Editing Mo Harris (section)

===Creation, casting and introduction===
In 2000, ''EastEnders''{{'}} executive producer [[John Yorke (producer)|John Yorke]] decided to introduce the "classic" [[Slater family (EastEnders)|Slater family]].<ref name="seven">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/903679.stm|title=Seven move in to Albert Square|date=30 August 2000|access-date=7 September 2010|publisher=[[BBC News]]|archive-date=12 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212221133/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/903679.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> He felt the show needed to go back to its roots and bring back some traditional values.<ref name="seven"/> BBC's head of drama, [[Mal Young]] commented, "We do not have enough solid families in the soap, there were a lot of fractured families and people who were alone."<ref name="seven"/> The family were created as a replacement for the di Marco family, who were axed by Yorke. The family consisted of, grandmother Mo ([[Laila Morse]]), father [[Charlie Slater|Charlie]] ([[Derek Martin]]), his four children, [[Lynne Hobbs|Lynne]] ([[Elaine Lordan]]), [[Kat Slater|Kat]] ([[Jessie Wallace]]), [[Little Mo Mitchell|Little Mo]] ([[Kacey Ainsworth]]), [[Zoe Slater|Zoe]] ([[Michelle Ryan]]), as well as Lynne's boyfriend [[Garry Hobbs]] ([[Ricky Groves]]).<ref name="seven"/>

The character of Mo and the rest of the Slater family were created during workshops with [[Tony Jordan]] and [[John Yorke (television producer)|John Yorke]]. London actors were invited to improvise in groups, and the characters were created during these improvisations.<ref name=autogenerated1>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/903679.stm Seven move in to Albert Square] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112160543/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/903679.stm |date=12 January 2008 }}", BBC News, 2000-09-30. URL last accessed 2008-02-16.</ref> According to the BBC's head of drama series, [[Mal Young]], the family was brought in as the serial did not "have enough solid families in the soap, there were a lot of fractured families and people who were alone."<ref name="seven"/> Laila Morse was cast as Mo, and made her first on-screen appearance on 18 September 2000. She was named "Arrival of the Year" by TV critic Ian Hyland in 2000.<ref>"[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20001231/ai_n14514068 TV Watch: Arrival of the Year]", ''Sunday Mirror''. 2000-12-31.</ref>