Charlie Slater 
 played by Derek Martin

Mild-mannered taxi driver Charlie dotes on his girls, and lets them wind him round their little fingers. He stays positive as long as his family's round him.

First appearance: 04.09.2000

Marital Status: widowed

Address: 23 Albert Square

Occupation: Taxi driver

Most likely to say

I only want us all to be happy together.

Back to all Characters

Charlie Slater

Character profile

Mild-mannered cabbie Charlie Slater is the glue that holds his troubled family together. As the Slater girls lurch from crisis to crisis, it’s their dear old dad who is their rock.

The storms that have battered the Slater family have been many – from the revelation that Kat was Zoe’s mother, to Little Mo’s domestic abuse and subsequent rape, Lynne losing her baby, and Stacey’s bipolar diagnosis. But without Charlie’s support, and endless mugs of tea and sympathy, it’s unlikely they’d have weathered them.

Family

Harry Slater thumbnail

Harry Slater

Brother

Mo Harris thumbnail

Mo Harris

Mother-in-law

Kat Moon thumbnail

Kat Moon

Daughter

Lynne Slater thumbnail

Lynne Slater

Daughter

Belinda Peacock thumbnail

Belinda Peacock

Daughter

Zoe Slater thumbnail

Zoe Slater

Granddaughter

Freddie Mitchell thumbnail

Freddie Mitchell

Grandson

Stacey Slater thumbnail

Stacey Slater

Great-niece

Sean Slater thumbnail

Sean Slater

Great-nephew

Mary Slater thumbnail

Mary Slater

Mother (deceased)

Frederick Slater thumbnail

Frederick Slater

Father (deceased)

Brian Slater thumbnail

Brian Slater

Nephew (deceased)

Love

Brenda thumbnail

Brenda

Charlie met Brenda after Jean pretended to be him online.

Peggy Mitchell thumbnail

Peggy Mitchell

Charlie had his eye on her, but his brother Harry had more luck. Harry even proposed, but then the Slater family secret came out.

Viv Slater thumbnail

Viv Slater

Charlie was happily married to Mo's daughter. He nursed her until her death in 1999 following a stroke.

Key dates

13 Jan 2011
Leaves the Square on the tube under a dark cloud over the death of baby Tommy.

06 Jan 2011
Admits to Kat that Tommy died alone while he was downstairs in the Vic celebrating.

14 Sept 2010
Learning the shocking news that Lily is not Bradley's baby...

23 June 2010
Finding out that Stacey's given birth.

27 Nov 2009
Having a one-night-stand with Liz.

04 Sep 2009
Discovering that Orlenda was trying to con him out of money.

31 Aug 2009
Surprising the Slaters by bringing home Orlenda, a sexy Russian friend.

08 May 2009
Driving Jack to the airport to stop Ronnie and giving 'sage' relationship advice on the way.

06 Feb 2004
Earning a prison term for beating up rapist Graham.

25 Dec 2002
Giving Little Mo away on her wedding day to Billy.

21 Jan 2002
Threatening Trevor after Little Mo was arrested for attempted murder.

04 Oct 2001
Discovering that his brother Harry was Zoe's father.

Actor profile

About Derek Martin

Derek's highly skilled at bowling, cricket and golf

He's a former stuntman and once broke his collar bone falling from a horse.

Derek's prized possession is an oil painting of himself done by a Royal Academy artist fifteen years ago.

He was offered the role of Frank Butcher in 1986 but turned it down.

Derek is an East Ender through and through. He was born in Bow, and went to the same school as the notorious Kray twins.

He's had quite a few unusual jobs - RAF policeman, bouncer, rag-and-bone man and a porter at Smithfield meat market.

Derek's a big Chelsea football fan. Their ground is his favourite spot in London.

Star sign: Aries

Eye colour: Blue-grey

Height: 1.78

First appearance: 11.09.2000

Derek started off in showbiz as a stuntman. After breaking his collar bone filming the historical drama Elizabethe R, he made the switch to acting.

Derek's other major soap role was playing Alex Morris in the BBC's early 90s Spanish soap Eldorado He's also starred in The Governor and The Chinese Detective.

Since the 1960s he's guested in many British TV programmes including Doctor Who, The Sweeney, Only Fools and Horses and Elizabeth R.

Characters

Glenda Mitchell

Glenda Mitchell

Played by Glynis Barber

Darren Miller

Darren Miller

Played by Charlie G Hawkins

Janine Butcher

Janine Malloy

Played by Charlie Brooks

View all character profiles

The British Soap Awards

Jessie Wallace as Kat and Shane Richie as Alfie

Vote for your favourite soap

EastEnders wins an RTS award!

Carol Jackson

"... a real class above the rest"

Walford webcams

Webcam

See all our Walford webcams

bbc.co.uk navigation

BBC © 2011

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.