EastEnders icon Jane Slaughter: 'Tracey says very little – but she sees everything'
"There are lots of quiet Traceys all over the country, in cafés, in offices."
![EastEnders Tracey Jane Slaughter Jane Slaughter stands as Tracey The Barmaid in the Queen Vic hallway in EastEnders.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/12/EastEnders-Tracey-Jane-Slaughter-cff11f8.jpg?quality=90&resize=980,654)
Tracey has been a mainstay on EastEnders for 40 years, having made her debut in the soap's very first episode in February 1985.
Working the bar at The Vic gives characters the perfect base to watch everything go down in Walford, from the likes of Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) collecting his son Peter Beale (then Ben Hardy) to tell him the sad news of Lucy's death, to Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) discovering Phil and Sharon's affair, to Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) revealing the truth behind her affair and plenty of "Get out of my pub!" exclamations.
And for Jane Slaughter, who plays Tracey the barmaid, she has seen it all!
"Tracey sees everything and says very little, but people also wait with bated breath for what she might say," Slaughter told Radio Times magazine.
"There are lots of quiet Traceys all over the country, in cafés, in offices. People relate to that quiet, they like it. But nobody would ever call me Silent Jane. Most people would want me to shut up!"
![457420,EastEnders Jacqueline Jossa as Lauren Branning confronts Kellie Bright as Linda Carter and Harriet Thorpe as Elaine Peacock in the Queen Vic with Jane Slaughter as Tracey in the background in EastEnders.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/12/457420-8f1ed20.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,461)
There is plenty more to Tracey than meets the eye with a recent miniseries, Tracey: A Day in the Life, revealing that the barmaid had been married and divorced and has a son!
"She doesn't live in Walford, she lives in East Ham," Slaughter added.
Having been part of the soap for four decades, there is a lot Slaughter has had to adapt to. She explained: "EastEnders used to be two episodes a week. We had rehearsal rooms, tech run-through, dress rehearsals, a producers' run. Now it's four and it's rehearse, record."
While it may be "terrifying" for a guest star, Slaughter has "evolved with it".
The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here.
![WK8 Newsletter CoverE - Kellie Radio Times cover for the EastEnder's 40 year anniversary featuring Kellie Bright.](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/02/WK8-Newsletter-CoverE-Kellie-f763a73.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,937)
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
Authors
![MicrosoftTeams-image](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2023/08/MicrosoftTeams-image-111d6e1.jpg?quality=90&resize=2008,2008)
Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.