Freddie Slater’s on a mission to track down his real dad, Graham Foster, in EastEnders. He doesn’t know anything about the mystery man, and he’s determined to find out more about him.
But the Slater family are equally determined not to let that happen.
So what was the story with Freddie’s dad, and why doesn’t Kat want him to know the truth?
Who is Freddie’s mum?
Freddie’s mum is Mo Slater – AKA Little Mo. She’s Kat’s sister (their other sisters are Lynne and Belinda) and was once married to Billy Mitchell.
Who is Freddie’s dad?
Freddie’s dad – as Tommy worked out when he was eavesdropping on his mum’s conversation – is a man called Graham Foster (not to be confused with his Emmerdale namesake!).
He met Mo when he started drinking at The Queen Vic back in 2003.
What happened with Mo and Graham Foster?
Mo – who was married to Billy at the time – and Graham struck up a friendship, bonding over their love of crosswords. But things took a sinister turn when he stayed in the pub one night after closing. He told Mo he wouldn’t leave until his favourite song had ended – though he’d actually put it on repeat.
He then made a move on Mo and tried to kiss her. She made it clear she wasn’t interested but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He raped Mo on the floor of the pub.
What next?
When Mo found out she was pregnant, she told her family what had happened and not surprisingly, her dad Charlie was FURIOUS.
He assaulted Graham, and ended up being sent to prison and losing his taxi licence.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Graham then SUED the family for compensation.
We know! The absolute cheek of the man.
He demanded £10,000 from the Slaters which Kat and Alfie coughed up after borrowing the wonga from Kat’s ex-fiance, gangster Andy Hunter, leaving them in his debt.
Which wasn’t ideal. Obvs.
Graham on trial
Mo bravely reported Graham and he stood trial for his crime. But he couldn’t hide his true nature even on the stand. His mother told Mo that Graham had two children from his failed marriage that he never saw. Mo clocked Graham verbally abusing his mum and told her it reminded her of the way her abusive husband Trevor treated her.
Graham lied to the court and said he saw his kids regularly and when it was revealed that he hadn’t seen them for three years, he lost his temper and shouted at his mum from the stand.
He was eventually found guilty and he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Visiting time
A couple of months later, in early 2005, Billy was already struggling with the knowledge that baby Freddie was Graham’s son.
He went to visit Graham but it was a bad idea! Graham goaded Billy about being Freddie’s dad, telling him his son was Graham’s, and reminding Billy that Freddie had two sisters.
He even taunted Billy by saying he thought Freddie would look like him and said he was looking forward to meeting him when he got out of jail.
But that never happened.
Until now!
Is Graham back?
Freddie’s tracked down his car salesman dad without any trouble whatsoever, and he’s determined to make contact. But is he playing with fire? And will the Slaters reveal the truth?
Who plays Graham Foster?
Graham is played by Alex McSweeney. He played Graham back in 2003, when he first came to Albert Square, and he’s BACK!
“I was grateful to be asked back to EastEnders to reprise the role of Graham Foster as I thought it was important for Freddie Slater to be given some answers about his dad,” Alex said. “I thoroughly enjoyed working with the talented Bobby Brazier on these scenes.”
We’re looking forward to the fireworks when Freddie meets Graham.
And we’re not the only ones hoping this might mean a return for Little Mo, too. Are we?
Read more: Complete EastEnders cast list for 2023 right here!
EastEnders usually airs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One
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