Hello, DAD!
Freddie Slater rocks up, unaware that Billy isn’t his biological father
There’s a new face in Albert Square this week as Little Mo’s son, Freddie Slater, pitches up. Having been brought up by Mo in Devon, the handsome teen wants to reconnect with his estranged ‘father’, Billy Mitchell – little realising that he and the hapless market trader aren’t actually biologically related.
Freddie (Bobby Brazier, who is the son of presenter Jeff Brazier and the late reality TV star Jade Goody) follows in the footsteps of many a Walford teen and announces his presence by nicking something off the market. In his case, it’s one of Stacey’s baps (oo-er, missus), which comes off the back of some cheeky haggling on Billy’s stall.
Bobby Beale later spots him by the Tube station, where Freddie is being reprimanded for having jumped the ticket barrier (another Walford teen rite of passage). Kindly Bobby pays for his fare, but Billy sees red when he catches up with the lad again, and is about to call the police when Freddie interrupts and reveals that he is his son.
Billy’s flabbergasted, and when he later goes for a drink with Honey, his ex is stunned to discover that Freddie has been kept in the dark about his true parentage. Storming out, she demands Billy get in contact with Little Mo and they work out a way to put Freddie straight.
It’s a sensitive situation – you may recall Freddie was the product of Little Mo’s rape by Queen Vic punter Graham Foster in 2003.
Can Billy bring himself to admit the truth? And if so, how will Freddie react?