EastEnders in 1989

1989 was *EastEnders'* fifth year.

## Production

### New lease of life

It was all changes behind-the-scenes at *EastEnders* in 1989. The show's co-creators Julia Smith and Tony Holland decided it was time to leave *EastEnders* behind for good, and were shortly followed by the man behind the set of Albert Square, Keith Harris. Julia and Tony's last contribution to the serial ended on a sour note, because of a conflict with the BBC's newly appointed controller Jonathan Powell on the way Den Watts' final scenes were to be screened. Julia had high hopes for Den to be killed and even shot his final scenes at one of the BBC's filming studios in a water tank as an alias for the Grand Union Canal. However, Powell won the protest and viewers were left guessing Den's fate. The creators were also awarded £90,000 damages later in the year by a High Court Libel Jury in London, against the *Sunday Mirror*, over allegations that they stole the idea of *EastEnders* from an unknown writer.

Mike Gibbon became the head honcho at *EastEnders* with the new assignment of production. However, the task of storylining the programme was put into the hands of prolific writers Charlie Humphreys, Tony McHale and Jane Hollowood, an action that was carried out for most of the year. A significant change to the show in Mike's era was the deliberate attempt to produce more light-hearted comical storylines after *EastEnders* had earned the tagline of being 'depressing'. To achieve this, a creation of more diverting characters were encrypted into the serial. This new lease of life lived to be difficult and a new rival was brought to the front closer to home in the shape and form of *The Bill*. By the end of the year, the head of series at the BBC Peter Cregeen, had appointed ex-Bill producer Michael Ferguson to take over the task of running *EastEnders*.

### Mixture of storytelling

The series saw a variety of storylines varying from the light-hearted to the hard-hitting. Events became more self generating now that the show had some kind of history and stories soon spawned sequels and follow-ups. Donna Ludlow's final scenes in the programme in April 1989 has been hailed as one of the most powerful anti-drugs images ever screened in the programme after Dot Cotton found her dead from choking on her own vomit. *EastEnders* also told its first domestic abuse storyline with the characters of Carmel Roberts and Matthew Jackson which ended in a vicious knife attack from Carmel's nephew Junior. The show also aired it's first mouth-to-mouth kiss between two men in January on British television, causing an uproar from MPs who demanded a ban on the show. The year spawned from love triangles, with the most prominent one being Ian Beale/Cindy Williams/Simon Wicks.

'The Great Fruit 'n' Veg War', as it was referred to from the scrip writers, is an example of the light-hearted storylines that were given life. The storyline saw the character of Pete Beale given new impetus with the introduction of rival barrow-boy Laurie Bates. An unusual action was also brought to the forefront, when the programme-makers built a special set for the fictional gameshow *Cat & Mouse* in which Arthur Fowler competed in in the spring. However, the show suffered a blow when they attempted to represent the Brownie community, but instead caused great offence to the movement. The BBC were forced to make a public apology after a complaint was sent in and upheld.

### Cast changes

A rapid arch of arrivals and departures took place in 1989. The show lost more of its original characters and fresh faces appeared in the changing of Albert Square. Leslie Grantham's final scenes as Den finally aired in February 1989 after a complicated filming process in Dickens Hill Prison came to an end, onscreen that is, in reality the scenes that Leslie appeared in throughout the later half of 1988 in Dickens Hill were filmed in just a few months and edited into the future episodes, due to the programme-makers not wanting to suffer from a double blow with the departure of Anita Dobson not far behind Leslie's decision to leave. Colin Russell left for Bristol to live with his brother after being diagnosed with MS. The Osman family were not far behind and each departed sporadically throughout the year, with Ali being the final in October after everything that ever mattered to him in Walford deteriorating from his hands. The sad tale of Donna Ludlow reached its climax in April when the character choked on her own vomit from a drug overdose. The Roberts and Jackson family were written out after Carmel and Matthew's marriage fell apart from domestic abuse. Junior appeared infrequently until October. Dr Legg was back to square one attending the local surgery alone when his nephew David Samuels returned to Israel with his fiancée Ruth in September.

Paul Priestly was the first creation of Mike Gibbon's, an odd-job man from Leeds who becomes a lodger at The Vic and got involved with Diane Butcher. Brown Owl Marge Green was introduced in May and became a fixture in the older generation of the Square. Julie Cooper, from Salford, opened her own hairdressers Julie's in Turpin Road and had the men of Walford at her feet. Trevor Short was perhaps the most prominent figure in Mike's attempts of earning a more comical status, the character had the qualities of a dork and often landed himself in empty-headed scenarios. The Butcher family was extended with the introduction of Frank's youngest daughter Janine. This caused friction for the family as Janine proved to be more than difficult. A new love interest for Kathy Beale and rival for Pete Beale was brought in as barrow-boy Laurie Bates who opened a fruit 'n' veg stall on the market.