Bobby Brazier is stepping into EastEnders on Tuesday, September 6 to play care-free teenage tearaway Freddie Slater. He's the son of Kat's older sister Little Mo and tensions immediately rise around Walford from the moment he arrives.
Billy Mitchell in particular gets a big shock when a teenager turns up in Bridge Street Market and introduces himself as his son. The young man in question is Freddie Slater, whose mum is Billy’s ex-wife Little Mo. She’s been living in Devon with her boy since 2006 and has brought him up to believe that the hapless market trader is his dad.
Freddie’s come to Walford to reconnect with his estranged ‘father’, totally unaware that he was actually conceived when Queen Vic punter Graham Foster viciously raped Little Mo back in 2003. Can Billy bring himself to admit the truth? And if so, how will Freddie react?
Bobby Brazier is just 19 himself and is the son of TV presenter Jeff Brazier and the late Big Brother star Jade Goody. What To Watch recently met up with Bobby on the EastEnders set to hear all about Walford newest teenager Freddie Slater and what it's been like to join EastEnders, having been a huge star on social media such as Tik Tok and Instagram...
Interview: Bobby Brazier on playing Freddie Slater and joining EastEnders...
Bobby Brazier told us: "‘Freddie ain’t trying to prove himself as a bad boy but he’s also a lad who does silly things and he’s reckless. A lot of what he does comes from a place of love. I can’t wait for everyone to meet him!
"I had some big scenes right from the off! They threw me in at the deep end. Freddie’s still developing as a character as well which is fun to get to play.
"The scenes with Billy Mitchell and Freddie at the start (see above) were a big moment for me. Probably my biggest personal moment so far. I had an emotional scene where I was coming into the cafe it was like: ‘I don’t want any lying any more. Stop lying to me.’ There was grief and anger and just a lot of emotion and Freddie was overwhelmed with emotion."
"The scene was filmed over lunch and beforehand I prepped but I hadn’t really got into the emotion of Freddie and stuff. Over lunch I decided to lock myself in my changing room. It was really sweaty in there! Just getting the emotion of Freddie and really feel the character helped the scene and to understand it. I feel like I smashed it a bit. I was overwhelmed with emotion to the point where I was shaking after filming — Emma Barton (Honey) and Perry Fenwick (Billy) came round the corner and gave me a kiss and a cuddle. I really appreciate stuff like that."
"Before I came in to start filming on EastEnders, people were saying there’s a lot of love here on set and I felt it straightaway. The fact that I feel that off set makes me feel more comfortable on set. And that means I can learn quicker and become a better actor. I feel really lucky!
"I want to give a special mention to Lacey Turner (Stacey). Lacey feels like home. She doesn’t realise how beautiful and funny she is. She’s great. I could say that about Emma Barton too!"
EastEnders airs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm on BBC One — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on BBC iPlayer now.
