I think Kat is the bigger character for reasons others have said, and in a recent poll of people's most memorable soap moments Kat had more listed than Stacey and of course 'you aint my muvva' ALWAYS wins those polls.

I think Stacey is more popular right now because her best stuff happened more recently and because Kat's return was disappointing, also Lacey being young and Jessie being middle aged now. I think people forget though just how insanely popular Kat used to be in the days when Jessie was a big media star regularly on magazine and tabloid covers. Kat Slater was a bit of a sensation back then.

If neither had returned I would think Kat was definitely the best character - her whole arc from beginning to end was flawless and Jessie always shined even when working with bad actors or with weak writing. Its hard to explain to anybody who wasn't watching then but she was really mesmeric.

I don't think Stacey was so flawless - in her final year she felt burnt out and wasn't that good. Her pairings with Callum and Ryan were boring and in the Stax aftermath I didn't always find her writing great. It was a better story for Max imo.

Stacey was amazing, don't get me wrong but Kat was flawless.

But Kat hasn't been the same since returning, what made her so special has never been recaptured sadly and never will now, but in fairness Stacey is heading the same way. She's lost it even more than Kat ever did.

I think Jessie Wallace is the better actor because she has a lot more range and variation but Lacey is great too.

#QueenKathleen is also referenced in a song and the film Slumdog Millionaire #iconic.

Stacey needs a monster Storyline

I agree. Kat was huge and iconic way before Alfie even came into the show and really he only became successful because of being put with an already very (probably the most at that time) popular character.

I can see why more recent viewers might think they are only big as a couple but it really isn't the case.

Re the opening question. As a few people have said, i think that Kat is the more iconic and bigger in terms of being instantly recogniseable, to people that aren't regular viewers. Most people will know the phrase "you ain't my muvva" in a way that the General Public won't know Stacey's storylines. Let's not forget that Kat was right at the centre of 2 of the Christmas episodes during her first stint - her wedding and leaving episodes. She was also quite involved with the episodes in 2001 and 2002 - Mo being abused by Trevor and then Mo's wedding and the Xmas episodes are the ones 'non regular viewers' are most likely to see.

Yes, Stacey 'starred in 2007 and 2010 but I'd argue they didn't have as big an impact and really 2007 was as much Tanya's 'vehicle' as Stacey's.

That doesn't mean i think that Kat is a 'better' character than Stacey. Undecided on that but she's 'bigger' in my opinion.

I would also say that Mo was a pretty 'big' character due to the Trevor abuse plotline.

Kat is the more iconic character imo. However I feel Stacey has had argubly the more memorable storylines

Yup. You make a lot of good points kitkat1971 - something else to add is that Kat's double hander - the Zoe one more so than the Alfie one - was a lot bigger than the Stax double hander and I think peole are downplaying the ' you aint my muvva' story - it's that scene which is iconic but that whole Slater week of episodes were amazing.

I think the public would be more disappointed to see Stacey leave than Kat and that's due to their returns. Stacey hasn't done anything so still feels fresh-ish and Lacey Turner is generally popular in her own right, whereas Kat is a bit clapped out. I try and think of my answers to this type of question in the context of the modern-day show, so I'd say Stacey is the bigger character right now. However I do agree that Kat's storylines have had more impact, although the Stax reveal is my favourite moment between the pair of them.

When you say the public do you mean the Public that actually watch the show on a regular basis but wouldn't class themselves as 'fans' or those that do, like us that invest time discussing it on Social Media. Or the public that rarely watch it but are 'aware' of some characters?

Just that, as i say, the GP which don't watch consistently won't know the details of their returning plots so that issue is somewhat moot. Kat is still more likely to be the one they recognise and therefore 'bigger'.

However for regular watchers, fan or not, i think you're right. Stacey is probably rated higher and would be more missed due to the way they screwed Kat up 2010-2012.

ETA: that said i was sick of the sight of Stacey in 2010 and glad to see the back of her in a way I wasn't with Kat in 2005. But Stacey's return has been better.

Middle-aged is 20 years older than me, right?! Always has been and always will be!

Actually thinking about it Stacey might just seem more popular because the internet is being used to gage it - there are a lot of young eastenders fans online who never even saw Kat when she was at her best so naturally would prefer Stacey but there will be millions of viewers who loved Kat in her first spell and still love her today - they're just less likely to express the fact on the internet.

Sort of contradicting myself but during the Anniversary episode Kat Slater was the highest trending character and it was predominantly people saying what a 'Legend' she is - I think she's probably still more popular with general viewers than it seems on this forum.

One thing I've noticed is Kat seems very well loved by people who work in the media - I read all of the various articles and reviews during the live week and it seemed as though Kat was more highly regarded than Stacey.

Good question . Kats more iconic because her storyline was one of EE's most legendary . She also has a distinctive look and her relationship with Alfie was once very popular.

Stacey has been in a lot of great storylines but none as pivotal as "You ain't my muvva!". I think Kat came in spearheading the new Slater era of the show , where Stacey came in as just another troubled teen initially . I think Lacey Turner is a slightly better actress than Jessie. As she can be a little bit hammy at times . Stacey's been a bit too toned down since her return . I like the fact she hasn't dominated too much, since she came back but she's become a bit of an agony aunt/do gooder. I'd like to see a bit more feistiness there.

Yes i agree.

I've often commented that social media really shouldn't be used as evidence as to what 'everybody' thinks as although it is not exclusively the province of the Young, they are much more likely to use it than the middle aged and especially the elderly. But these people still watch shows, have opinions on characters and are thought of when things are written.

I nearly answered your comment about stacey being more popular because she is young whilst Kat is middle aged. A lot of viewers are middle aged or older and might prefer to watch somebody of their own (or nearer to) their own age as they find them more relatable. Thereefore, those viewers will prefer Kat to stacey. But their views aren't as documented on Social Media.
Certainly with a long running show like EE, many 'middleaged' viewers (like me) will have started watching when teenagers and basically grown up with the show and the characters in it. This is partly why i still relate to and understand Ian and sharon. We are the same age and i have grown into adulthood, serious relationships, work, losing parents, middle age as they have so i 'get' them and probably will as an old woman if they are still in. Kat is similar to that. I don't 'love' her this time round but i can relate to her in many ways and part of that is being a similar age.

Kat is well regarded in the Media because her work was critically acclaimed back in her first stint. She was one of the most prominent, highly regarded characters (and actresses) during one of EE's golden eras. The whole show was very good and she was one of the best. I'm not doing 2007-2010 down - it was a high point and rightly popular with fans. But it was not as generally successful as the beginning of the decade to the wider audience.

I meant that group. Fans but not die-hard fans like us forum-dwellers. I agree that Kat would be more familiar to the people that rarely watch, although I don't think Stacey is that far behind Kat amongst those people.

I'd rather Stacey hadn't come back at all, or at least waited a while longer. I think she had a good run the first time around and could have continued to do stuff outside EE like "Our Girl". That's water under the bridge now however.

Right. In that case i agree, yes. Stacey probably is more popular with them since 2011.

Kat Slater is a lot more iconic than Stacey Slater.

Kat is a lot bigger. Stacey is not particularly slim but she's not big

This a million times.

Both Stacey and Kat are great characters, but Kat is undeniably the 'bigger' character of the two. Despite Stacey's huge popularity (and she is very popular) Kat is responsible for of the THE iconic moments of EastEnders history - the "You ain't my mother" scene - which regularly tops polls as one of the greatest moments in soap ever. Stacey has been at the centre of some high profile stories but I'm afraid she doesn't come close to the level of exposure Kat received at the height of the Zoe story, and this was during a time when EastEnders still grabbed something like 12-14 million viewers per episode. I hate the overuse (and misuse) of this word but Kat is a true soap icon. Probably the last iconic character EastEnders created.

I'd say Kat.

I love them both but I have to say Kat is the biggest, she is legendary.