EastEnders fans all have the same complaint about Stacey Slater – and her poverty storyline.
The single mum has been struggling for months with the rising cost of living.
With three children to feed – and a pregnant 12-year-old insistent on becoming a mother herself – Stacey has found that her food van business, benefits and child maintenance just isn’t going far enough.
For months fans have watched Stacey struggle to even afford milk for her morning brews.
Last week she even took drastic action to help her financial situation.
Having taken on extra cleaning work at nights, Stacey found an unlocked cash box in the office she was hired to clean.
Snatching up the cash – easily thousands – Stacey seemed to have solved all her problems.
But fans all have noticed the same thing – and they have the same complaint.
EastEnders fans point out huge blunder in Stacey Slater storyline
Stacey doesn’t just live alone with her children.
She also has five other working adults pitching in.
There’s cleaner mum Jean, cab driver Harvey, former lawyer Eve, barman Alfie and chippy worker Freddie.
And fans say between them they shouldn’t be scraping by.
One fan said on a Digital Spy forum: “I don’t get how she can be really struggling with that many adults in the house.
“They must contribute financially. Her kids are all at school (when Lily can be bothered) so she’s not paying for childcare.
“Although he said he’s cutting it down, Ryan pays child support, as must Martin – who is supposedly on some big job abroad to earn more money for the baby.
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“Surely Eve can ask Suki to reduce the rent, too.”
Another said: “Stacey is constantly moaning that she can’t feed her kids, but like all EastEnders characters who plead poverty, she never goes to the food bank or gets government help.
“Probably because the government would ask why she doesn’t get financial help from the five other adults living in her house.”
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A third said: “This is one of the main reasons the story has no real impact on me. Yes, you can still struggle for money even with many people working, but it just doesn’t feel true to me in this instance.
“Not helped by how many times the Slaters have had these stories, with nothing ever changing.”
However, someone else said this week after seeing Stacey take the money from her job: “I would and have done exactly the same in Stacey’s situation. Consequences are an afterthought when you’ve got hungry mouths to feed & you feel like you’re drowning, let’s not forget this is many people’s reality in this country day in day out!”
EastEnders usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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