10 Facts About Jessie Wallace (Eastenders’ Kat Moon)
lnside soap YOUR BRIEFING ON THE WOMAN BEHIND EASTENDERS’ KAT…
1 Jessie Wallace was born as Karen Jane Wallace on 25 September 1971
to father James, a telecommunications engineer, and mother Annette, who was a secretary. Her parents divorced when Jessie was three years old, so she was raised by her dad, and saw her mum at weekends. She grew up in north London and has two sisters, Danielle and Joanne. Jessie adopted her stage name after her grandmother.
2 At the age of 21, Jessie moved to Portugal, working in bars for just over six months. When she returned to the UK, she trained as a make-up artist at the College of North East London. Later, Jessie worked at the Royal Shakespeare Company for two years, where she met actor – and future Game Of Thrones star – Iain Glen, who helped her to apply for drama school.
3 Jessie joined the cast of Eastenders in 2000, as Kat arrived in Walford with her dad, Charlie Slater, and her sisters, Lynne, Little Mo and Zoe, and their grandmother, Mo Harris. The nation was soon gripped when Kat revealed Zoe was not her sister, but her daughter! The arrival of Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) in 2002 created one of the show’s most popular couples ever. Alfie and Kat left the Square in 2005, coming back in 2010, but departing once more in 2015. Jessie returned earlier this year.
4 During her acting career, Jessie has worked in a fair few places – and not just in the UK! In 2007, she flew to Johannesburg to film ITV’S Sunday night drama Wild At Heart. She played high-maintenance Amy Kriel, who found it hard to fit into life in South Africa until she met Sarah Travanion (Amanda Holden). By the end of her trip, Amy finally managed to swap her fashion statements for some more practical combat trousers!
5 Jessie has also made a name for herself over in Weatherfield! She played Corrie legend Pat Phoenix (aka Elsie Tanner) in BBC4’S 2010 TV film The Road To
Coronation Street, which told the story of the early days of the successful soap, and Jessie received great acclaim for her performance. Jessie’s other work has included one-off drama The Dinner Party, alongside Lee Evans and Alison Steadman.
6 After leaving Eastenders in 2015, Jessie and Shane filmed a spin-off show, Kat & Alfie: Redwater. Set in Ireland, the drama followed the Walford characters as they searched for Kat’s long-lost son. At the very end of the six-part series, both Kat and Alfie were in deadly danger… but their subsequent appearances in Eastenders seem to suggest that the pair survived! Sadly, the show was not renewed for a second series, but Jessie confessed she wasn’t too disappointed, saying, “When it ended, I just wanted to come back to Eastenders!”
7 Jessie Wallace met policeman Dave Morgan in 2003 – the two dated and were engaged, before calling it off in 2004. The pair have a daughter together, Tallulah Lilac, now 13 years old. “We’re best mates,” says Jessie of her girl. “She comes out with hilarious things – she’s so observant, so clever.”
8 Jessie is also known for her powerful singing voice! After an impromptu audition, Jessie was given the part of Marie Lloyd in Miss Marie Lloyd: Queen Of The Music Hall, part of BBC4’S 2007 Edwardian season. Jessie has also sung with Tom Arnold and the two recorded a duet, Soho Sunset, which features on his album, The Soho Boho.
9 Jessie’s younger half-sister, Danielle Mason, appeared on documentary My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding in 2012, after marrying cage-fighter Tony Giles. Danielle and Tony have two children together, Rudy and Delilah, but the couple split in 2016 after the traveller lifestyle of being a full-time mum and housekeeper became too much. Earlier in 2018, it was rumoured that the
pair reconciled.
10 Jessie and Shane say they are “like brother and sister” and often bicker – but they’re certainly close! After Redwater, they toured
in a play – The Perfect Murder – before going on to pantomime Robin
Hood. “Kat and Alfie’s marriage has lasted longer than any of my real ones!” says Shane. “We just know each other really well as friends off-screen as well as actors, and we can tell each other what we’re thinking. We tell the truth to each other.”