EastEnders

***EastEnders*** is a long-running UK soap opera, first broadcast on 19th February 1985.

Created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland, the programme follows the stories of residents as they go about their daily lives, specifically the residents of Albert Square in the fictional town of Walford in the East End of London. Since 1985 it has been produced by the BBC, and for most of that time it has been one of the UK's highest rated shows.

*EastEnders* is often noted for tackling sensitive issues such as euthanasia, domestic violence and alcoholism. To date, *EastEnders* has won nine BAFTA Awards, four Royal Television Society Awards for Best Continuing Drama, numerous TV Choice, National Television and British Soap Awards, and has been inducted into the Rose d'Or Hall of Fame.

## Background

*"We decided to go for a realistic, fairly outspoken type of drama which would encompass stories about homosexuality, rape, unemployment, racial prejudice, etc. In a believable context. Above all, we wanted realism."* - Julia Smith.

In the world before Walford, back in the early Eighties, BBC drama was looking tired and moribund. The BBC was also losing badly in the ratings and needed a popular soap to rival *Coronation Street*. Producer Julia Smith and script editor Tony Holland were approached and ordered to create a popular bi-weekly drama serial that would gain the same kind of mass audience ITV were getting with *Coronation Street*. After many long months of creating, Albert Square, the most famous set in British television, and creating twenty-three - later changing to twenty-four - characters, among them being the iconic Ian Beale, Pauline Fowler, Den Watts and Ethel Skinner, *EastEnders* was created.

Despite worries of the public not expecting a soap set in the South of England, *EastEnders* rapidly became very popular, becoming one of the most famous programmes on UK television within months. Storylines such as Michelle Fowler's teenage pregnancy and Den and Angie Watts' slippery marriage had viewers gripped, with as many as 23 million viewers tuning in per episode. On Christmas Day 1986, *EastEnders* broke soap viewing records by reaching an outstanding 30 million viewers when the public witnessed Dirty Den serving Angie divorce papers; ever since that day *EastEnders* has continued to stay near the top of the ratings.

## Setting

*Main article: Albert Square, Walford*

The fictional setting of the soap is Albert Square in Walford, a borough in East London. Within the narrative of the programme, the Square was built in the 19th-century and consists of fifteen Victorian houses in which some were converted into flats, with the gardens in the middle and The Queen Victoria public house, and Maximum Motors, the car lot fixated into the Square.

Across the Square houses a number of different buildings and businesses including a market, food store, café and laundrette. Since 1985 businesses such as Smith and Jameson Haulage and Abercorn Bed and Breakfast have expired but once stood on the Square.

As the shows various outdoor sets have expanded, the area surrounding Albert Square, particularly Turpin Road and George Street, have been gradually integrated into the programme, with more flats and business properties including Walford Tube Station, E20 nightclub, Walford East restaurant and the archers, Mitchell's Autos. The houses and businesses provide accommodation and work for the show's characters, with the action mostly centring on the Albert Square area. Occasionally, other areas of Walford have been seen.

## Characters

*Main article: EastEnders characters*
When created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland in 1985, the Albert Square community was noted for being lively, fierce, proud and a tight-knit community. As a result, particularly in its early years, *EastEnders* featured many formidable families, who lorded over their lives or even the whole community. Many of the show's most popular characters have been from tight-knit families, including the Beale family, Fowler family, Branning Family and Slater family.

As a working-class community, most *EastEnders* characters are not highly educated or particularly wealthy, with exceptions such as wine bar owner James Willmott-Brown usually playing the role of the Square's outsider, although several characters, such as Ian Beale have considered themselves to be at least better than their "common" neighbours.

The popularity and longevity of many early characters have resulted in many of them becoming archetypes of British soap operas. Angie Watts, the original "landlady" has had spiritual successors in Peggy Mitchell and Linda Carter, while Pauline Fowler has occupied the role of acid-tongued battle-axe, originally held by her mother Lou Beale.

Other archetypes include the bad boy, with examples including Den Watts and Phil Mitchell, and the joyful old lady, illustrated by Ethel Skinner and Nana Moon. For much of its run, *EastEnders* has had a strong emphasis on all ages of characters and still has a greater concentration of all ages cast members than other British soaps.

## Broadcasting history

The series' first episode was broadcast at 7:00 pm on a Tuesday, with the following episode on a Thursday. This became a fixed routine until the series changed their time slot to 7:30 pm in September 1985, which became a regular time-slot for nine years. In 1991, the series changed to stereo. Since then the show's output has increased from two episodes a week to four, with new weekly episodes introduced in 1994 and 2001.

In the UK, *EastEnders* has occupied an evening slot on BBC since it started and has been the flagship show of the channel since the late 1980s. As of August 2001, *EastEnders* is broadcast four times a week: at 7:30 pm on Tuesday and Thursday and at 8 pm on Monday and Friday. New episodes *EastEnders* is also shown in New Zealand and Canada.

## See also

* Spin-off
* Title sequence

## External links

* *EastEnders* at BBC.co.uk
* *EastEnders* at BBC Studios.com
* *Classic EastEnders* at uktv.com
* Discuss all things EastEnders - Walford Web