Jessie Wallace has landed in hot water with BBC bosses over using her Kat Slater catchphrases to promote a beauty brand.
The broadcasting giant received complaints from viewers who were confused to see her promoting a commercial product using some of Kat Slater’s most famous lines from EastEnders.
The company in London published videos on their Instagram page of Jessie promoting their services whilst using catchphrases and memorable lines from the show.
The posts have since been removed from the beauty companies social media page.
Jessie has been warned by BBC bosses that this contradicts what she has agreed in her contract.
Jessie Wallace has landed in hot water with BBC bosses over using her Kat Slater catchphrases to promote a beauty brand
The broadcasting giant received complaints from viewers who were confused to see her promoting a product using some of Kat Slater’s most famous lines from EastEnders
She has been warned this could be considered a breach, will not be tolerated and has been read the riot act by EastEnders executives.
Other stars of the show have also been angered as there are strict procedures in place to ensure any commercial partnership or gifting is approved and declared.
But using the shows livelihood to promote a brand using character phrases has upset a lot of management also.
The shows intellectual property and ownership of its image and catchphrases is fiercely protected and being a public funded broadcaster there are rules in place to ensure this isn’t commercialised.
A source told : ‘Jessie doesn’t like being told what to do and has had the posts removed.
‘The general feeling is she should know better having been in the show for so long.’
The breach is the latest in a string of controversies to blight the show and its cast, and comes just months after Wallace was pictured socialising with convicted road rage murderer Kenneth Noye.
In November the actress hung out in the same VIP box as Noye during an Elvis Presley tribute concert at London’s O2 Arena.
The breach is the latest in a string of controversies to blight the show and its cast, and comes after Wallace was pictured socialising with convicted road rage murderer Kenneth Noye
Wallace herself was arrested in 2022 after kneeing a policeman in the groin following a boozy night out (pictured)
The EastEnders actress enjoyed lavish £200-per-person hospitality alongside a number of other guests, including the gangster, 76, who received 25-year sentence for murdering Stephen Cameron, 21, on a slip road on the M25, in May 1996 – before fleeing to Spain.
Noye also fatally stabbed uncover policeman John Fordman in 1985 only to be acquitted on the grounds of self-defence.
Wallace was herself arrested in 2022 after kneeing a policeman in the groin following a boozy night out, with the copper later quitting his job after feeling ‘unsupported and exposed’ when she was let off with a caution.
The BBC was forced to take action in 2004 after former cast-member Leslie Grantham was caught up in a dressing room sex-scandal involving a webcam.
Grantham murdered a taxi driver in a 1966 robbery, and during his 10-year prison sentence, he took up acting.
This led to him landing a role on the soap as Den Watts. The character was abusive to wife Angie and got his 16-year-old daughter’s best friend pregnant – aptly earning the name ‘Dirty Den’.
He was seemingly killed off by a hitman in 1989, before miraculously returning from the dead in 2003.
Den’s revival was short-lived, however, when Grantham, who died in June 2018, aged 71, was caught in a sex scandal in a BBC dressing room – and the character was killed off for a second time shortly afterwards.
The BBC was forced to take action in 2004 after former cast-member Leslie Grantham was caught up in a dressing room sex-scandal involving a webcam
His character Den Watts was abusive to wife Angie and got his 16-year-old daughter’s best friend pregnant – aptly earning the name ‘Dirty Den’
He was seemingly killed off by a hitman in 1989, before miraculously returning from the dead in 2003
The actor apologised after the incident was revealed and said he was ‘wholeheartedly ashamed.’
Elaine Lordan, who played loudmouth Lynne Slater (Hobbs), was the oldest of the Slater sisters – including Kat – when she arrived at Walford in 2000.
She had a turbulent relationship with her husband Gary but adultery on both sides eventually ends their marriage.
Off screen Lordan is thought to have sought professional help in 2003 for her drinking woes and was seen drinking from a bottle of white wine in the street.
The 47-year-old who has battled alcoholism in the past, endured a tragic course of events when her mother, father and son died in close succession, shortly after she was treated for the problem.
In 2001, she received a driving ban for drink-driving and was ordered to pay £750 by magistrates in St Albans and ordered to pay £2,500 costs.
Former EastEnders star Elaine Lordan is thought to have sought professional help in 2003 for her drinking woes and was later seen drinking from a bottle of white wine in the street
The actress played loudmouth Lynne Slater (Hobbs), was the oldest of the Slater sisters – including Kat – when she arrived at Walford in 2000
Elsewhere show favourite Ricky Norwood was suspended from the soap for two months after pictures emerged of him apparently smoking a marijuana cigarette on Skype.
The 40-year-old, who played Arthur ‘Fatboy’ Chubb in the BBC show from 2010 to 2015 (before appearing in a flashback for an episode earlier this year), also reportedly performed a sex act while naked during the video conversation.
He was suspended for two months, and the London-born actor has since apologised for his actions.
Award-winning EastEnders actor Khali Best allegedly punched a taxi driver in the face after refusing to pay a £61 fare on his way home from a red carpet ceremony.
Best, who played mechanic Dexter Harman from 2013 to 2015, allegedly left 63-year-old Peter Callow with a bleeding black eye and £600-worth of damage.
Cautioned by police for criminal damage and common assault, the actor was also suspended from his role in EastEnders for three months following the attack.
It came just months after he was named Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards for his portrayal as lovable Bad Boy Dexter.
Elsewhere show favourite Ricky Norwood was suspended from the soap for two months after pictures emerged of him apparently smoking a marijuana cigarette on Skype
In 2007, BBC bosses suspended EastEnders star Robert Kazinsky following yet another sex scandal to hit the soap
He had his debut on the show in 2013 and was seen struggling to accept his estranged father Sam coming back into his life again, only to discover all he wanted was his son to donate him a kidney.
In 2007, BBC bosses suspended EastEnders star Robert Kazinsky following yet another sex scandal to hit the soap.
Kazinsky, 40, who shot to fame as the show’s womaniser Sean Slater, was temporarily axed for allegedly bombarding a model with obscene text messages and photos.
His arrival on the show as the troubled brother of Stacey Slater saw him reveal his torment because he felt himself responsible for his father’s death and have sex with numerous women.
He left the show the following year and has since appeared in True Blood.
Award-winning EastEnders actor Khali Best (left) allegedly punched a taxi driver in the face after refusing to pay a £61 fare on his way home from a red carpet ceremony
Even Rob Turner, who had one fleeting appearance on the soap as an extra, was sacked after pupils recognised their former teacher on the show – who had previously been convicted for sex offences.
In 2009 after he was charged with 10 counts of sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 17 and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register.
Turner, of Leigh-on-Sea, who was sacked as a teacher, is still on the register and each year is seen by authorities
He was removed from the show in 2013 after a complaint was made by a viewer who recognised him.
A spokesman for EastEnders said the teacher was booked through an agency and had they known about his previous conviction he would not have been employed.