If you mentioned the name Jessie Wallace to any EastEnders fan, they’d know exactly who you’re talking about.
The name Jessie Wallace is synonymous with the feisty, animal print wearing Kat Slater – but what if we told you that wasn’t the actress’ real name?
It’s not uncommon for soap stars to use a stage name – and often it can be quite a radical change!
Coronation Street’s Georgia Taylor, who has played Toyah Battersby since 1997, is actually called Claire Jackson, whilst her co-stars Simon Gregson and Jane Danson have made minor tweaks from their birth names, Simon Gregory and Jane Dawson.
EastEnders legend Jessie, 52, took to Instagram last year to repost a story from a friend, which revealed her former name.
The picture was a cutting from a 1985 copy of The Guardian, with Jessie smiling alongside three friends.
The caption described the experience as a ‘very random day being in The Guardian newspaper’, with Jessie adding thatit was a ‘trippy day’, with a laughing emoji.
Beneath the photo, the actress was labelled as her birth name: Karen Wallis.
Viewers of the BBC One soap will of course know Jessie better by her stage name, after 24 years on our screens.
Iconic scenes which saw Kat reveal that she was the mother of Zoe Slater made Jessie a household name, with her performance in the role over the years winning her numerous awards.
In an Instagram post, she was keen to show off shared her collection of accolades.
‘Just having a spring clean and polishing the silver! Me? Showing off? Do me a favour!’ She captioned the post.
Her fellow EastEnders stars rushed to the comments, with Sonia Fowler actress Natalie Cassidy saying: ‘You should show off because you are AMAZING.’
Kacey Ainsworth, who played the iconic Little Mo Slater, joked: ‘You’ll need some scaffolding for that groaning sideboard soon.’
Fans have recently been treated to a trip down memory lane as Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) tried to deny his true feelings for soulmate Kat. Unfortunately, all attempts by family members to set the pair up on a date fell flat, and they are still insisting that they are no more than friends.
However, they will be forced to pull together to parent eldest son Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) in upcoming scenes, when he gets drawn into the world of petty crime.Away from the soap, Jessie recently underwent surgery on her foot after years of excruciating pain.
The 52-year-old took to Instagram to share a picture of her bandaged foot postoperative and told her followers: ‘Thank you RNOHT for my Silastic Arthroplasty.
‘After years of excruciating pain I am FREE!’
The surgical procedure replaces some of the joints in her feet with an artificial joint.
