EastEnders’ executive producer Chris Clenshaw has spoken about Jean Slater’s devastating scam
storyline for the first time.
In recent weeks, Jean was told that she had a pension fund she didn’t know about and was then
encouraged by a so-called financial advisor to let them help her invest the money.
She trusted the company with all her savings, and began to make plans to buy a retirement home in Greece with the income she will generate.
But in today’s episode (November 28), Kathy suggested to Jean that she might have been the victim of a scam. Jean returned home and tried to contact her advisors – and got a big shock.
The phone numbers were no longer available, and the investment company’s website had disappeared. Jean was horrified to discover that her ‘financial advisors’ are criminals who had stolen everything she has invested as part of a scam.
“They were so nice to me,” she explained, in an emotional chat with Stacey. “Told me I was actually clever. Told me I was right to feel scared, that being bold and brave would really pay off.”
While she has the support of her daughter, Jean was embarrassed about her scam and decided to keep her ordeal a secret from Harvey and everyone else.
The story, which is part of BBC’s Scam Safe initiative, will continue in the coming weeks as Jean discovers more about the scammers and deals with the practical and emotional fallout of the crime.
Clenshaw said in a statement: “Jean’s story will highlight the extreme strategies scammers use to gain a victim’s trust to convince them into parting with serious sums of money.
“Not only will Jean have to cope with losing her pension money, but she’ll also have to deal with a range of difficult emotions as she tells her family and friends what’s happened.”
EastEnders has worked with independent scams expert and BBC Scam Safe spokesperson Nick Stapleton on Jean’s storyline, as well as The Pensions Regulator and Stop Scams UK.
Stapleton said: “I am incredibly happy to see the issue of scams and fraud getting the attention it deserves with a storyline on one of the nation’s favourite soaps.
“Scams are one of the greatest challenges of modern times; not just the money we lose to scammers as a country, but the emotional and psychological impact for those who go through one.”
