As the painful reunion of Zoe Slater and mum Kat continues in EastEnders tonight (Tuesday, September 2), talk turned to Zoe’s father and Kat’s uncle, the vile Harry Slater. This came as Zoe, feeling tricked into seeing her mum again, attempted to get back out of Walford.
However, Zoe was determined to get through to her daughter, and did her best to make Zoe open up over what had driven her away. As it turned out, it wasn’t just Kat’s parenting which had driven her away.
Sharing her disgust at being what she described as an ‘incest rape baby,’ Zoe has never overcome the revelation that her sister was actually her mum. And, more than that, the horrifiying knowledge that Harry was her biological father.
But what do we know about Harry Slater?
Who was EastEnders’ Harry Slater, and what did he do to Kat?
Harry Slater was the younger brother of Kat’s father, Charlie. Unbeknownst to her dad, Harry had begun grooming niece Kat when she was a child.
When she turned 13, Harry raped Kat, resulting in the birth of twins Zoe and Luke. Aware of what had happened, Kat’s mum, Viv, covered it all up. Passing the second baby off as afterbirth, Viv left Luke for adoption at a convent, while raising Zoe as the daughter of herself and Charlie.
Soon after the incident, Harry left the UK for Spain.
Return to the UK and death
Harry arrived in Walford in 2001, to visit Charlie and his family. By this time, the girls’ mother had died, and the Slaters had relocated to Walford.
After meeting and hitting it off with Peggy Mitchell, Harry announced his plans to emigrate to Spain along with the Mitchell matriarch. However, Kat was incensed by the news that Zoe planned on joining Harry and Peggy in Spain, and forbade her from going.
During the resultant argument, the truth came out, as Kat revealed to Zoe that she was actually her mother. As Zoe demanded to know who her father was, Kat was forced to admit that she’d been raped by her uncle, Harry.
Having learned what Harry had done, Charlie confronted his brother in The Vic, attacking him in front of a shocked crowd of punters. Harry left shortly after that, disowned by his family.
He died from a heart attack the following year. He left Zoe £18,000 in his will but, seeing how much the money was eating Kat up, Zoe opted to burn the cheque instead.
However, if the events of tonight’s episode are anything to go by, his monstrous presence still looms large over the lives of both women.
Read more: EastEnders fans predict Zoe is hiding a baby secret… and it’s not Joel.