It seems like only yesterday, I was writing a post in honour of EastEnders turning thirty five. And now it's turned forty! How that happened so quickly, I don't know. It'll be celebrating it's fiftieth anniversary tomorrow! We all know that time can go by in the blink of an eye, but I really do feel as though the BBC soap that depicts the lives of a bunch of residents in a fictitious East London district began only yesterday...
Many of us were intrigued by all those BBC trailers that were shown in the run-up to the first episode of EastEnders being aired in which we met the characters of this new British soap, who introduced themselves and their families. It definitely piqued our interest as many of us couldn't recall the BBC ever doing promos like those for a new show. So we kind of felt as though we may be on to something big with this new soap opera.
And we weren't wrong! On the 19th February 1985 when EastEnders first aired, those of us who had settled down in front of the telly, curious about this new soap and eager to see what all the fuss was about, didn't know that they were witnessing a pop cultural phenomenon being born. And life was never the same again. OK, a bit dramatic maybe but - you get me! Well maybe life did change for most of us on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7:30pm when EastEnders was on because no matter what was going on in our lives, we always made sure to be in front of the telly to get our twice-weekly fix of the goings-on in Albert Square. Well we needed to talk about it the next day, didn't we! The popularity of the show soon skyrocketed, and the cast, who mainly consisted of relatively unknown actors, with the exception of actress Wendy Richard who was best known to British audiences for her role as Miss Brahms in BBC's Are You Being Served? soon became household names.
This ones for the newbies!
With EastEnders being one of the top soaps in my home country and having watched it for most of my life, it's no surprise that the show often gets posted about here on Nostalgia Pie. But I sometimes forget that our community of nostalgia fans hail from far and wide - not just Britain and Ireland - so they may not be so familiar with our top soap, as I was reminded quite recently when the lovely Andrea Moonbeam from Moonbeam Cottage commented that she and her husband, the equally lovely Kyle Moonbeam, had never seen a single episode of EastEnders. Well as a couple of midwesterners (like The Mister!) I can't expect them to have done so!
What's it all about?
So to bring our non-British followers up to speed, EastEnders is set in the fictitious London borough of Walford (a combination of actual East London towns Walthamstow and Stratford.) It centered around the lives of a group of residents who lived on Albert Square, with the Watts, Fowler, and Beale families taking centre stage, closely followed by the Osmans; the Carpenters, the Cottons and the Jefferys. The two hubs where all the residents regularly congregated were the cafe, and the Queen Victoria Pub.
The Watts: King and Queen of The Queen Victoria Pub
At the centre of much of the drama on Albert Square was philandering pub landlord Den Watts, and his long-suffering though tough-as-nails wife, Angie, played by the late Leslie Grantham and Anita Dobson (also known as Mrs. Brian May!) Their time on the show was relatively brief, and in normal circumstances, they would be consigned to nothing more than mere footnotes in the show's forty year history. But Grantham and Dobson did such a phenomenal job breathing life into these two characters that all these years later, they're considered soap royalty with Den and Angie being two of EastEnders most legendary characters.
Those of us who are old enough, are lucky to have experienced this iconic couple on screen. And those who were born long after they departed Walford, would definitely have heard about the Den n' Ange years. How could they not! The Christmas Day episode where Den finally handed Angie divorce papers has gone down in British TV history as one of the most iconic soap moments, pulling in an audience of more than thirty million viewers back in 1986.
Even though Dobson was only on the show for three years, to this day she's still considered by many to be the true queen of The Vic and one of soap's best pub landladies. Grantham did reprise his role as Den Watts fourteen years after he first left the soap, before being killed off less than two years later. Sadly Leslie Grantham passed away in 2018, so even if Den hadn't been killed off, there's no way the character could ever return as Den Watts, thanks to Grantham's excellent acting abilities, is not a character that can be recast. Angie Watts was killed off off-screen more than twenty years ago, and Anita Dobson has always maintained that she never wanted to return to the soap, preferring to leave Angie as a beautiful memory in the minds of EastEnders' fans. And for those of you thinking that Angie can't return anyway due to have been killed off, remember this is EastEnders - no other soap has the power to resurrect the dead quite the way they do!
Glitz and Glamour Vs. Gritty Realism
During the early to mid-eighties, British audiences were captivated by glossy American soaps such as Dynasty; Dallas and Falcon Crest, where everyone was stunningly beautiful and lived in mansions complete with staff. These were a form of escapism and got us daydreaming about a more glamorous lifestyle. But while a lot of American soaps were overly-farfetched (as pretty much all soaps are now!) there was more of a gritty realism to EastEnders which was as far removed from the sun-drenched beaches of California as you could get, and the characters were more Barry Evans than Linda Evans!
But it depicted a way of life and highlighted social issues many of its viewers could relate to or had some kind of experience of: alcoholism; teen pregnancy; gambling addiction; infidelity; adoption; HIV; prejudice faced by gay people especially in the midst of AIDS epidemic... Writers didn't shy away from any topic, no matter how controversial it may have been at the time. And let's not forget, this was the eighties - everyone was shocked about everything! And at a time when the news were always warning women to be on their guard as there was yet another serial killer/attacker on the loose, EastEnders ran storylines very early on featuring stalking and then there was the case of the 'Walford attacker' who was terrorizing the women of Albert Square.
The Mitchells
Five years after EastEnders first began, viewers got their first glimpse of two shaven-headed, almost identical characters - brothers Phil and Grant Mitchell. And at the time, nobody knew the impact that the arrival of these brothers was going to have on the show. The popularity of the show went up another notch, and raised the profile of the newest family on the Square as well as that of the actors who played them - Steve McFadden and Ross Kemp. Upon being casted, the actors were told that these roles were going to be life-changing. They took those words with a pinch of salt.
But life-changing was an understatement! Not only have Phil and Grant been at the centre of most of the action on the Square and were given some highly-charged, memorable storylines -the unforgettable Sharongate for a start - but the brothers have become the most iconic duo since Den n' Ange. And when they were joined by their mum, Peggy played by the legendary Barbara Windsor in 1994, the Mitchells really became a force to be reckoned with.
Just some of the Mitchell wives
In the thirty five years since Phil and Grant first rocked up to the Square, we've seen four generations of the Mitchell clan, with the boys having clocked eight wives between them - and we've lost count of the kids! Even though Ross Kemp left the show in 1999, he has had a few guest stints over the years, and viewers go wild when they know Grant is due to return - just like they did when they heard he was returning for the show's fortieth anniversary. There are roles that some people were just born to play - and Steve and Ross were born to play Phil and Grant. Who would have thought that when those Mitchell boys turned up in Walford all those years ago, we were watching two soap legends in the making!
Over the years, many a family have made their mark on the Square, with the most notable being the Butchers; The Truemans; the Slaters; the Foxes; the Brannings; the Carters, and in more recent times - the Panesars. These families have made a huge impact on the show and it's popularity. But let's not forget that for every Mitchell family - there's also a Ferreira!
The Sunday Lonely-bus!
The Tuesday and Thursday episodes were repeated again on a Sunday afternoon for anyone who missed them during the week. Or in our case, just wanted to watch them again! The Sunday afternoon omnibus episode was something of a novelty because many of us had never known of a show to broadcast a regular catch-up episode before. And you can bet your life that whether we'd seen that week's episodes or not, my siblings and I were almost guaranteed to be watching the omnibus which definitely livened up a quite often dull Sunday afternoon, TV-wise.
This kind of irked my dad a little bit because back in the days before each house had fifty devices and a million channels, my dad would want to watch something on one of the three other existing channels on the only TV set we had in the house. And there we were watching something we'd "already bloody seen a million times before." Er, not quite, Dad, but it was so good that we just had to see those scenes again! I was surprised to learn that the Sunday omnibus ceased to exist after 2015 as I thought the omnibus had come to an end long before then. Once iPlayer came along, there was no need to screen the omnibus anymore as we were able to catch up with any missed episodes via iPlayer any time we wanted during the course of a month.
I have to admit, thanks to iPlayer, I also soon dropped my once coveted Sunday afternoon tradition. In some ways it is a pity because as us kids of the eighties and nineties know, the EastEnders' omnibus (or 'onlybus' as my siblings used to say - sometimes even lonely bus!) was something to look forward to on what was once the most boring day of the week, and is a much-missed Sunday afternoon ritual.
The Festive Episode
And then there were the Christmas episodes where you'd either get an hour long episode or two thirty minute ones on Christmas Day. Ever since Den Watts uttered those immortal words "'appy Christmas, Ange," Christmas EastEnders has been unmissable and a real family tradition in households all over the country during the festive season. It definitely has been in our house where everything stops when EastEnders is on. We'd all cram ourselves onto the couch; grab the tin of Quality Street, and chomp down on those toffee penny chews as we find out who's murdering/stealing from/having an affair with/the father of whom. And they say it's all doom and gloom on Albert Square!
Over the years, we've met countless iconic characters: Den and Angie; Frank Butcher; Peggy Mitchell. Dot Cotton... We've watched many memorable storylines: Sharongate; Tiffany Mitchell's death; Phil Mitchell's shooting; Den Watts' return... We've all asked ourselves the same questions: Why does no one lock their back door? Why have they never found an actor to play Mr. Popodopolous? And isn't it about time Tracy and Winston got proper roles?
Right now EastEnders is going all out with their current storyline to mark the fortieth anniversary where there's an explosion at the Queen Vic during Billy and Honey Mitchell's wedding reception (told you these Mitchells were everywhere!) with rumours that at least one character is set to lose their life. Then for the first time in EastEnders history, viewers get to decide the outcome of a storyline by voting who Denise Fox gets to be with in the current love-triangle plot (believe me, EastEnders love their triangles. And we're not talking Quality Street here either!) Should it be her estranged husband Jack, or bad boy Ravi? You decide!
Which leads us to another question...
…When do we get to see Walford celebrations that don't end in tragedy and disaster?
But we know whatever happens, sorry, 'appens - we'll keep watching! Here's to the next forty years. Oh and a quick heads up - don't be surprised by the influx of EastEnders-related posts during the course of this year as we aim to keep the celebrations going!
Happy fortieth, EastEnders! Thanks for four fabulous decades of entertainment.
Photos: YouTube
Blog graphics: Angel Noire
So hard to believe this is how long we've all been watching Eastenders for. In my case, on and off! The live episode was very well acted but why did it have to be so depressing? There should have been a good old fashioned knees up!
Well done to Eastenders on a brilliant live episode. That can't be easy at the best of times but with such a tough storyline, I don't know how they did it.
I hardly ever watch Eastenders even though we all did at one time. I'm old enough to remember when it was a new soap and everyone wanted to know what it was all about. I watched the live because I was curious about it. Didn't know most of the characters there or their story but I can't believe they killed off Martin Fowler. I never saw that coming.
Can't believe it's been 40 years already. The live episode was very well acted. Considering the heavy storyline, they all did really well.
I watched the 'Live' episode - had no idea what was going on as the last time I watched EastEnders was when the other 'Live' episode came on...don't judge!
At least, I knew some of the characters!