfie's new story, "Rest assured, their rollercoaster isn't set to end any time soon.

[75] The storyline was revealed in May when it emerges that Kat unknowingly gave birth to a secret son: the twin brother of Zoe.

Martin looked forward to filming with the Slater family again and stated that he would return as part of "a big and important storyline".

[81] During the guest stint, Kat is told about her secret son and the tension in the family leads to Charlie's sudden death.

Treadwell-Collins, who created the series, explained that the decision was made not to include Bert and Ernie as he believed that Kat and Alfie would be restricted by their appearance.

[91] The first episode of the series sees Kat's son revealed to be murderous Catholic priest Dermott Dolan (Oisín Stack).

[96] The following month, it was reported that Stacey would fall pregnant, sparking a "who's the daddy" storyline with either Martin or Kush as potential fathers.

[98] In December 2015, it was announced that Stacey would be diagnosed with rare mental illness postpartum psychosis, a condition associated with mothers with bipolar disorder, after she gives birth across the Christmas period.

On Stacey and Martin's relationship and the family, Turner told David Brown of the Radio Times, "They're a real team and no matter what happens they always seem to come out the other end stronger than ever.

On Yorke's creative choices with the family, Wallace commented, "There's the hustle and bustle of the Slaters, supporting each other, arguing with each other, laughing, it's just great.

[112] In September 2018, it was announced that Ashley McGuire has been cast in the role of Hayley's manipulative and villainous mother, Bev Slater.

[118] In November 2018, it was announced that the show would launch a new audio drama spin-off series, EastEnders: The Podcast, following different characters.

The first episode, released on 28 November, is 20-minutes in length and focuses on Kat, Alfie and Hayley and their time in Spain, set in March 2018.