Jessie Wallace is actually a stage name (Picture: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
The name Jessie Wallace is synonymous to EastEnders fans with the feisty, animal print wearing Kat Slater, but what if we told you that wasn’t the actress’ real name?
Jessie recently took to Instagram to repost a story from a friend, which revealed the name she used to go by.
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 that it was a ‘trippy day’, with a laughing emoji.
Beneath the photo, the actress was labelled as her birth name: Karen Wallis.
Jessie was pictured in The Guardian in 1985 (Picture: Instagram / Jessie Wallace)
EastEnders fans will of course know Jessie by her stage name, after 23 years in the soap.
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 a recent Instagram post, she shared a photo of 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.’
On screen, Kat was most recently seen sticking up for ex-husband Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) when new Queen Vic landlady Elaine Peacock (Harriet Thorpe) gave him a hard time.
She is due to marry Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) on Christmas Day, but thanks to a flash forward episode back in February, viewers know that the day is set to be dramatic, with one Walford resident ending up dead.
Will Kat and Phil make it down the aisle, or are Phil’s days numbered?
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Jessie Wallace is just a stage name! Who knew?
