EastEnders star Gillian Wright's dream is for another Slaters spin-off episode for soap
Gillian Wright's dream is for EastEnders to make a spin-off episode that sees the Slater family holidaying in "Barbados".
Gillian Wright's dream is for EastEnders to make a spin-off episode of the Slater family in "Barbados".
The 65-year-old actress, best known for playing Jean Slater in the hit BBC soap, likes the idea of holidaying with her loved ones on the Caribbean island, including Jean's daughter Stacey (Lacey Turner), and her grandchildren Lily (Lillia Turner), Hope and Arthur, great-granddaughter Charli, and Stacey's cousin Freddie (Bobby Brazier).
It may also include characters connected to the Slaters, such as Jean's niece by marriage, Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace), Kat's husband Alfie Moon (Shane Richie), Kat and Alfie's children Tommy (Sonny Kendall), Bert and Ernie, and Stacey's grandmother figure Mo Harris (Laila Morse).
Asked what would be her dream storyline for Jean in the future, Gillian quipped in the new issue of Inside Soap magazine: "A spin-off in Barbados [laughs]!"
But thinking the idea through, Gillian - who has appeared in EastEnders on-and-off since 2004 - thinks Jean would struggle in the heat.
She added: "I think the Slaters abroad would be great, although I don't think Jean would cope very well with the heat, would she?
"She'd be covered in factor 50, with a sun hat and everything!"
In 2003, former EastEnders Executive Producer Tony Jordan wrote and released a DVD-only spin-off comedic episode that focuses on the Slaters.
Titled Slaters in Detention, it follows Kat, her daughter Zoe (Michelle Ryan), and their sisters Lynne (Elaine Lordan) and Little Mo (Kacey Ainsworth) dressing up in school uniform for a local disco.
However, they end up in a police cell where they reflect on the events of their lives, such as when Kat revealed that Zoe was her daughter, as well as Little Mo's marriage to the violent, aggressive and manipulative Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns).
Elsewhere in Gillian's interview with the magazine, she said how much she respects Lacey Turner, 37, for taking a break from EastEnders.
Lacey - who joined the soap as Stacey in 2004, and after departing Walford in 2010, she returned in 2014 - will be leaving Walford later on in 2025 to focus on family life with her husband Matt Kay and their three children - daughters Dusty, five, and seven-month-old Gipsy, and son Trilby, four.
And Gillian thinks Lacey deserves to have a rest from doing EastEnders, and she knows they will stay in touch off-screen.
She said: "Everyone asks if I feel sad, and I don't - I applaud her for taking a step back and reuniting herself with her family.
"There was a period of eight years where Lacey was on the show without me and vice versa, so we're used to it, and I think we're both very good at keeping each other present in our on-screen lives."
Gillian is certain Lacey will come back to EastEnders in the future.
She added: "It's not like the character will be forgotten, and I'm sure we'll see her back at some point.
"Lacey deserves this, she's worked really hard."
