EastEnders favourite Jean Slater has been on our screens for almost two decades.

In episodes set to air this week, a guilty Jean is set to try and make amends with Freddie Mitchell (Bobby Brazier) after hurting his feelings with a harsh comment.

She tries to convince Freddie to confront a former teacher for humiliating him at school, though Freddie is initially reluctant.

Jean, alongside Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell) and Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman), accompany Freddie for moral support.

Through mental and physical health battles to finding love and confronting death – Jean has been through it all, and we’ve been right here with her cheering her on.

But who plays the character, and how did her tenure with EastEnders begin?

Who plays Jean Slater?

Jean is played by Gillian Wright, whose first ever television appearance was in 1994 in an episode of Chucklevision.

The actress starred as Mrs Stone in the episode titled Mind over Marrow.

She has since gone on to appear in the likes of Casualty, Holby City, Doctors, Heartbeat, Silent Witness, and The Bill.

Gillian also starred as ‘Eddie’s Woman’ in 2003 hit film Calender Girls.

As well as various TV and film roles, Gillian has also appeared on the stage in Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Dick Whittington and His Cat, and the world premiere of Religion and Anarchy.

When did she join EastEnders?

Gillian first appeared in EastEnders in 2004 for a one-off episode as Jean Slater, Stacey (Lacey Turner) and Sean’s (Robert Kazinsky) mum.

After her introduction, she was eventually made a regular cast member in the following year, still with Gillian in the role.

When she first came into the soap, she was depicted as suffering with bipolar disorder and her story showed how the disorder put a strain on her relationship with her children.

In 2006, she collected a Mental Health Media Award for her portrayal of Jean in the soap.

Jean was eventually written out of the series, however, the character returned in 2011 and went on to begin an unlikely relationship with Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd).

Gillian left the soap again in 2013 with her character following love interest Ollie Walters (Tony O’Callaghan) to Brighton, but she returned for a number of episodes between 2014 and 2017.

In December 2017, it was announced that Jean would be reintroduced as a regular character, along with Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and Mo Harris (Laila Morse), with Gillian returning in 2018.

The following year, Jean was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and deals with Sean’s emotional exit from the soap as he visits a mental health facility.

Jean goes on to strike up a relationship with Daniel Cook (Ade Edmondson) who she visits each time she is in hospital.

Daniel eventually reveals his cancer has become terminal and fakes his own death so as to spare Jean the pain of watching him die slowly, though the pair are eventually reunited and spend Daniel’s last moments together after Jean’s cancer is gone.

EastEnders continues tonight at 7.30pm on BBC One.

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