EastEnders

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EastEnders

The current opening title of EastEnders (introduced on 5 September 1999), which was originally developed by a series of pictures.
Format Soap opera
Run time 30 min per episode
Creator Julia Smith & Tony Holland
Starring (Present cast)

Nigel Harman - Tracy-Ann Oberman - Derek Martin - Lacey Turner - Ricky Groves - Laila Morse - Kacey Ainsworth - Perry Fenwick - Wendy Richard - James Alexandrou - Natalie Cassidy - John Bardon - June Brown - Rudolph Walker - Angela Wynter - Joel Beckett - Hilda Braid - Gerry Cowper - Charlie G. Hawkins - David Spinx - Joe Swash - Shana Swash - Pam St Clement - Adam Woodyatt - Laurie Brett - Melissa Suffield - James Martin - Mohammed George - Billy Murray - Louisa Lytton - Jessie Wallace - Kim Medcalf - Shane Richie - Letitia Dean - Petra Letang - Ray Brooks - Barbara Windsor - Joseph Kpobie - Steve McFadden - Ross Kemp

Country United Kingdom
Network BBC One
Original run February 19, 1985 – Present
No. of episodes 3041 (from November 4th 2005)

EastEnders is a popular BBC television soap opera which was first broadcast on February 19, 1985. It has been running ever since, generating strong ratings for much of that time, and has been the UK's highest rating programme on numerous occasions. Despite lengthy criticism of the show from the critics, in October 2005 it won the National Television Awards for most popular Serial Drama.

Contents

Setting, characters and themes

Setting

See also: Walford

EastEnders is set in the fictional London Borough of Walford, however the central focus of the show is that of the equally fictional Victorian square named Albert Square.

The shows creators were both Londoners, but when they researched Victorian Squares they found massive changes in areas they thought they knew well. However, delving further into the East End, they found exactly what they had been searching for. A real East End spirit — an inward looking quality, a distrust of strangers and authority figures, a sense of territory and community that the creators summed up as 'Hurt one of us and you hurt us all'. These themes that were found for the setting can still be found in a present day episode of EastEnders.

The Queen Vic provides a central meeting point within the shows setting, thus most of the action happens here in view of the community.
Enlarge
The Queen Vic provides a central meeting point within the shows setting, thus most of the action happens here in view of the community.

It is thought that Albert Square was built around the early 20th Century, indeed heavy research was done by the shows creators to support this. Firstly, the square is named Albert Square after Prince Albert, the late husband of Queen Victoria, whom then went on to die in 1901. Thus, central to Albert Square is The Queen Victoria Public House.

But as the set was built in the early eighties, it had to be made to look as if it had been standing for years and years. This was done by a number of means, including chipping at the buildings with pickaxes.

The EastEnders Lot was built and designed by Keith Harris, who was a senior designer within the production team. Then in 1986 he added an extension to the set, building the fourth side of Albert Square and in 1987 Turpin Road was added which included buildings such as The Dagmar

In 1993, George Street was added, and soon after, Walford East tube station was built.

In the past, fans have tried to establish the actual location of Walford within London. Walford East, is a fictional tube station for Walford, with the aid of a map that was first seen on air in 1996, it has been established that Walford East is located between Bow Road and West Ham, which realistically would replace Bromley-by-Bow.

Walford has the fictional postal district of E20, thus fans have also tried to pinpoint the location using this, however, realistically London East postal districts stop at E18, the shows creators opted for E20 instead of E19 as it was thought to sound better.

In reality, an Albert Square does exist in the East End, in Stratford. However, the shows producers actually based the square's design on the real life 'Fasset Square' in the East End.

Characters and themes

In creating EastEnders, it was built around the idea of 'clans' of strong families and communities, each character having a place in society. As mentioned previously, the shows creators were both Londoners and this undoubtedly had an influence in the characters of the show. Tony Holland, the co-creator was himself from a large East End family, and such families have typically been apart of EastEnders since it begun. The first central family was that of the Fowlers, consisting of Pauline, Arthur, Mark, Michelle and also the closely related Beale family - Pete, Lou and Ian. A comparison between Tony Holland's family members names and the fictional characters in EastEnders reveals that some were given the same names.

Soon after, followed a larger focus on the Watts family, and during the 1990s the Mitchell family was central to most of the notable storylines in EastEnders history, the family itself is known for its constant focus on family using terms such as, "You're a Mitchell". The 2000s have largely focused on the largely female Slater family, though there has also been re-emphasis on the Watts and most recently the Mitchells. Key people involved in the production of EastEnders have stressed how important this idea of strong families is to EastEnders, evidence to suggest this could be the EastEnders slump of 2004, were there was a lack of focus on strong families and community ties.

With the loss of the majority of the Mitchell family, the strongest family of this period was perhaps the Watts, though it in itself was far too divided and focused too heavily on the relationship of Sharon Watts and Dennis Rickman. The Slaters were far too apart, Kat had married Alfie and had her own concerns, then leaving later on, Lynne left and Little Mo was also off-screen for a while. This left other members of the family, somewhat redundant. Even long term characters such as Pat Evans found herself with no family to interact with, therefore she was hardly used in comparison to previous years, now producers are planning to introduce her some family members. Following the departure of Mark Fowler in 2003, the Fowler family consisted of too few characters as did the Beale's.

As British television networks continue to increase the scheduling of their soap operas, cast numbers also have to increase to be able substain it, it could be argued that this would affect the idea of a 'close-knit community' EastEnders was originally built up on. Evidence to suggest this could be how characters now disappear for long periods of time with no explanation, originally when a character didn't appear in an episode, it was usually explained by a brief mention by another character to add to the realism.

Following on from families, each family usually consists of an archetypal East End matriarch, classic examples includes Lou Beale, Pauline Fowler, Mo Harris and Peggy Mitchell. These characters are seen as being loud and interfering but most importantly, responsible for the well-being of the family and usually stressing the importance of family, reflecting on the past.

There has also been a long running theme of authority figures, usually men involved in business and crime who dress smartly and like to think they are better than the community they live in. Some examples include, James Wilmott-Brown, Steve Owen and Andy Hunter.

History and Popularity

Background

EastEnders was launched at a critical moment in the BBC’s history and was intended to demonstrate the BBC’s ability to produce popular programming. It started airing on the night after a major ident change for the channel, with the show representing the "new face" of the BBC. Critics first derided the new offering, as it was clear that BBC wished to bridge the gap between the network and its competitor, ITV. One news source went as far as to accuse the channel of only having the guts to air the soap after Patricia Phoenix, arguably England's premier soap diva, left Coronation Street.

It was the brass at BBC who had the last laugh, however, as EastEnders became wildly popular and displaced Coronation Street from the top of the ratings for the remainder of the 1980s and 1990s.

History

In February 1983, two years before EastEnders hit the screen, the show was nothing more than a vague idea in the mind of a handful of BBC executives, who decided that what BBC One needed was a popular bi-weekly drama series that would attract the kind of mass audiences ITV was getting with Coronation Street.

The first people to whom David Reid, then head of series and serials, turned were Julia Smith and Tony Holland, a well established producer/script editor team who had first worked together on Z-Cars. The outline that Reid presented was vague: two episodes a week, 52 weeks a year. Smith and Holland then went about putting ideas down on paper, they decided it would be set in the East End of London.

There was anxiety at first that the viewing public would not accept a new soap set in the south of England, though research commissioned by lead figures in the BBC had revealed southerners would accept a northern soap, northerners would accept a southern soap and those from the Midlands, as Julia Smith herself pointed out, didn’t mind where it was set as long as it was somewhere else. This was the beginning of a close and continuing association between EastEnders and audience research, which though commonplace today was something of a revolution in practice.

When developing EastEnders, both Julia Smith and Tony Holland looked at influential models like Coronation Street, but they found that it offered a rather outdated and nostalgic view of working-class life. Only after EastEnders begun did Coronation Street start to feature black people for example. They also identified that it has had difficulty in replacing 'big' characters such as Len Fairclough and Elsie Tanner, something which is arguably still present to this day, with the exit of Karen McDonald.

They came to the conclusion that Coronation Street had grown old with its audience, and that EastEnders would have to attract a younger, more socially extensive audience ensuring that it had the longevity to retain it for many years thereafter.

They also looked at Brookside but found there was a lack of central meeting points for the characters, making it difficult for the writers to intertwine different storylines.

The target launch date was originally September 1984 but this was postponed due to Michael Grade - the new controller of BBC One -preferring a January start. Julia Smith and Tony Holland had just 11 months in which to write, cast and shoot the whole thing. However, in February 1984 they didn't even have a title or a place to film. The project had a number of working titles — Square Dance, Round the Square, Round the Houses, London Pride, East 8. It was the latter that stuck (E8 is the postcode for Hackney) in the early months of creative process.

After they decided of the filming location (BBC Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire), Smith and Holland set about creating the 24 characters needed in just 14 days. Once they decided on these they returned to London for a meeting with the BBC. Everyone was in agreement, East 8 was to be tough, violent on occasion, funny and sharp - and it would start with a bang.

Through the next few months, the set was growing rapidly at Elstree, and a composer and designer had been commissioned to create the title sequence. Simon May (music) and Alan Jeapes (visuals) created it, and it remains one of the strongest title clips in television.

The launch was delayed for a second time until February 1985 due to a delay in the chat show Wogan, that was to be a part of the major revamp in BBC One's schedules. Julia Smith was uneasy about the late start as EastEnders no longer had the winter months to build up a loyal following before the summer ratings lull. The press were invited to see Elstree and meet the cast and see the lot - and stories immediately started circulating about the show, about a rivalry with ITV (who were launching their own market-based soap, Albion Market) and about the private lives of the cast. Anticipation and rumour grew in equal measure until the first transmission at 7pm on 19 February 1985. Both Holland and Smith could not watch, they both instead returned to the place where it all began. The next day viewing figures were confirmed at 13 million. The reviews were largely favourable, although after three weeks on air, BBC One's early evening shared had returned to the pre-EastEnders figure of 7 million, though EastEnders then climbed to highs of up to 23 million later on in the year. Following the launch, both group discussions and telephone surveys were conducted to test audience reaction to early episodes. Detailed reactions were taken after six months and since then regular monitoring has been conducted

Press coverage, already intense, went into overdrive. Within weeks the headline they had all dreaded had appeared — EASTENDERS STAR IS A KILLER. This referred to Leslie Grantham, and set the tone for relations between Albert Square and the press for the next 20 years. By Christmas of 1985, the tabloids couldn't get enough of the show. 'Exclusives' about EastEnders storylines became a staple of tabloid buyers daily reading.

A precursor in UK soaps also set in a East End market was ATV's Market in Honey Lane between 1967 and 1969.

Popularity

As mentioned, EastEnders proved highly popular and Appreciation Indexes reflected this, rising from 55–60 at the launch to 85–5 later on, a figure which was nearly ten points higher than the average for British soap opera. Research suggested that people found the characters true to life, the plots believable and, importantly in the face of criticism of the content, people watched as a family and regarded it as viewing for all the family.

In the Christmas of 1986, it attracted a massive 30.15 million viewers who tuned in to see Den Watts hand over the divorce papers to wife Angie. This remains the highest rated episode of a soap in British television history.

EastEnders is one of the more popular programmes on British television and regularly attracts between 9 and 13 million viewers, while the show's ratings have fallen since its initial surge in pouplarity, the programme continues to be largely lucrative for the BBC.

Its main rival for ratings is usually Coronation Street. In order to maximise ratings the BBC and ITV are usually careful to avoid scheduling clashes between their flagship soaps. In 2001 however, the soaps clashed for the first time. EastEnders won the battle with 8.4 million viewers (41% share) whilst Coronation Street lagged behind with 7.3 million viewers (36% share).

On 21 September 2004 Louise Berridge, the then executive producer, quit following massive criticism of the show. The following day the show received its lowest ever ratings (6.2 million) when ITV scheduled an hour long episode of its usually less-popular soap, Emmerdale against it. Emmerdale was watched by 8.1 million people. However, EastEnders was at a disadvantage as Emmerdale had began half an hour earlier, and the press were reporting viewers were bored with implausible and ill thought out storylines. Kathleen Hutchison who had been the producer of hospital drama Holby City, was announced the new executive producer. And within a few weeks later the producers announced a major shake-up of the cast with the highly-criticised Ferreira family, first seen in June 2003, set to leave at the beginning of 2005. Kathleen Hutchison went on to axe Den Watts, Andy Hunter, Juley Smith and Derek Harkinson. Whilst she was there she set about reversing the previous executive producer's work, perhaps best signified by the closure of 'Angie's Den'. A night club run by the Watts family, the importance of the name was told by Pauline Fowler "Angie always said if she had a club, she'd call it 'Angie's Den'". It indicated a new and fresh start for EastEnders after declining ratings in 2004.

But in January 2005, after just four months it was the end for Kathleen Hutchison. John Yorke who lead EastEnders through what Mal Young (the then head of BBC drama) said was one of its most successful periods in 2001, returned to the BBC as the head of drama. Meaning his responsibility was to oversee the running of EastEnders. He also brought back long serving script writer Tony Jordan. It is reported that the cast and crew did not get on well with Kathleen Hutchison as she had them filming up to 12am in the morning. She is also said to have torn up many of the scripts that were planned and demanded re-writes. This was one of the reasons storylines such as the 'Real Walford' football team were suddenly ignored. But through her short reign she lead EastEnders to some of its most healthy viewing figures in months.

John Yorke immediately stepped into her position until a few weeks later when Kate Harwood was announced as the new executive producer. Since then the three of them have set about returning EastEnders to its roots.

In autumn of 2005, EastEnders had seen its average audience share increase, with the unearthing of Den Watts' body and the marriage of Sharon and Dennis. Weeks after this, ITV again scheduled episodes of Emmerdale against EastEnders. The episode of Emmerdale, which saw the departure of one of its more popular characters, attracted 8.3 million viewers leaving EastEnders with 6.6 million for the funeral of Den Watts. However, this indirectly helped increase the audience of digital channel BBC Three as 1 million tuned (10% share) in to see the second showing.

Social realism and representation

Created in Thatcher Britain during a time of the worst economic recession in Britain since the 1930s combined with high unemployment and rocketing crime rates, EastEnders tried to represent this in the social realist tradition.

EastEnders has generally carried a reputation for hard and gritty storylines. However it has for the most part remained a populist series and has generally avoided the arguably tougher and sensitive storylines of Brookside. Brookside had also launched in the same social realist format, leading the way for more conservative soaps like EastEnders to follow. Arguably the difference between them was whilst Brookside confronted issues it was more direct and sensationalist, EastEnders, tried to maintain realism.

The programme makers emphasised that it was to be about 'everyday life' in the inner city 'today' They regard it as a 'slice of life'. Creator/ producer Julia Smith declared that 'we don't make life, we reflect it'. She also said: ‘We decided to go for a realistic, fairly outspoken type of drama which could encompass stories about homosexuality, rape, unemployment, racial prejudice, etc., in a believable context. Above all, we wanted realism’.

In the eighties, EastEnders featured gritty storylines involving drugs, murder, somewhat reflecting a time in Britain where society and communities had been broken down. Like Coronation Street first did in the 1960s, EastEnders represented the issues of people - particularly the working-class - in Britain.

Such storylines include Sue and Ali’s baby's cot death, homosexuality between Colin and Barry leading to a homophobic Nick Cotton, the rape of Kathy Beale in 1988, Michelle Fowler falling pregnant with Den’s baby, as well as drug dealing, prostitution, mixed-race relationships, shoplifting, sexism, racism, divorce and muggings.

As the show progressed into the nineties, it moved with society, whilst the issues that existed in the eighties still existed, there was much less attention paid to them – perhaps after changes in government. However, EastEnders still featured hard-hitting issues such as Mark Fowler discovering he was HIV positive in 1991 and the death of Gill, murder, adoption, alcoholism and domestic violence.

In the early 2000s, EastEnders covered the issue of euthanasia between long established characters Ethel Skinner and Dot Cotton, the incestual rape of Kat Slater by her uncle Harry, the domestic violence of Little Mo by husband Trevor, Sonia giving birth at the age of fifteen and then putting the baby up for adoption, prostitution, agoraphobia and drugs.

Viewership

Based on market research by BBC commissioning in 2003, EastEnders is most watched by 16 - 24 year olds, closely followed by 25 - 34 year olds. An average EastEnders episode attracts a total audience share between 45% and 50%.

Aside from that, the 10pm repeat showing on BBC Three attracts an average of 500,000 viewers, whilst the Sunday omnibus attracts a further 3 million.

Ever since EastEnders began on the mainstream BBC One, it has achieved some of the highest audiences in British television history.

The launch show attracted 17 million viewers in the 1980s, this was perhaps helped by the amount of press attention it received, something which continues today.

In 1986, just under two years since it had been on air, EastEnders attracted 30.15 million viewers, for the Christmas episode in which Den handed a divorce letter to wife Angie. A figure that would be its largest audience ever, as well as the largest amount of viewers for a soap episode and the 4th largest audience for a British television channel ever and the highest television audience for a single channel of the 1980s.

In comparison, the smallest amount for an EastEnders episode was around 6.2 million in 2004, somewhat more than the lowest of its rivals Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

Despite a decade and a half of high viewership, it was most popular in the early 2000s. Attracting an average of 15 million for most episodes and peaks of upto 25 million for the climaxes of popular storylines. Sonia's shock birth in 2000 was watched by 19.3 million viewers and in 2001, Mel's marriage to Steve Owen was watched by 22.5 million viewers. EastEnders was perhaps at its least popular in the year 2004, its least ever audience share was 28% in early 2005.


Scheduling

For the past 20 years, EastEnders has remained at the center of BBC One's primetime schedule.

EastEnders is currently aired at 7.30PM on Tuesday & Thursday and 8.00PM on Monday and Friday, the omnibus is aired on Sunday, though the exact time differs.

Originally EastEnders was shown twice weekly at 7.00PM, however it soon moved to 7.30PM after complaints about its often gritty subject matter. EastEnders output then increased to thrice after Coronation Street added an extra episode - in response to competition from EastEnders. EastEnders then added its fourth episode (shown on Fridays) on August 10th 2001. This caused some controversy as it clashed with Coronation Street, which at the time was moved to 8.00 PM to make way for an hour long episode of rural soap Emmerdale at 7.00 PM. The move immediately provoked an angry response from ITV insiders, who argued that the BBC's last-minute move - only revealed at 3.30 PM on the day - broke an unwritten scheduling rule that the two flagship soaps would not be put directly against each other. In this first head-to-head battle, EastEnders claimed victory over its rival.

In 1998, EastEnders Revealed was launched on BBC Choice (now BBC3), the show takes a look behind the scenes of the show and investigates particular places, characters or families within EastEnders. EastEnders Revealed is the only BBC Choice programme to last the entire life of the channel and is still running on BBC3. An episode of EastEnders Revealed which was commissioned for BBC3 attracted 611,000 viewers.

In early 2003, viewers could watch episodes of EastEnders on digital channel BBC3 before they were broadcast on BBC One. This was to coincide with the relaunch of the channel and helped BBC3 break the one million viewers for the first time with 1,030,000 million who watched to see Mark Fowler's departure.

In February 2005, there were reports that the EastEnders schedule was threatened due to production problems. Newspaper reports indicated that the show faced being taken off air for a fortnight after a storyline shortage, however this was denied by the BBC. In March of the same year, as Peter Fincham became the BBC One controller, rumours were sparked that EastEnders could air in a new time slot.

EastEnders is usually repeated on BBC3 at 10:00 PM and old reruns can often be seen on UKTV Gold (As of November 2005, UKTV Gold are showing episodes originally aired in August 2002. They are showing 5 episodes which means that 5 week's worth of episodes are shown every 4 weeks, which results in a catch-up rate of around 3 months a year).

As part of the BBC's digital push, EastEnders Xtra was introduced in 2005. The show is presented by Angelica Bell and available to digital viewers by pressing the red button at 8.30 PM on Monday nights. The series goes behind the scenes of the show and talks to some of the cast members. The current series has now finished.

International screenings

EastEnders is aired around the world in many English-speaking countries, including New Zealand and Canada. The series aired in the United States until BBC America ceased broadcasts of the serial in 2003, amidst fan protests. It is still shown on BBC Prime in Europe and Africa, and BBC Canada in Canada.

In June, 2004, the Dish Satellite Network picked up EastEnders, airing episodes starting at the point where BBC America had ceased broadcasting them, offering the serial as a Pay-per-View item. Dish first broadcast two weeks' worth of shows each week to get caught up. In approximately February, 2005, the programming reached the point of being one month behind the new shows being aired in the UK. At that point, Dish stopped its double-helping schedule, and now maintains the schedule of airing the new programmes consistently one month behind the UK schedule. Episodes from prior years are still shown on various PBS stations in the US.

The series was screened in Australia by the ABC from 1987 until the early 1990s. Currently the series is seen in Australia only on pay-TV channel UK.TV. In New Zealand, it was shown by TVNZ on TV One, but is now on Prime. In Ireland, it is shown on RTÉ One at the same time as BBC One, which is also widely received in the country.

Critique

EastEnders has received both praise and criticism for most of its storylines which have dealt with difficult themes, such as violence, rape and murder.

Mary Whitehouse - campaigner for traditional morals and decency - argued at the time, that EastEnders represented a violation of 'family viewing time' and that it undermined the watershed policy. She regarded EastEnders as a fundamental assault on the family, and morality itself. She made reference to represenation of family life and emphasis on psychological and emotional violence within the show. She was also critical about bad language within the dialogue, words such as 'bleeding', 'bloody hell', 'bastard' and 'For Christ's sake', all of which are now more acceptable. However, Whitehouse also praised the programme; describing Michelle Fowlers decision not to have an abortion as a 'very positive storyline'. She also felt that EastEnders had been cleaned up as a result of her protests, though she later commented that EastEnders had returned to its old ways. Her criticisms provided the popular press more ammunition in its existing rivalry with the BBC, thus her views were widely reported. The stars of Coronation Street in particular aligned themselves with Mary Whitehouse, gaining headlines such as 'STREETS AHEAD! RIVALS LASH SEEDY EASTENDERS' and 'CLEAN UP SOAP! Street Star Bill Lashes 'Steamy' EastEnders'.

The long running storyline of Mark Fowler's HIV was so successful in raising awareness that in 1999 a survey by the National Aids Trust found teenagers got most of their information about HIV from the soap. Though, one campaigner noted that in some ways the storyline was not reflective of what was happening at the time as the condition was more common among the gay community.

The incestual rape storyline, between Kat and her uncle Harry, saw calls to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) go up by 60%. The chief executive of the NSPCC praised the storyline, for covering the subject in a direct and sensitive way, coming to the conclusion that people were more likely to report any issues relating to child protection because of it. In 2002 EastEnders also won an award from the Mental Health Media Awards held at BAFTA for this storyline.

EastEnders is often criticised for being too violent, most notably during a domestic violence storyline between Little Mo and husband Trevor. As EastEnders is shown pre-watershed, there were worries that scenes of this storyline were too graphic for its audience. Complaints against a scene in which Little Mo's faced was shoved in gravy on Christmas day, were upheld by the Broadcasting Standards Council. However at the same time, a helpline after this episode attracted over 2000 calls. The complaints from viewers saw the scenes - including a headbutt and Trevor being hit with a iron - as "tasteless".

Erin Pizzey, who became internationally famous for having started one of the first Women's Refuges, said that EastEnders had done more to raise the issue of violence against women in one story than she had done in twenty-five years.

In 2003, Shaun Williamson who played Barry Evans, said that the programme had become much grittier over the past 10 to 15 years, and found it "frightening" that parents let their young children watch.

The BBC was criticised of anti-religious bias by a committee in the House of Lords, examples of this suggestion included EastEnders. Dr Indarjit Singh, the editor of the Sikh Messenger and patron of the World Congress of Faiths, said: "EastEnders' Dot Cotton is an example. She quotes endlessly from the Bible and it ridicules [religion] to some extent."

Storylines

1980s


  • 1985: It started with the discovery of a badly beaten Reg Cox, who subsequently died in the second episode. Meanwhile, middle-aged Pauline Fowler discovered she was pregnant. There was heartbreak for cafe owner Ali Osman and his wife Sue with the cot death of their baby, Hassan. Arthur and Pauline Fowler celebrated the birth of their son Martin in July. In September, Queen Vic landlady Angie Watts, in an attempt to make her unfaithful husband Den jealous, unsuccessfully tried to seduce barman Lofty. Sharon Watts fell for Romeo Simon Wicks, school-girl Michelle Fowler then announced to best friend Sharon that she herself was pregnant, but refused to name the father. In true whodunit style, pregnant Michelle, who had consistently refused to name the father of her child, arranged to meet him secretly by the canal. Millions of viewers watched as the pub's poodle Roly jumped from the car - followed by Den Watts himself, thus earning him his “Dirty Den” title.


  • 1986: The troubled marriage of Den and Angie Watts worsened when his mistress Jan visited the Queen Vic, and in despair Angie took a near-fatal overdose. Michelle's daughter Vicki was born in May, and subsequently Michelle jilted Lofty at the altar. Arthur had dipped into the Christmas Club money to pay for the reception and was subsequently imprisoned for 28 days. This in term, resulted in Arthur's break down - he spent whole days doing jigsaw puzzles or locked in his shed at the allotment. Later in the year Lofty and Michelle tied the knot in a quiet register office ceremony. Throughout the year Den and Angie’s relationship became more strained. Den asked for a divorce, Angie said she was dying: “Six months to live”, Den agreed to stay. They took a trip to Venice where Den had a chance meeting with Jan and Angie started drinking. While confessing to a barman that she was not really dying, Angie was overheard by Den who, in a ratings-record Christmas Day episode, demanded a divorce. Arthur Fowler smashed up the living room as his depression hit bottom.


  • 1987: The Angie and Den saga continued with the pair operating as professional rivals. Den carried on running the Queen Vic and Angie managed The Dagmar for James Wilmott-Brown. The Walford prowler was a serious threat to the women of Walford with Sue and Sharon both having narrow escapes while Pat Wicks was battered. It was also the year of EastEnders first gay kiss between Colin and Barry, which at the time was seen as controversial. The press reacted with 'outrage' and 'fury' at this 'filth' and, for a while dubbed the show EastBenders. Single mum Mary tried to support herself and baby Annie as she veered dangerously towards a life of prostitution because of Nick Cotton. Mary's parents took baby Annie away to live with them after Mary had left the child on her own. Later in the year her relationship with Rod, the roadie, helped her to get Annie back.


  • 1988: Pregnant by Lofty, Michelle had an abortion and when Lofty discovered the truth, he left her. Donna, Kathy Beale's illegitimate daughter, turned up. The result of a rape when Kathy was a teenager, Donna was rejected by Kathy and died of a heroin overdose the following year. Kathy took up a job at the Dagmar and Wilmott Brown tried to seduce her. He later raped her, and left her to be found by Den. Den firebombed the Dagmar and this only led to Den's own downfall. He double-crossed his mafia (known as The Firm) friends and they wanted him dead, so he went on the run. He gave himself up to the police and was remanded in prison at the same time as Nick Cotton. The big question was over the parentage of Simon Wicks. Pat couldn't give a clear answer as she didn't know whether the father of Simon was Kenny Beale or Pete Beale; she also didn't rule out Den Watts as a contender. Pat was reunited with old flame Frank Butcher and he arrived in the square with his children, Diane and Ricky, leaving his other daughters back in Manchester. Pat and Frank became the owners of the Vic, as Den was still awaiting trial and Angie had moved to Spain. Lou Beale died in her sleep, and her son Pete broke down at the funeral.


  • 1989: Unable to cope with the events in their lives, Kathy and Pete's marriage crumbled in January. Wilmott Brown managed to convince Kathy to drop the charges, but a trial was later given and he was sent to prison for three years. But before the trial Pete Beale wanted to kill Wilmott Brown and he drunkenly stole a car and went after him. He was charged with drunk driving and given a long ban on the road. Meanwhile Den, who had taken the blame for the Dagmar fire, awaited his fate. He managed to escape from the police on the way to his trial and arranged to meet Michelle at the canal. The Firm, who were involved in the fire, decided to silence Den for good. The hit men followed Michelle to their meeting place and after she left they shot him, with a gun disguised in daffodils. He was presumed dead, but no body was found at the time. Michelle confessed that Vicky was Sharon's half sister, and this turmoil led Sharon to take up with Wicksy again. Sue had another baby but he was snatched by Ali at the grave of their first son, Hassan. Sue became deranged and was sent to a psychiatric hospital. Pat and Frank tied the knot and had a big East End do, with horse carriage and pearly kings. Frank started up the car lot, and the couple also bought the B&B and moved into the house next door. Ian bought Ali's café and became smitten with new market trader Cindy Williams. They married, but the wedding ended in tears with Ian arguing with his new wife. Best man Simon "Wicksy" Wicks knew one reason for Cindy's sorrow — she was carrying his baby.

1990s

The Mitchell brothers and their younger sister Sam, set foot in Albert Square in 1990.
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The Mitchell brothers and their younger sister Sam, set foot in Albert Square in 1990.
  • 1990: During 1990, the Butchers had to cope with the trauma of Frank's daughter, Diane, running away from home. A body was found in the canal, presumed to be that of Den, and he later received a burial. Sharon decided to search for her real parents but they rejected her. She returned to the square devastated. Nick tried to poison his mother, Dot, after learning that she had won money on the bingo. Dot guessed and managed to escape unharmed. One of the main storylines of the year was the love triangle between Wicksy, Cindy and Ian. Cindy confessed to Ian that she loved another man and that Steven was not his son. In an emotional frenzy, Ian crashed his van and ended up in hospital. He later discovered that Wicksy was Steven's real father. Scared of repercussions, Wicksy and Cindy left Walford with Steven and set up home elsewhere. New faces on Albert Square in 1990 included: the Mitchells - Phil, Grant and their sister Sam, new landlord of the Queen Vic, Eddie Royle, and the Tavernier family.


  • 1991: In a drama that could be said is always willing to confront controversial issues head-on - Mark Fowler's secret was revealed when he confessed to his girlfriend Diane that he was HIV-positive. Ian Beale's business went from strength to strength. Michelle began a degree course at the local college and started dating Clyde Tavernier.
    Sharon Watts married Grant Mitchell in a surprise wedding.
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    Sharon Watts married Grant Mitchell in a surprise wedding.
    Grant set his sights on Sharon and so attacked Eddie Royle who also seemed to have taken a fancy to her. He tried to get back into the army, but failed the psychiatric test. Ricky Butcher eloped to Scotland with the Mitchell brothers' pretty little sister Samantha. She was just 16. Only their families found the map of Gretna Green and knew where to find them. They still got married and when back in Walford got a church blessing. In September, the brutal murder of Eddie Royle (who was stabbed to death in the middle of the Square) rocked the residents of Albert Square. Racist Nick Cotton claimed that he saw Clyde Tavernier that night standing by the body holding a knife. Clyde Tavernier was an innocent suspect, but the incident paved the way for Sharon Watts to return to the Queen Vic as landlady. Nick was not under suspicion, but he later confessed to the murder whilst Clyde went on the run with Michelle Fowler, Vicky, and his son Kofi. Grant was also a suspect with a motive, but no alibi. The Vic was shut down until Sharon managed to secure a license. Grant then proposed to Sharon and they married on Boxing Day in a surprise wedding. Frank went into partnership with Kathy and Pauline in the café and Ian started up the Meal Machine with the help of Hattie Tavernier.


  • 1992: The year began with problems for newlyweds Sharon and Grant Mitchell. He wanted to start a family while she wanted to concentrate on running the Queen Vic. Frank started to lose money and had to sell his merc and the B&B. Pat, however, started up Pat Cabs which was run from the porta cabin. Only Pat hit a local teenager, and after finding out that she was over the drinking limit the girl died. In June, Mark Fowler married Gill, the day before she died of AIDS-related cancer, in scenes complimented for their sensitivity. Meanwhile, Arthur's friendship with Mrs. Hewitt continued to develop, and on Christmas Eve they ended up in bed together. During 1992, the sexual chemistry between Phil and his sister-in-law Sharon developed, and eventually erupted into passion. They slept together and had to deal with the aftermath. Grant, still unaware of this affair set fire to the Vic in an insurance bid, but failed, and Sharon, who nearly died in the fire, told Grant that they were finished. Phil was prepared to risk everything and tell his brother, but when it came to the crunch, Sharon chose Grant.


  • 1993: The year began with the long-awaited trial of Nick Cotton for the murder of Eddie Royle. Although it was clear that Nick was responsible for stabbing Eddie, the jury's verdict was "Not Guilty." Six months after knocking down and killing a girl in a drink driving incident, Pat Butcher was given a prison sentence. After a fight at the Queen Vic, Grant ended up in prison too. Cindy and Ian got back together, and at the end of the year Cindy gave birth to twins. Tragically, on the day that they were born, their grandfather Pete Beale was killed in a car crash along with his girlfriend Rose Chapman. Pauline found out about Arthur's affair with Mrs. Hewitt, and in the ensuing row she hit him over the head with a frying pan and threw him out. It seemed as if the Fowlers' marriage was over. Michelle's daughter Vicky was kidnapped; only the kidnapper made the mistake of visiting a toy shop and the sales assistant had seen the appeals on TV and contacted the police. Pete Beale got involved with old school friend Rose. Rose was married, but when her husband died, the two decided to start a new life together. But a few months later the couple died in a pre-arranged car crash. Rose's husband's family was not happy with the situation and wanted vengeance. Mandy Salter appeared in Walford, as Pat's friends daughter, and was left in her care. Mandy went off the rails and whilst being in a relationship with Aidan Brosnan, led him to contemplate suicide. She managed to stop him. Sharon came back from a holiday in America to find the Queen Vic in a state. Grant hit Sharon, and Michelle told the police, and when they turned up at the Vic, Grant attacked one of them, leading to an assault charge and a short stay at her majesty's pleasure. Phil and Sharon rekindled their affair whilst Grant was behind bars, only Sharon chose Grant when he returned from prison. Phil married Nadia, an immigrant looking for a green card. Phil then decided Kathy Beale was the woman for him. One of the most famous dogs on EastEnders met his end here. Roly the Poodle, who was owned by Sharon Watts, was knocked down by a lorry. The year ended with young lovers Mandy and Aidan homeless and in despair. New arrivals to the Square this year included Sanjay and Gita Kapoor and the Jackson family.


Grant, Sharon and Michelle appared on the cover of Radio Times, to mark the storyline and EastEnders' third episode.
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Grant, Sharon and Michelle appared on the cover of Radio Times, to mark the storyline and EastEnders' third episode.
  • 1994: In the year that EastEnders was aired thrice weekly, one of the happiest events was Nigel and Debs' wedding, which coincided with the 1,000th episode of the show. Both events were celebrated in style with a street party in the Square. Mark met Ruth, a Scottish nanny, whilst visiting a friend at an AIDS clinic. They decided to marry and moved into Michelle's house. Nigel Bates fell in love with Debbie Tyler. The couple also married, and Debbie brought daughter Clare to live with them. Clare's father started menacing Nigel, however it was not long before Grant and Phil put that right. Sanjay Kapoor started an affair with his wife Gita's sister Meena. Sanjay was eventually forgiven, but then found out his sperm count was too low to have another baby. Pat's son David arrived in Walford. Bianca Jackson, part of the newly arrived Jackson family took a shine to him, but soon found out that he was her father. Her mother Carol had slept with him at the age of fourteen. Frank Butcher was largely in debt and he sold his share of the café to Phil. In return Phil had to torch the car lot for him in an insurance bid. A homeless boy sleeping in one of the cars was found dead and the police suspected arson. Frank left the Square heavily depressed and left no trace. Pat had to pick up the pieces. Sharon had agreed to help Michelle with a university project. This involved 'Sharongate' a story which had a taped confession of Sharon's affair, which Grant found and used to publicly humiliate his wife and brother at Phil and Kathy's engagement party. The following episode attracted the highest ratings in seven years, as Grant put Phil in hospital, and when their mother came to sort things out, it was none other than Barbara Windsor.
  • 1995: It was a new year and love was in the air. Pat reluctantly started dating car dealer Roy Evans - eventually he moved in with her. Mark Fowler and girlfriend Ruth married. Cindy cheated on Ian with David Wicks (brother of Simon "Wicksy" Wicks, and father of her son Steven). Ricky Butcher was caught between two women - and ultimately chose Bianca over her best friend Natalie. David finally revealed himself as Bianca's father, after Bianca unwittingly tried to seduce him. Kathy and Phil finally married and announced they were expecting. Phil's mother, Peggy, was overjoyed but Ian, Kathy's son, had difficulty coming to terms with his mother having a child so late in life. Michelle began to pull her life together with a new job - later she was offered a position at an American university. Tragedy struck Nigel as his new wife Debs was killed crossing the road. Her death set in motion a heartbreaking custody battle between Nigel and her ex-husband Liam over Debs' daughter, Clare. Local public money went missing and all the signs again pointed toward Arthur Fowler. The evidence continued to mount and Arthur was sentenced to jail. Frank Butcher returned to the Square at Christmas after recovering from his nervous breakdown. He found that Pat had re-opened the car lot with David and Ricky in charge. Pat's new man Roy was also there.


  • 1996: The Square mourned the passing of beloved character Arthur Fowler, who died after being wrongly imprisoned on corruption charges. Following his father's death, Martin began to rebel at school. During the year, Tiffany (friend of Bianca) found an unexpected shoulder to cry on in Grant Mitchell - a union that left her pregnant with his child. Residents had a new place to socialize as the Cobra Club opened for business. In arguably moving scenes, Peggy Mitchell faced her toughest challenge yet as she battled against breast cancer. Ian was shot by a professional hitman while walking in the Square, after wife Cindy had hired one for the job. Carol's life began to unravel as she and Alan broke up.


  • 1997: New beginnings in Albert Square. Tiffany gave birth to Courtney and Grant found out that he was, in fact, the father. After a brief period of wedded bliss, the tempestuous twosome were again in trouble. Amid accusations of infidelity, punches were thrown as Grant attacked Tiffany, causing her to move in with Bianca. Martin Fowler continued to get on the wrong side of the law - he broke into Carol Jackson's house and was later arrested for burglary. Tiffany's ex-boyfriend, Tony, was attacked in a gay-bashing incident. Dot was held hostage by her son Nick's prison chum, Damion, and upon her release announced she was leaving the Square. Romance blossomed as Bianca and Ricky married and Alan and Carol were reconciled. But all was not perfect - Kathy dumped Phil after learning of his affair with Lorna, Barry Evans thought he had found the "real thing" with business woman, Vanessa Carlton, only to discover she was conning him out of most of the family money. Cindy snatched two of her children, Peter and Steven. Ian went after her, and with help from Grant and Phil, snatched the kids back. Cindy returned to Walford and was charged with kidnapping.


  • 1998: Cindy went on trial for kidnapping. She was found guilty, but managed to avoid a prison sentence. Later in the year she fought Ian for custody of the children and won. Her plans to leave Walford with the children and her new boyfriend, Nick, went awry when she was charged with Ian's attempted murder. Found guilty and sentenced, Cindy died in prison while giving birth to her and Nick's child. The di Marco family arrived in Walford and moved into George Street. The Square welcomed baby Liam to proud parents Bianca and Ricky. Peggy and Frank Butcher got engaged, much to the annoyance of Frank's ex-wife, Pat. Terry, Tiffany's father, won a fortune betting at the bookies and soon announced his engagement to Irene, Tony's mother, but their wedding day was marred by a surprise guest - Terry's wife. Kathy left Phil and Walford and headed for a new life in South Africa with son Ben. A rocky on-again, off-again year for Grant and Tiffany. While Tiffany was learning how to be a masseuse, Grant slept with Tiffany's mother, Louise. Tiffany returned, found out about the affair, and turned to Beppe di Marco for comfort. Following Grant pushing Tiffany down the stairs, he was ordered to stay away from Tiff and was arrested for attempted murder. The year ended as Tiffany, attempting to leave Walford for good with daughter Courtney, fought with Grant in the street and was accidentally run over and killed by Frank.


  • 1999: Walford began the new year still in shock over Tiffany's death. Kathy Mitchell came back from South Africa to learn that Ian was to marry Melanie. A grieving Grant slept with Kathy. Phil, who was hoping for reconciliation with his ex-wife, could not forgive his brother. The Mitchell brothers did a "job" to recover money needed to pay off loan sharks, but the scheme went awry. In a fast and furious car chase through London's Docklands, the Mitchell brothers' getaway car landed in the River Thames and Grant was presumed dead. Matthew was found guilty of manslaughter after being framed by nightclub owner Steve Owen for the death of a crazed ex-girlfriend, Saskia. Frank married Peggy, and they announced their intent to sell the Queen Vic and retire. Frank had his hands full with his teenage daughter Janine - catching her in bed with Peggy's nephew Jamie. She soon ran away claiming she was pregnant. Irene and Terry finally married. Carol Jackson arrived back in Walford, but her happiness with new boyfriend Dan was short-lived. A pregnant Carol discovered Dan slept with her daughter Bianca, prompting Carol to have an abortion and Bianca, with son Liam in tow, to leave Walford and a devastated Ricky. A very-much alive Grant secretly left Walford for good with daughter Courtney, while Phil, now owner of the Queen Vic and warring with Frank and Peggy, sold his share to Dan for a somewhat paltry sum. In a special millennium episode, Melanie married Ian in a double wedding with Barry and Natalie. During the New Year's Eve and wedding celebrations, Melanie discovered Ian tricked her into marriage by lying about the illness of his child, Lucy. As the new millennium dawned, she walked out on him and their marriage.

2000s

  • 2000: This year saw Matthew get his revenge on Steve Owen for being framed for the murder of Saskia Duncan. He daubed 'DEAD MAN WALKING' around Steve's door, blocked his toilet, strewed his path with broken glass and then captured him - tying him to a chair in the e20. It wasn't happiness ever after for newly weds Peggy and Frank, as he realised that it was Pat he loved and not Peggy. Sonia Jackson and Jamie Mitchell were just good friends at the start of the year, but after the summer they fell in love. But earlier in the year Sonia had had a drunken one night stand with Martin Fowler and nine months later she was giving birth in the living room - surprised by what was happening. She gave birth to a girl with the help of Big Mo, she named the girl 'Chloe' but decided to put her up for adoption. In July, Ethel Skinner turned up unexpectedly on Pauline's doorstep. It yurned out she was dying, cancer had spread to her brain. She could not bear to deteriorate into a "thing in a chair" and pleaded with Dot Cotton (now Branning) to ease her pain, when it came, by giving her morphine tablets. Dot was torn between her strong Christian principles and her love for her friend, who shamelessly played on their long friendship, and, eventually, got her way as Dot committed euthanasia. This left Dot devastated with grief and guilt - she demanded to be punished but the police would not press charges. The Slater family was introduced in September and quickly began to dominate storylines. The Slaters are: father Charlie, his adult daughters Lynne, Kat, Little Mo and the teenaged Zoë, and Charlie's mother-in-law Mo Harris and Lynne's fiance Gary Hobbs.



  • 2001: The main storyline of 2001 was Who Shot Phil?. There were so many people that wanted him dead at the time, including: Steve Owen, Mel Owen, Ian Beale, Lisa Fowler and Dan Sullivan. But as Phil lay wounded in the Square he saw the culprit running away, and when he got out of hospital we discovered that it was Lisa. Phil however made a truce and set up Dan instead.
    Phil laid out cold after falling down the steps of his door, onto the street, after being shot through the bushes.
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    Phil laid out cold after falling down the steps of his door, onto the street, after being shot through the bushes.
    However, Dan was found not guilty and upon his release took revenge by kidnapping Mel, demanding £100,000 from Phil and Steve for her return. Little Mo Slater was the victim of domestic abuse by husband Trevor, he burnt her hand with the iron, subjected her to cruel mental torment and attacked her in the bathroom and raped her.
    Little Mo finally fought back against Trevor, hitting him with an iron.
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    Little Mo finally fought back against Trevor, hitting him with an iron.
    Trevor wanted a child with her but she didn't, and when he found her birth control pills he kicked her violently in the stomach. Whilst Mo was babysitting Louise at the Fowler's household, Trevor cornered her and attempted to attack her. Mo looked for the nearest object - an iron, and ripped it from its plug and struck Trevor with it repeatedly. Little Mo, however, wasn't the only Slater sister with trouble. Zoë was planning to leave London to go and work with her Uncle Harry in Spain. But Kat was dead against the idea much to Zoë's disgust. It was then revealed that Kat was Zoë's mother and Uncle Harry was the father who had regularly been having sex with a teenage Kat. Viv, Kat's mother knew the truth, but Charlie was kept in the dark - they raised Zoë as their own. The woman Zoë had called her mum was really her nan, her sister was her mum and her uncle was her great uncle and her father! Zoë fled the Square and Kat slashed her wrists.


  • 2002: After Little Mo hit Trevor, it later turned out he was not dead as first expected, he had in fact gotten up and left when she returned to the house with her sisters. Trevor went to the police on the account Little Mo attempted to murder him. Little Mo kept quiet about the rape and Trevor gave a good account of what had happened on that night. Little Mo took the stand and told the court about the hell she had gone through with her abusive spouse, however, the jury was unmoved and Little Mo was sent down for eight years. Kat later managed to track down Donna (Trevor's other woman) and persuaded her to testify against Trevor. Mo was released later on in the summer after Trevor was caught red handed trying to get to Donna by the police. On Halloween of this year, Trevor was back - he kidnapped Little Mo and baby Sean and daubed the Slater house in petrol - Little Mo ended up dropping the match which set the house on fire. Fireman Tom saved Little Mo from the house, and then went back for Trevor - only for the house to go up flames and both of them died. Phil, Mel, Steve, Lisa and Mark were all beginning to strain. Phil had slept with Mel - Steve's wife at the end of 2001. He also wanted custody of baby Louise who Lisa (the mother) had pretended Mark Fowler was the father. It all ended when Steve and Mel planned to leave Walford forever - Steve wanted Lisa to come, to get back at Phil who would lose his daughter. But it was all delayed when Mark couldn't go because of his HIV. Steve had baby Louise in his car as he is furiously chased by Phil Mitchell, which results in Steve crashing the car. Phil saved baby Louise, but Steve was stuck in the burning wreck of the car which blew up before Phil had time to go back. Lisa married Mark, but then decided to begin an affair with Phil again. Mel discovered she didn't own the e20, Steve had sold it to Beppe before he died, and was then arrested for drug dealing. Mel discovered she was carrying Steve's baby. Lisa confessed to her best friend Mel that she actually shot Phil - not her deceased husband Steve as Mel had thought. This resulted in Mel leaving the Square and starting again abroad. Sonia and Jamie had been an on and off relationship, Ethel had told them before she died that she could feel they were meant to be together and even gave them her wedding ring. They came together again when Jamie was beaten up by Phil, and they decided they would marry. He had pawned the ring Ethel had given them to start up a business, much to the annoyance of Sonia. Just as he got the ring back, he was run over by Martin Fowler and later died in hospital in a Christmas day episode.


  • 2003: Dennis Rickman shoots gangster Jack Dalton after discovering he ordered the death of his father, Den Watts. Dalton admits that Den actually survived and fled abroad, but this doesn't stop Dennis killing him. 'Dirty' Den Watts returns after fourteen years of faking his death, and he sets up Phil Mitchell in a robbery.


  • 2004: Billy Mitchell blows up Angie's Den but also rescues Vicki Fowler from the fire. On Christmas Day, Den tells Zoe Slater to fake a pregnancy with Dennis's child to stop him leaving with his adoptive daughter, Sharon. He admits that he doesn't truly love Vicki, and as a result, both of his daughters go to America.


  • 2005: In a bid to cover up Zoë's 'pregnancy', they sleep together to make her pregnant to keep up with the pretence of their child. Dennis catches them in bed, tells Chrissie (who keeps the information to herself) and tracks down Sharon. Zoë aborts Den's child, and she, Chrissie and Sam Hunter all confront Den in The Vic. Den confesses to everything, unaware that the only person he truly loved, his adoptive daughter, Sharon, is hiding in the other side of the pub. She appears, tells him that her father died a long time ago and flees. An enraged Den attacks Chrissie for taking away the one precious thing he had. Zoë hits Den over the head with an iron doorstop to protect Chrissie. She and Sam exit the room and Den grabs Chrissie's leg. She picks up the doorstop and delivers a fatal blow (secretly watched by Sam), but allows Zoë to believe that she killed him. Sam wants The Vic back or she'll blow Chrissie's cover, and after a few months, she tells Zoë that Chrissie murdered Den. Zoë leaves for Spain, and Sam smashes up Den's grave and his body is discovered, with the intention of serving Chrissie her just deserts. This backfires, and Chrissie frames Sam, who ends up in prison. Grant returnes from Rio to help his brother and sister out of prison. Phil is released after the witness drops charges after Grant pulls some strings. Jonny Allen tapes Chrisie in his club admitting to murder, the Mitchel brothers take the tape by force and show it to the police. Chrissie is caught fleeing and Sam is released.

Noteworthy Characters

  • Pauline Fowler (née Beale) played by Wendy Richard - Pauline is one of the original cast members, appearing since the first episode in 1985. Pauline works in the launderette with her friend, Dot Branning. She was married to the now-deceased Arthur Fowler. Pauline also had a twin brother called Pete. Arthur and Pauline's marriage survived Arthur's two spells in prison and his affair with Christine Hewitt. Her character is known to be cynical, strong-willed and argumentative. Her children are Mark (deceased), Michelle and Martin, her nephews and nieces are Ian Beale, Conor Flaherty, Mary Flaherty (grand-niece) etc., and her grandchildren are Mark Fowler Junior, Vicki Fowler, and Chloe Jackson/Rebecca Miller.
  • Ian Beale played by Adam Woodyatt - Another original cast member, Ian is Walford's business tycoon. He is the son of Pete and Kathy Beale, grandson of Lou Beale, nephew of Pauline Fowler, cousin of Mark, Michelle, and Martin Fowler, father of Peter, Lucy, and Bobby Beale, and possible half-brother of David and Simon Wicks! As a young man, weedy Ian stunned everybody by marrying the gorgeous Cindy Williams after she fell pregnant with what he believed was his child (it was actually the reult of a dalliance she had before dating Ian. The true father was Simon Wicks). Simon and Cindy began an affair and ran off together with their son, Steven, but within a year, he had dumped her and she and Ian reconciled. Their marriage was on/off for a few years, but when Cindy gave birth to twins Peter and Lucy things started to look up. She ended up having a steamy fling with Simon's (and maybe Ian's) brother, David, and they decided to have Ian killed and flee the country. Ian survived the shooting and Cindy managed to collect Peter and Steven as she fled. At the airport, David backed out and stayed put. Ian and the Mitchell brothers tracked Cindy down in Italy and re-abducted the kids, and Cindy, now pregnant with her boyfriend Nick Holland's baby, was arrested and sent to prison. Nick ditched her. She died giving birth to her daughter in prison, the baby was named Cindy after her. Her mother and sister raised the child in Devon. Ian built up his businesses and bagged another trophy girlfriend, Melanie Healy. After it became possible that his daughter Lucy had cancer, he heard Mel admit that she didn't love Ian and would only wed him if Lucy was ill. He lied and said she had cancer and they married, but at their reception she discovered the truth and walked out on him. He then started dating his nanny, Laura Dunn. They got hitched in 2001. She craved a child of her own, although Ian didn't, so he had a secret vasectomy. Ian was gobsmacked when Laura fell pregnant, and the doctor confirmed that the operation was a success, so he kicked her out on Christmas Day after she revealed that she remembered zipping up Garry Hobbs's trousers one drunken night. During the divorce, Laura wanted half of everything Ian had, but he had signed everything over to his aunt, Pauline, and Laura brought up baby Bobby in a shabby old bedsit, scraping for cash. After they divorced, Pauline signed the businesses back over to Ian. In the midst of all this, Steven (who was raised by Ian as his own, despite being Cindy's child) found out that his real father was Simon Wicks, so he went to live with him in New Zealand. Garry's marriage to Lynne also broke up, and he and Laura gave their relationship a try for their son's sake, despite the fact at birth Laura had discovered that the child was not Garry's, but Ian's after all (he had had sex with Laura within six weeks after the vasectomy which made it still possible to have babies, and after this, the operation had worked). Garry soon drifted back to Lynne and she fell pregnant. Laura fell down the stairs and died, and Garry was heart-broken after Bobby's birth certificate revealed that Ian was the biological father. He was shocked most of all, but took responsibility for his new-found son, while Garry's new daughter, Viv, died shortly after birth. Ian is now dating widow Jane Collins.
  • Sharon Rickman (née Watts; previously Mitchell) played by Letitia Dean - The only other remaining original cast member, Sharon is the adopted daughter of 'Dirty' Den and Angie Watts. She shares a close relationship with Michelle Fowler and her family. Sharon is famous for the storyline known as Sharongate. In this storyline, Sharon had an affair with her husband Grant's brother Phil, which was revealed to the occupants of the Queen Victoria on video. Sharon left the series in 1995 but returned in 2001. After tracking down her long-lost half-brother Dennis Rickman (her adoptive father Den was his biological father, thus they are not blood related), it became clear that feelings were growing between the pair. This was halted when their father, Den Watts (who was believed to be dead) returned. Eventually they outed and their relationship went public, but Den manipulated Dennis (who had never had a loving childhood) and taunted him about the beatings he suffered by his mother's lovers. Dennis broke down and dumped Sharon so he could secure a family. They began an affair during his relationship with Zoe Slater and planned to run away together, but Den told Zoe to fake a pregnancy to keep Dennis. This worked and Sharon fled to the States to recover with her adoptive half-sister, Vicki. Den and Zoe slept together (resulting in a pregnancy) and Dennis discovered the truth, so he went searching for Sharon. Zoe aborted Den's child and his wife, Chrissie, discovered the truth and made him confess while Sharon was secretly lurking in the darkness, listening to how her father was confessing that he enjoyed splitting her and Dennis up. She cut her ties with him and left, and just minutes later Chrissie killed Den in a fight, and buried his body in the pub. Dennis and Sharon returned to Walford together, in search of their father. They married, and as they headed to their reception Den's body was discovered, leaving Sharon devastated.
  • Dorothy ('Dot') Branning (previously Cotton) played by June Brown - OAP Dot is one of the most popular characters. She is a religious chainsmoker who is known to recite from memory passages from the Bible. She was married to the cruel Charlie Cotton and had her equally evil son Nick by him. She has since remarried to Jim Branning. She was recently diagnosed with cancer, but has now recovered.
  • Arthur Fowler played by Bill Treacher - Pauline's husband Arthur was an original cast member. He had a difficult life, having served time in jail and suffering a dramatic nervous breakdown. He died in 1996 and has had a bench named after him.
  • Dennis ('Den') Watts played by Leslie Grantham - Known as 'Dirty' Den, he was the father of Dennis Rickman and Vicki Fowler, the adoptive father of Sharon Rickman and landlord of the Queen Victoria pub. He earned his nickname for getting his daughter Sharon's 16-year old best friend Michelle Fowler pregnant. He was a serial womaniser and had a long affair with the posh Jan Hammond (which his wife, Angie, knew about). When Angie realised that Den was planning to divorce her, marry Jan and install her in their pub, she told him she was dying. He over-heard her confess to a barman on holiday in Venice that it was all a lie to save her marriage. Den issued her with divorce papaers on Christmas Day 1986, pulling 30 million viewers, the highest EastEnders has ever seen. Angie emigrated to Spain, and her love rival Jan moved in, but Den's posh mistress proved unpopular with the punters and she hated Den's flirtatious lifestyle so she packed up and left Walford. Den fell in with the gangsters known as The Firm. He burned down The Dagmar pub after its owner raped his best friend's wife and he was sent to prison. After a fall out with The Firm, they feared that Den would grass them up to the dodgy dealings they had been doing. While on bail, Den was by the canal after meeting Michelle. Den was shot by a worker of The Firm after he hid the gun in a bunch of daffodils he was holding. Den fell into the canal and this was the last anyone in Walford saw of him for a long time. A body was found at a later stage and wrongly identified as Den. The body was buried as Dennis Watts (and Angie was later buried with him). 14 years later, while the son Den never knew he had, Dennis Rickman, held a gun to The Firm boss Jack Dalton's head after it was revealed he had ordered Den's death, he confessed that Den had actually survived the shooting and the man who shot him was killed for not doing the job properly and his body was placed in the canal to look like Den's. Dennis still killed Dalton, but his half-sister, Vicki, tracked Den down and he returned to Walford after 14 years of exile in Spain. At this point, his biological son ,Dennis, and adoptive daughter, Sharon, had given in to their feelings for each other and had sex, but any chances of a relationship were out of the window and they decided to act as though it never happened so they could focus on getting to know Den again. He built a strong relationship with all of his children. Dennis and Sharon later started a secret relationship and they went public (by initially snogging each other's face off in a crowded Vic!). Den was disgusted and intervened, without caring what serious damage he was causing. He manipulated Dennis into thinking about how he had just gained a family and he was chucking it away, and reminded him that his mum beat him and he was abused by her lovers, and that he [Den] never wanted him anyway. Dennis dumped Sharon to save the family life he'd craved since birth. Another shock came when Den's secret wife, Chrissie, turned up from Spain demanding the money he owed her after he sold their bar and ran off with the cash! Den's kids and Chrissie were stunned to find out about each other, and Den persuaded Chrissie to stay in Walford and give their marriage another try. He was soon cheating on her with her work colleague, Kate Mitchell, and when Chrissie found out, she gave Kate the haircut from hell! Den still wormed his way back into Chrissie's affections somehow, but she promised that it was his final chance, and that if he ever cheated on her again she'd kill him. Dennis ended up dating Zoe Slater, but, on Christmas Day, after Den had just bought the pub from Sam Hunter, he and Sharon announced that they were having an affair, in love, and nothing would break them up, and they planned to leave Walford together. Den told Zoë to fake a pregnancy so that Dennis would stay with her. She did so, and Dennis unwillingly sacrificed Sharon for his 'baby'. Sharon left for the States, and when Vicki over-heard Den admit that he had more feelings for Sharon than for her, she fled with her. In order to keep up the pretence of a fake baby, Den offered to sleep with Zoë to make her pregnant and pretend it was Dennis's. They did so and Dennis caught them in bed together, told Chrissie (who kept the news to herself), and went searching for Sharon in the USA. Zoë aborted Den's child, and Chrissie, Zoë, and Sam (who wanted revenge after Den conned her out of her pub) all confronted Den in The Vic late one night. As Den proudly confessed all of his evil deeds, Sharon appeared from the shadows; she'd been hiding and heard it all. She fled in disgust, and Den attacked Chrissie for taking away the one thing he had ever truly loved. Zoë hit Den over the head with an iron doorstop which belonged to Pauline Fowler, and as she and Sam went upstairs, Den grabbed Chrissie's leg. She picked up the doorstop and delivered the fatal blow to Den's head, secretly watched by Sam, and allowed Zoë to continue believing that she had killed Den. Chrissie buried Den's body in a hole in the cellar which was cemented the next morning. Sam tried to blackmail Chrissie to giving her back the pub, or she'd tell Zoe the truth. After months of bitching, Sam told all to Zoë, who punched Chrissie, told her mother Kat, and left for Spain. Chrissie still refused to hand over the pub, and in a drunken rage, Sam opened up Den's grave, in the hope that Chrissie would finally be arrested for Den's murder, although all of the evidence pointed at her, and she is now in prison.
  • Martin Fowler played by Jon Peyton Price & James Alexandrou - Martin is Arthur's and Pauline's son. She became pregnant with him in her forties, but refused to abort him. After the death of his father, Martin went through a period of rebellion, and has made Sonia Jackson pregnant (their daughter Chloe was given up for adoption and later re-named Rebecca) but since he accidently killed Sonia's fiancé Jamie Mitchell in a car accident he calmed down and, after gaining Sonia's forgiveness, he married her.
  • Pat Evans (née Harris; formerly Beale, Wicks, Butcher) played by Pam St. Clement - Pete Beale's ex-wife arrived on the show in 1986 after escaping her abusive spouse, Brian. She had two children, David and Simon ('Wicksy') Wicks who were believed to be Pete's. It was suspected that Pete's brother Kenny could be the true father after they admitted an affair years ago, and also his best friend Den Watts after their fling shortly after Pete's and Pat's split was revealed. Simon turned out to be the son of her second husband, Brian Wicks. In more recent times, EastEnders storyliners have said that the storyline as to the paternity of Pat's children has been changed and messed about with so much that it's impossible to know the truth. They say that David is Pete's son and Simon possibly is. She was re-united with true love Frank Butcher and they married in the late 80s. They ran The Queen Vic together and after Frank's car lot faced bankruptcy, he fled Walford, leaving Pat with his debts. Pat moved on and married Roy Evans, but after Frank's return and wedding to Peggy Mitchell, they began an affair. The truth came out and Frank left, while Roy and Pat repaired their marriage. Roy suffered a heart attack and died in 2003.
  • Phil Mitchell played by Steve McFadden - Phil is a member of the infamous Mitchell family. He is a brutish hardman, like his brother Grant. Phil is deeply saddened by his loss of contact with his children Ben and Louise. He married a Romanian refugee so she could stay in the country, and later Kathy Beale. He was involved in the Sharongate affair, in which he slept with his sister-in-law (before his marriages). His other big storyline was the Who Shot Phil? saga, in which Phil was shot with a gun, but for some time the identity of his attacker was a mystery (it was his ex-girlfriend Lisa). Phil surprisingly forgave Lisa and framed his nemesis Dan Sullivan for his shooting. After Lisa married Mark Fowler, Phil found out that her daughter Louise was his. They started an affair, and moved in together. Lisa realised that Phil only wanted his daughter, and was slowly pushing her out of Louise's life, so she escaped to Portugal, Phil in hot persuit. Phil returned with his daughter, and Lisa's disappearance remained a mystery. He fell head over heels for Kate Tyler, but she was secretly a police officer investigating Lisa's disappearance. He confessed the whole truth about the events in Portugal, and revealed that he emotionally manipulated Lisa into giving Louise to him, and he left her by a cliff. Kate in turn admitted her true occupation, but quit for Phil. He forgave her and they married, and Lisa returned to Walford at the reception, catching the bouquet of flowers Kate threw. He planned a bank robbery with Den Watts, but Den set him up and the police arrested him at the scene. Kate was disgusted that Phil had reverted to his criminal ways, and after just three months of marriage, it was over, and she handed Louise over to Lisa, who left Walford. Phil escaped jail, and attacked Ian Beale, but he was caught imprisoned. Phil returned in October 2005.
  • Sam Hunter (née Mitchell; previously Butcher) played by Daniella Westbrook & Kim Medcalf - Sam is Phil and Grant's younger sister. She doesn't really fit in with her brothers and mother since she isn't quite as independant and strong-willed as Mitchells are expected to be. At a young age, she eloped with Ricky Butcher, but after a year of marriage, Sam was bored and left him and Walford for a modelling career. She to and fro'd to Walford and slept with David Wicks, Beppe di Marco and Steve Owen. After Phil was imprisoned, there was no family left in Walford for Sam, and she took charge of Phil's businesses, The Arches, Bridge Street Café and The Queen Vic. Her lawyer Marcus Christie said that Phil had escaped and needed her to sell everything so she could raise the cash to give to him. It was a lie, and Marcus fled with the cash. Her new husband, Andy Hunter, kicked her out of her own home when he discovered all the businesses were gone, and revealed he only married her for money. When Andy died she was devastated when she received nothing but his wedding ring in his will. Since witnessing Den's murder, she has refound her assertive side in order to blackmail his killer, Chrissie. This has now backfired on her as the killer Chrissie has framed Sam for Den's murder after Sam dug his body up in drunken madness. Jake finds out the truth about Chrissie but stays by her side and helps her try and get away, but now Sharon knows Chrissie killed her dad, she must get her revenge and make sure the real murderer gets put in jail.
  • Grant Mitchell played by Ross Kemp - The other of the two Mitchell boys, Phil's brother helped him run the Arches garage. Grant married Sharon and they managed the Vic together, but Grant soon turned violent and abused his wife, driving her into Phil's arms. Sharon confessed the affair on a tape that Grant played to the entire Vic. He then beat Phil up. Shortly afterwards, Grant had a one night stand with Sharon's best friend Michelle and got her pregnant, but she hid her pregnancy and left for America. Grant therefore is unaware that he is the father of Michelle's son Mark Jnr. Grant married Tiffany Raymond and they had a daughter, Courtney. Once again, Grant turned into a violent husband, and when Tiffany accidently fell down a flight of stairs, she accused Grant of pushing her. Tiffany then tried to take Courtney away, but was killed before she could do so. Grant had an affair with Phil's wife Kathy, and Phil confronted him while they were in a car. Phil shot the dashboard, causing the car to drive into the River Thames. Grant was presumed dead at first, but he actually left for Rio de Janeiro with Courtney. In Rio, he married a woman called Carla and didn't return to Walford for six years. In late October 2005, he came back to help get Phil and Sam out of prison, but has thus far only managed to get Phil free.
  • Peggy Mitchell (née Martin; previously Butcher) played by Barbara Windsor - Peggy is the matriarch of the Mitchell family. She was a leading character for some time, battling breast cancer and being cheated on by her husband Frank. After hearing that her son, Grant, had been injured in Brazil, she fled Walford to nurse him but stayed there full time. She came back for her daughter Sam's wedding to con man Andy Hunter. She has returned to Walford after two years absence in order to support daughter Sam as she faces murder charges against Den Watts (although she didn't kill him).
  • Sonia Fowler (née Jackson) played by Natalie Cassidy - One of the most popular characters, Sonia joined the show in 1993. She is currently taking a nursing course and is married to Martin Fowler. At 15, she and Martin Fowler had sex, and nine months later she gave birth to their surprise daughter, Chloe (she didn't even know that she was pregnant). Her daughter was given up for adoption. A few years later she has a nervous breakdown and kidnapped her daughter, Chloe (now named Rebecca). She was engaged to Jamie Mitchell and they were love's young dream, surviving his betrayal with Zoe Slater and her obsession with Chloe. Her ex, Martin Fowler, knocked down Jamie and he subsequently died on Christmas Day. Sonia has since forgiven Martin and they are now married, although this has been tested by the arrival of stalker Sarah and finding Chloe/Rebecca after her adoptive parents' deaths.
  • Jim Branning played by John Bardon - Another popular character, Jim is Sonia's grandfather and Dot's second husband. After months of chasing after her, he proposed for a second time to which she accepted. He used to be racist, and was therefore disgusted when his daughter Carol married an African-European. He also likes to gamble, and spends a lot of time in the pub with his friend, Patrick Trueman.
  • Billy Mitchell and Maureen ('Little Mo') Mitchell (née Slater; previously Morgan) played by Perry Fenwick and Kacey Ainsworth - Billy is second cousin once removed to Phil, Grant and Sam Mitchell and Little Mo is the second youngest daughter of the infamous Slater family. Billy was originally a mean-spirited character, abusing his nephew Jamie. Over time, he has grown into a more mellow person, especially after Jamie's tragic death. Little Mo is known as the 'little mouse' married to the abusive Trevor Morgan, who she once beat almost to death with an iron in self-defence. Billy and Little Mo eventually got together after a long time of being just good friends. They had a happy married life prior to Little Mo's rape by Graham. She became pregnant by her rapist but didn't want an abortion, which Billy couldn't accept. After trying to work things out with Mo and her son, Freddie, things got worse and they are now separated, but remain very good friends, despite hopes of a reconciliation one day. Little Mo and her brother-in-law, Alfie Moon (estranged husband of Mo's sister, Kat) fell in love but have never got together due to Kat's return and Alfie being torn with which girl he wants to be with. He eventually chose Kat, leaving Mo heartbroken yet again.
  • Alfie and Kat Moon (née Slater) played by Jessie Wallace and Shane Richie - Kat is one of the Slaters' most famous girls, fitting the description of a tart with a heart. She was raped by her uncle, Harry Slater, when she was a teenager and became pregnant with Zoe, who was brought up by Kat's parents. The truth came out eventually and Kat and Zoë are now very close. Alfie was from 2002-2004 the landlord of the Queen Victoria pub, a job which he obtained through a mistaken identity. Kat and Alfie married, but their marriage was destroyed by Kat's ex-fiancé Andy Hunter, a dodgy crook whom she jilted at the altar for Alfie. Alfie owed Andy a lot of money, and the gangster threatened to kill Alfie unless he payed back the debt or Kat slept with him. Kat chose the latter option, and Alfie found out. They broke up and Kat left Walford. She returned in 2005 and sorted her differences with daughter Zoë. Kat wanted to re-unite with Alfie and they secretly got back together but it came out that he and her timid sister, Little Mo, were on the verge of becoming an item.
  • Andy Hunter played by Michael Higgs - Andy was introduced as a heavy of gangster Jack Dalton. After his death, Andy took his place and inherited his club, Imperial Rooms, as well as buying the bookies. Andy fell head over heels in love with Kat Slater, admiring her up-front attitude and courage against men of his status. After wooing her and a whirlwind romance, he proposed to her in New York, but on their wedding day, Kat's boss, Alfie Moon, burst in and admitted his love for Kat, who confessed that she felt the same way, and jilted Andy to be with Alfie. This proved a downfall for Andy and he was battered by a rival gang, and was nursed by none other than Alfie and Kat! He still wanted revenge, and after Alfie took out a loan from him, Andy started demanding his money back. Alfie had no way of paying, and was beat up, and Andy still expected his money back. He told Kat that he would cancel the debt if she slept with him. She did so, and Andy videotaped it and sent a copy to Alfie. He and Kat struggled from then on to keep what they once had, and after Kat went off the rails, Alfie kicked her out. Andy was delighted to see the people who had ruined him destroyed. He prayed on Sam Mitchell and wed her. After she sold all her businesses and was conned out of the cash by her lawyer, Andy kicked her out, and told her he was only after her cash, which she no longer has. Andy continued to play boss and treat the locals of Walford like dirt, but was shook up when notorious gang leader, Johnny Allen, turned up. Annoyed by Allen ordering him about in what he thought of as his own territory, Andy ripped off Johnny to the excess of £250,000 and planned to escape. Johnny caught up with him en route and threw him off a bridge.

Trivia

  • Between 2001 and 2002, EastEnders was the 10th most searched-for TV show on the Internet.
  • EastEnders was the 2nd most popular UK search term in 2003.
  • EastEnders was the 4th most popular UK search term in 2004.
  • EastEnders holds the record for highest rated soap episode in Britain.
  • In 2001 EastEnders went head to head with Coronation Street for the first time, EastEnders won the battle with 8.4 million viewers (41%) while Coronation Street attracted 7.3 million (36%).
  • There is a shop in Walford named Barratt's Bargain Corner, cleverly incorporating the BBC's initials.
  • Susan Tully who played Michelle Fowler has directed some episodes since leaving.
  • Madonna and Guy Ritchie are rumoured to be big fans of the show, with her favourite character being Dot Cotton.
  • George Michael, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are also fans of the soap.
  • Brad Pitt is such a fan of the soap that when BBC America took EastEnders off the air in 2003, he and estranged wife Jennifer Aniston joined a petition of 15,000 US fans demanding the cable channel reinstate it.
  • Robbie Williams has made a cameo appearance on the telephone in the Queen Vic.
  • Before the Spice Girls, Emma Bunton was cast as a troubled youth in the soap.
  • Researchers, from the BBC, went to the East End and visited 'Fassett Square' in the 1980’s.
  • The famous double-handers when only two actors appear in an episode was originally done for speed: while they film that, the rest of the cast can be making another episode.
  • Pam St Clement (Pat) has 125 pairs of earrings from which to choose.
  • Leslie Grantham originally auditioned for the part of Pete Beale but was thought too good looking so was instead cast as Den Watts.
  • The War memorial on set features names of people involved in EastEnders along with past stars.
  • Oxfam was the main outlet used for the actors costumes when the series was first made.
  • A vocal version of the theme tune called 'Anyone can fall in Love' reached number 4 in the charts in the summer of 1986 and was sung by Anita Dobson (Angie Watts).
  • The Queen visited the set in 2001 and was shown around by actresses Wendy Richard and Barbara Windsor.
  • The roads around Albert Square are not built to scale: they look real but some can only take one car at a time.
  • When Barbara Windsor joined in 1994, she was only contracted for ten episodes.
  • Albert Square is built on the site last used for building works in the 1980s Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
  • In 1993, the show's theme tune was updated to a Jazzy version, first heard on 11 May 1993. However, it proved very unpopular with the viewers and was replaced with a remix of the original theme tune only 11 months later, from 11 April 1994 (Also the first Monday edition of the show).
  • EastEnders was the inaugural winner of the 1999 BAFTA for best continuing drama.
  • Since EastEnders began in 1985, at least one of its episodes have rated higher than any other British soap opera throughout each decade. This includes the 1980's, 1990's and so far the 2000's.
  • Osymyso a.k.a Mark Nicholson, one of the UK's original bootleg artists created a track based on remixed scenes of the Pat vs Peggy showdown.

Further reading

Main article: Further Reading on EastEnders
  • EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration
BRAKE, Colin (1994, BBC Books, ISBN 0563370572 (hardback); 1995, Penguin, ISBN 0140253394 (updated paperback))
Official guide to the soap’s first decade.
  • Public Secrets: EastEnders and its Audience
BUCKINGHAM, David (1987, BFI, ISBN 0851702104)
  • The EastEnders Programme Guide
MUNRO, Josephine (1994, Virgin Publishing, ISBN 0863698255)
  • EastEnders: The Inside Story
SMITH, Julia and HOLLAND, Tony (1987, BBC Books, ISBN 0563206012)

See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

References

  • Smith, Rupert (2005) EastEnders: 20 Years in Albert Square, BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd. ISBN 0563521651

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