   #copyright

EastEnders

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Television

   EastEnders
   An image from the current opening title sequence of
   EastEnders(introduced on 5 September 1999).
   Genre Soap opera
   Camera setup Multiple-camera setup
   Running time 27 minutes and 15 seconds per episode
   Creator(s) Julia Smith and Tony Holland
   Starring ( Present cast)
   James Alexandrou - John Bardon - Emma Barton - Tiana Benjamin - Laurie
   Brett - Ray Brooks - June Brown - Ulric Browne - Natalie Cassidy -
   Kevin Curran - Charlie Clements - Phil Daniels - Matt Di Angelo -
   Amanda Drew - Madeline Duggan - Perry Fenwick - Lorna Fitzgerald -
   Mohammed George - Ricky Groves - Nicky Henson - Charlie G. Hawkins -
   Dave Hill - Charlie Jones - Jo Joyner - Robert Kazinsky - Stuart Laing
   - Thomas Law - Petra Letang - Derek Martin - Steve McFadden - Laila
   Morse - Belinda Owusu - Diane Parish - Cliff Parisi - Babita Pohoomull
   - Wendy Richard - Jade Sharif - Kellie Shirley - Jane Slaughter - David
   Spinx - Pam St. Clement - Una Stubbs - Melissa Suffield - Joe Swash -
   Elaine Tan - Sophie Thompson - Kara Tointon - Lacey Turner - Rudolph
   Walker - Barbara Windsor - Jake Wood - Adam Woodyatt - Gillian Wright -
   Angela Wynter - Jimmy Yuill
   Country of origin United Kingdom
   Original channel BBC One
   Original run 19 February 1985–present
   No. of episodes 3268 (as of 27 November 2006)
   Official website
   IMDb profile
   TV.com summary

   EastEnders is a popular BBC television soap opera, first broadcast on
   BBC1 on 19 February 1985 and continuing to date.

   EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of
   the people who live and work in Albert Square, a Victorian square of
   terraced houses, a pub, a street market and various small businesses,
   in the East End of London.

   The series was originally screened as two half-hour episodes a week.
   Today four episodes are broadcast each week and an omnibus edition
   screens on Sunday afternoons. It is one of the UK's highest-rated
   programmes, often appearing near or at the top of the week's BARB
   ratings. Within eight months of its launch, it reached the number one
   spot in the ratings, and has almost consistently remained amongst the
   top-rated programmes in Britain ever since. The average audience share
   for an episode is currently between 45 and 50% The invention of
   producer Julia Smith and script editor Tony Holland, EastEnders has
   remained significant in terms of the BBC's success and audience share,
   and also the history of British television drama, tackling many
   controversial and taboo issues previously unseen on mainstream
   television in the UK.

   EastEnders has won five BAFTA Awards, and consistently won the Inside
   Soap Award for 'Best Soap' for ten years running, as well as eight
   National Television Awards for ' Most Popular Serial Drama' and five
   awards for 'Best Soap' at the British Soap Awards. It has also been
   inducted into the Rose d'Or Hall of Fame.

Setting and characters

Setting

   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 fictional Albert Square was built around the early 20th century,
   named after Prince Albert (1819–1861), the husband of Queen Victoria
   (1819–1901, reigned 1837–1901). Thus, central to Albert Square is The
   Queen Victoria Public House.

   In the past, fans have tried to establish the actual location of
   Walford within London. Walford East is a fictional tube station for
   Walford, and 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 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 show's creators opted for E20 instead
   of E19 as it was thought to sound better.

   The strongest claim to being the 'real' Albert Square is held by
   Broadway Market in Hackney, a short pedestrianised road that features a
   weekly market and established street vendors. The postcode for the
   area, E8, was one of the working titles for the series.

   In reality, at least two Albert Squares do exist in the East End of
   London, one in Stratford and the other in Ratcliff, E1. However, the
   show's producers actually based the Square's design on the real life
   Fassett Square in the East End. The name Walford is a portmanteau of
   Walthamstow and Stratford — the areas of London where the creators were
   born.

Characters

   EastEnders was built around the ideas of ' clans' of strong families
   and each character having a place in the community. Co-creator Tony
   Holland was himself from a large East End family, and such families
   have typified EastEnders. The first central family was the Beale and
   Fowler clan consisting of Pauline Fowler, her husband Arthur, and
   teenage children Mark and Michelle. Living nearby was Pauline's twin
   brother Pete Beale, his wife Kathy and their son Ian. Pauline and
   Pete's mother was the domineering Lou, who resided with Pauline and her
   family. Holland drew on the names of his own family for the characters.

   The Watts and Mitchell families have been central to many of the
   notable EastEnders storylines and Peggy Mitchell, in particular, is
   notorious for her ceaseless repetition of such statements as "You're a
   Mitchell!" and "It's all about family!". The 2000s saw a new focus on
   the largely female Slater clan, before the return of an emphasis on the
   Watts and Mitchell families. Key people involved in the production of
   EastEnders have stressed how important this idea of strong families is
   to the programme.

   Some families feature a stereotypical East End matriarch such as 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.

   EastEnders also features a number of elderly residents, who are used to
   show vulnerability and stalwart-like characters and sometimes for
   comedic purposes. The original elderly residents included Lou Beale,
   Ethel Skinner and Dot Cotton. Over the years they have been joined by
   the likes of Jules Tavernier, Mo Butcher, Nellie Ellis, Jim Branning,
   Patrick Trueman and Mo Harris.

   EastEnders has been known to have a "comedy double-act" in the show,
   previously demonstrated with the characters of Huw Edwards and Lenny
   Wallace, and currently seen with Garry Hobbs and Minty Peterson.

   Another recurring character type is the smartly dressed businessman,
   often involved in gang culture and crime, who is seen as a local
   authority figure. Examples include Den Watts, James Wilmott-Brown,
   Steve Owen, Jack Dalton, Andy Hunter and Johnny Allen.

   After the loss of many much-loved characters in 2005 and early 2006,
   such as Sam Mitchell, Chrissie Watts, Zoe Slater, Nana, Kat and Alfie
   Moon, Johnny Allen, Dennis Rickman and Little Mo Mitchell, the first
   half of 2006 has seen many new arrivals including Deano Wicks, Carly
   and Kevin Wicks, Bradley, Max, Tanya, Lauren and Abi Branning, Dr.
   Oliver Cousins, Bert Atkinson, Elaine Jarvis, Denise, Chelsea and
   Squiggle Fox, Owen Turner, Sarah-Jane Fletcher, Rob Minter, Sean
   Slater, Caroline Bishop, and Jack Edwards, who was originally to be
   played by David Essex. Essex couldn't commit to further filming beyond
   a month long contract, so his character was recast to be played by
   Nicky Henson.

   Others include Liz Turner Stella Crawford, Preeti Choraria, Li Chong,
   and a short return for Grant and Courtney Mitchell, as well as the
   return of Ben Mitchell as a permanent character. The introduction of
   new characters is now slowing down, with just Shirley Wicks, and Evie
   Atkinson to arrive this year.

   The show has also become known for the return of characters after they
   have left the show. Sharon Rickman has departed seven times, and
   returned six times, Frank Butcher has completed six separate stints on
   the programme, and writers stunned viewers by bringing back Den Watts,
   fourteen years after he had seemingly died.

Filming

   EastEnders is filmed at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood,
   Hertfordshire. An aerial photo of the set can be seen here. There are
   four episodes filmed per week, and are usually filmed about 6–7 weeks
   in advance of broadcast. During the winter period, filming often takes
   place up to 8 or 9 weeks in advance, due to less daylight for outdoor
   filming sessions. The famous two-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.

   Online fans have the chance to watch filming on the EastEnders webcam,
   which is on the official BBC EastEnders website, here. It shows updated
   stills of Albert Square, Turpin Road and George Street. The page also
   displays which episode is currently being filmed, the date it will be
   broadcast, and an extract of the script from that episode.

   During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, actors filmed short scenes following
   the tournament's events, that were edited into the programme in the
   following episode.

Social realism

   In the 1980s, EastEnders featured gritty storylines involving drugs and
   crime, representing the issues faced by working-class Britain much as
   Coronation Street did in the 1960s.

   However EastEnders has, for the most part, remained a populist series
   and has generally avoided the arguably tougher stories of Brookside.
   Brookside had also launched as a social realist drama, leading the way
   for more conservative soaps like EastEnders to follow. Arguably, the
   difference between them was that whilst Brookside confronted issues, it
   was more sensationalist and EastEnders tried to maintain realism.

   The programme makers emphasised that it was to be about 'everyday life'
   in the inner city 'today' and regarded 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".

   Such storylines include Sue and Ali Osman's baby's cot death, Nick
   Cotton's homophobia and drug addiction, the rape of Kathy Beale in 1988
   and Michelle Fowler's teenage pregnancy. The show also dealt with drug
   dealing, prostitution, mixed-race relationships, shoplifting, sexism,
   racism, divorce and muggings.

   As the show progressed into the 1990s, EastEnders still featured
   hard-hitting issues such as Mark Fowler discovering he was HIV positive
   in 1991 and the death of his wife Gill from AIDS-related illness,
   murder, adoption, Peggy Mitchell's breast cancer and mastectomy, and
   Phil Mitchell's alcoholism and domestic violence towards wife Kathy.

   In the early 2000s, EastEnders covered the issue of euthanasia with
   long-established characters Ethel Skinner and Dot Cotton, Kat Slater's
   abuse by her uncle Harry as a child, the domestic abuse of Little Mo
   Morgan by husband Trevor, Sonia Jackson giving birth at the age of
   fifteen and then putting the baby up for adoption, and Janine Butcher's
   prostitution, agoraphobia and drug addiction. The soap has also
   recently tackled the issues of illiteracy, mental health, and carers of
   people who have mental conditions. This has been illustrated with
   mother and daughter Jean and Stacey Slater; Jean suffers from bipolar
   disorder, and Stacey was her carer (this storyline won a Mental Health
   Media Award in September 2006). Mental health issues were also
   confronted in 1996 when Joe Wicks developed schizophrenia. The issue of
   illiteracy was highlighted by the characters of Keith and Darren
   Miller. EastEnders is currently covering the issue of Down's syndrome,
   as Billy and Honey's baby, Petal, has been born with the condition.

   Aside from this, soap opera staples of youthful romance, jealousy,
   domestic rivalry, kitchen disasters, gossip, community fund-raising
   events and extra-marital affairs are regularly featured.

History

   EastEnders was created by script writer Tony Holland and producer Julia
   Smith. They created twenty-four original characters for the show;
   Arthur, Pauline, Mark and Michelle Fowler, Lou, Pete, Kathy and Ian
   Beale, Den, Angie and Sharon Watts, Ali and Sue Osman, Kelvin and Tony
   Carpenter, Saeed and Naima Jeffery, Lofty Holloway, Mary Smith, Ethel
   Skinner, Nick Cotton, Dr. Harold Legg, Andy O'Brien and Debbie Wilkins.

   They cast actors for their characters, and began to film the show at
   the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. Simon May and
   Alan Jeapes created the title sequence, and the show with a working
   title of East 8 was renamed Eastenders. Julia Smith thought
   "Eastenders" "looked ugly written down", and capitalised the second
   'e'.

   The show was first broadcast on 19 February 1985.

Popularity

   As previously mentioned, EastEnders proved highly popular and
   Appreciation Indexes reflected this, rising from 55–60 at the launch to
   85–95 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.

   On Christmas Day 1986, EastEnders attracted a massive 30.15 million
   viewers who tuned in to see Den Watts hand over 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 7 and 13 million viewers and while the
   show's ratings have fallen since its initial surge in popularity and it
   generally rates lower than its ITV rival Coronation Street, 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 criticism of the show. The following day the show
   received its lowest ever ratings at that time (6.2 million) when ITV
   scheduled an hour long episode of Emmerdale against it. Emmerdale was
   watched by 8.1 million people. The poor ratings motivated the press
   into reporting viewers were bored with implausible and ill thought out
   storylines. Kathleen Hutchison, who had been the executive producer of
   hospital drama Holby City, was announced as the new executive producer.
   Within a few weeks, she 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 Sasha
   Perkins, Andy Hunter, Kate Mitchell, Juley Smith and Derek Harkinson.
   Whilst she was there, she set about reversing the previous executive
   producer's work. It indicated a 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 led 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
   responsibilities included 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 working up to midnight and beyond. She is also said to have
   rejected several planned storylines 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 led 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.

   In the 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 (10% share) tuned in to see the second
   showing.

   However, the battle between EastEnders and Emmerdale saw EastEnders
   come out on top with 200,000 more viewers on 1 December 2005.

   More recently, EastEnders was the top rated soap on Christmas Day 2005,
   attracting 10.6 million viewers while Coronation Street got 9.8
   million, with Doctor Who beating it by 30,000. 12.6 million viewers
   watched as Dennis Rickman was stabbed by a mystery attacker on New
   Year's Eve 2005, and the aftermath attracted 12.34 million viewers on
   the 2nd of January, 2006. This made it the most watched soap episode of
   2006 so far, although this record has been broken since.

   Since then EastEnders has beaten Coronation Street in the ratings
   several times, although Coronation Street continues to average more on
   a regular basis. Ratings reached an all-time low in July 2006 with 5.2
   million viewers, followed two days later by only 3.9 million.

   Between 2001 and 2002, EastEnders was the 10th most searched-for TV
   show on the Internet. It was the 2nd most popular UK search term in
   2003, and the 7th in 2004. EastEnders holds the record for the most
   watched soap episode in Britain. In 2001, EastEnders went head to head
   with rival soap Coronation Street for the first time. EastEnders won
   the battle with 8.4 million viewers (41%) while Coronation Street
   attracted 7.3 million (36%). 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 1980s, 1990s and so far the
   2000s.

Viewership

   Based on market research by BBC commissioning in 2003, EastEnders is
   most watched by 60–74 year olds, closely followed by 45–59 year olds.
   An average EastEnders episode attracts a total audience share between
   15%-25%

   Aside from that, the 10 p.m. repeat showing on BBC Three attracts an
   average of 500,000 viewers, whilst the Sunday omnibus attracts 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. This was its largest audience
   ever, the largest amount of viewers for a soap episode, the fourth
   largest audience for a British television channel ever and the highest
   television audience for a single channel of the 1980s.

   Despite a decade and a half of high ratings, it was most popular in the
   early 2000s, attracting an average of 15 million for most episodes and
   peaks of up to 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 2004/2005. And though
   its lowest ever audience share was 23% in July 2006, it is showing
   consistent signs of recovery, despite still rating lower than
   Coronation Street. It has been noted by some (such as Diane Parish),
   that viewing figures can no longer be soley based on the first showing
   of a show. In todays society, the increase in digital television and
   technology as a whole has meant television viewing is more about
   convenience for the viewer, and repeat showings of EastEnders
   consistently attract relatively successful figures.

Scheduling

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

   EastEnders is currently aired at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, and
   8 p.m. on Monday and Friday. The omnibus is aired on Sunday, though the
   exact time differs.

   Originally, EastEnders was shown twice weekly at 7 p.m., however it
   soon moved to 7:30 p.m. as Michael Grade did not want the soap running
   in direct competition with Emmerdale Farm; the BBC had originally
   planned to take advantage of the 'summer break' that Emmerdale Farm
   usually took in order to capitalise on ratings, but ITV added extra
   episodes and repeats so that Emmerdale Farm was not taken off air over
   the summer. Realising the futility of the situation, Grade decided to
   move the show to the later 7:30 p.m. slot, but to avoid tabloid
   speculation that it was a 'panic move' on the BBC's behalf, they had to
   "dress up the presentation of that move in such a way as to protect the
   show" giving "all kinds of reasons" for the move.

   EastEnders output then increased to three times a week, on 11 April
   1994, after Coronation Street added an extra episode — in response to
   competition from EastEnders. EastEnders then added its fourth episode
   (shown on Fridays) on 6 August 2001. This caused some controversy as it
   clashed with Coronation Street, which at the time was moved to 8 p.m.
   to make way for an hour long episode of rural soap Emmerdale at 7 p.m.
   The move immediately provoked an angry response from ITV insiders, who
   argued that the BBC's last-minute move — only revealed at 3:30 p.m. 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 BBC
   Three). The show takes a look behind the scenes of the EastEnders 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 BBC Three.
   An episode of EastEnders Revealed that was commissioned for BBC Three
   attracted 611,000 viewers.

   In early 2003, viewers could watch episodes of EastEnders on digital
   channel BBC Three before they were broadcast on BBC One. This was to
   coincide with the relaunch of the channel and helped BBC Three break
   the one million viewers mark for the first time with 1.03 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 BBC Three at 10 p.m. and old reruns
   can often be seen on UKTV Gold (as of September 2006, UKTV Gold are
   showing episodes originally aired in August 2003. 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 per year.)

   As part of the BBC's digital push, EastEnders Xtra was introduced in
   2005. The show was presented by Angelica Bell and was available to
   digital viewers at 8:30 p.m. on Monday nights.It was also shown after
   the Sunday Omnibus. The series went behind the scenes of the show and
   spoke to some of the cast members. The current series has now finished,
   and no announcement has been made regarding a second series.

   A new behind-the-scenes programme is scheduled to be broadcast on 1
   December 2006. EastEnders Unveiled: A Weddings Special will give
   viewers an insight into how the show's weddings are produced, and take
   a look at the past weddings of Walford. It will be narrated by Kara
   Tointon, who plays Dawn Swann, and include interviews with Barbara
   Windsor ( Peggy Mitchell), James Alexandrou ( Martin Fowler) and Ricky
   Groves ( Garry Hobbs). It will air on BBC Three at 8.30 p.m. on 1
   December, straight after the wedding of Ian Beale and Jane Collins airs
   on BBC One.

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,
   Africa and Asia, and on BBC Canada in Canada. It airs in Australia on
   UKTV.

   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 catch 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 American PBS channel, KOCE-TV ran the show one episode per week
   from 1990 to 1993, and currently shows two episodes weekly on Friday
   nights. Houston's KUHT runs two episodes every Sunday night at 10 and
   10:30. Similarly, WLIW in New York City schedules two episodes on
   Saturday nights. North Carolina's public television outlet, UNC-TV,
   runs two episodes per week, and receives generous financial support
   from the fundraising efforts of the North Carolina EastEnders Fan Club.
   Except on one occasion where public support dried up, KTEH-TV of San
   Jose, California, has run the series, between 2 to 4 episodes weekly,
   since the early 1990s. Most PBS stations are nearly 5 years behind in
   the storyline, and those showing fewer than four episodes weekly are
   falling further behind.

   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.

   It is also shown on the British Forces Broadcasting Service's main TV
   channel, BFBS1, to members of HM Forces stationed around the world.

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 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 representation of family
   life and emphasis on psychological and emotional violence within the
   show. She was also critical of language such as "bleeding", "bloody
   hell", "bastard" and "for Christ's sake". However, Whitehouse also
   praised the programme, describing Michelle Fowler's 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 were widely reported in the tabloid press as ammunition in
   its existing rivalry with the BBC. 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. Still, Mark struggled with various
   issues connected to his HIV status, including public fears of
   contamination, a marriage breakdown connected to his inability to have
   children and the side effects of combination therapies. However, in
   2003, when the makers of the series decided to write Mark out of the
   series, they sent him away to travel, and several months later word was
   received that he had died.

   The child abuse storyline with Kat Slater 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 Morgan and her
   husband Trevor. As EastEnders is shown pre-watershed, there were
   worries that some scenes in this storyline were too graphic for its
   audience. Complaints against a scene in which Little Mo's face was
   pushed in gravy on Christmas Day were upheld by the Broadcasting
   Standards Council. However, a helpline after this episode attracted
   over 2000 calls. 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.

   Originally there was a storyline written that the whole Ferreira family
   killed their pushy father Dan, but after actor Dalip Tahil could not
   get a visa for working in the UK the storyline was scrapped and instead
   Ronny Ferreira got stabbed. This storyline was criticised by many as it
   seemed rushed and no reason was given for Dan's disappearance.

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

   The BBC was accused of anti-religious bias by a House of Lords
   committee, who cited EastEnders as an example. Dr. Indarjit Singh,
   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."

   Susan Tully, who played Michelle Fowler from the show's inception until
   1995, has caused controversy with fans after refusing offers to return
   to the show for important events regarding the Fowler family such as
   Mark and Pauline's weddings to Lisa Shaw and Joe Macer, respectively,
   and Michelle's father Arthur and Mark's funerals. It has been announced
   that the actress has rejected offers to return again for Pauline's
   funeral, and Scarlett Johnson, who played Vicki Fowler, hasn't been
   asked to return.

   In July 2006, former cast member Tracy-Ann Oberman suggested that the
   scriptwriters had been "on crack" when they penned the storyline about
   Den's murder and described her 18 months on the show as being "four
   years of acting experience".

   Wendy Richard, who has played Pauline Fowler for 21 years, has also
   claimed that she quit the show because of the producers' decision to
   remarry her character to Joe Macer (played by Ray Brooks), as she felt
   this was out of character for Pauline.

   In August 2006, a scene involving Carly Wicks and Jake Moon initiating
   sexual intercourse on the floor of Scarlet nightclub, and another scene
   involving Owen Turner violenly attacking Denise Fox, prompted 129 and
   128 complaints, respectively. Carly and Jake's sex scenes were later
   removed from the Sunday omnibus edition.

   The birth of Billy and Honey Mitchell's baby, Petal, diagnosed with
   Down's syndrome, has attracted a lot of criticism.

   The storyline has been criticised by the Royal College of Midwives, who
   claim the storyline was inaccurate and unrealistic. They claim that
   Honey should not have been refused an epidural and should not have been
   told about her daughter's condition without her husband being present.
   They also claim that the baby appeared rigid when in fact she should
   have been floppy, and that nobody opened the baby's blanket to check.

   The BBC say a great deal of research was undertaken such as talking to
   families with children who have Down's syndrome, and liaising with a
   senior midwife as well as the Down Syndrome Association. The BBC say
   Honey was not refused an epidural but had actually locked herself away
   in the bathroom. They were also unable to cast a baby with Down's
   syndrome for the first few episodes, which is why the baby appeared
   rigid. The Down Syndrome Association say that the way in which Billy
   and Honey found out about their baby's condition and their subsequent
   support is not a best practice model, but is still a realistic
   situation.

   Conversely, learning disability charity Mencap have praised the soap,
   saying it will help to raise awareness.

Awards

                       Year Ceremony Awards References
   2006 National Television Awards 'Most Popular Serial Drama'
   Mental Health Media Awards 'Soaps and Continual Drama'
   Inside Soap Awards 'Best Soap'
   TV Quick and TV Choice Awards 'Best Soap'
   British Soap Awards 'Best British Soap', 'Best Single Episode'
   British Academy Television Awards 'Best Continuing Drama'
   2005 National Television Awards 'Most Popular Serial Drama'
   Inside Soap Awards 'Best Soap'
   2004 British Soap Awards 'Best British Soap'
   Inside Soap Awards 'Best Soap'
   2003 National Television Awards 'Most Popular Serial Drama'
   Inside Soap Awards 'Best Soap'
   TV Quick Awards 'Best Soap'
   2002 British Soap Awards 'Best British Soap', 'Best Single Episode'
   National Television Awards 'Most Popular Serial Drama'
   British Academy Television Awards 'Best Soap'
   Royal Television Society Awards 'Best Soap'
   Television and Radio Industries Club Awards 'TV Soap of the Year'
   Inside Soap Awards 'Best Soap'
   TV Quick Awards 'Best Soap', 'Best Soap Storyline'
   2001 British Soap Awards 'Best British Soap'
   National Television Awards 'Most Popular Serial Drama'
   Royal Television Society Awards 'Best Soap'
   Inside Soap Awards 'Best Soap'
   TV Quick Award 'Best Soap', 'Best Soap Storyline'
   2000 British Academy Television Awards 'Best Soap'
   National Television Awards 'Most Popular Serial Drama'
   British Soap Awards 'Best British Soap'
   Inside Soap Awards 'Best Soap'
   1999 British Academy Television Awards 'Best Soap'
   British Soap Awards 'Best Storyline'
   Inside Soap Awards 'Best Soap'
   TV Quick Award 'Best Soap', 'Best Soap Storyline'
   1998 Inside Soap Awards 'Best Soap'
   1997 British Academy Television Awards 'Best Drama Series'
   National Television Awards 'Most Popular Soap'
   Inside Soap Awards 'Best Soap'
   1996 National Television Awards 'Best Soap Opera'
   1995 National Television Awards 'Most Popular Serial Drama'
   1986 Television and Radio Industries Club Awards 'TV Theme Music of the
   Year'

In popular culture

   A charity special crossover between the science fiction television
   series Doctor Who and EastEnders, Dimensions in Time, was filmed in
   1993 for Children In Need and ran in two parts on November 26 and 27,
   1993. It has been proven as non- canon by various refences of Doctor
   Who as fiction in EastEnders, and vice versa.

   A special episode of A Question of Sport, A Question of EastEnders, was
   screened in 2000 to mark the show's fifteenth anniversary.

   BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles remixed the Shaggy single " It Wasn't Me",
   singing about the " Who Shot Phil?" storyline.

   EastEnders and its characters were frequently spoofed in the
   impressionist sketch show Big Impression, starring Alistair McGowan and
   Ronni Ancona. Big Impression once screened a one-off special, focusing
   on EastEnders, called Alistair McGowan's BigEnders. The cartoon sketch
   show 2DTV has also spoofed EastEnders on many occasions.

   In the third series of Bo' Selecta!, there was a weekly sketch called
   'EastEndings', featuring Ali Osman and Kat Moon.

   Derek Martin appeared in episode three in the third series of Little
   Britain in 2005. The sketch primarily focused around the character
   Marjorie Dawes telling her Fat Fighters group not to mention the fact
   that Martin is in EastEnders, then mentioning it herself. She referred
   to him at all times as " Charlie from EastEnders". She hummed the
   EastEnders theme tune when Martin got up onto the scales, and
   persistently asked him what would happen to various characters "in the
   end". She enquired about Kat and Alfie, Mo, Pauline, Phil, Ian, Sonia
   and Pat before Martin stood up and left, as Marjorie immitated the
   drums of end theme tune of EastEnders.

   An episode of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps entitled "War,
   Hurrgh!" contains references to Peggy and Grant Mitchell, Bianca
   Jackson and Pat Evans. Other episodes have referred to Angie Watts and
   Pauline and Martin Fowler

   Shaun Williamson frequently plays himself in Ricky Gervais's Extras,
   where he is referred to at all times as " Barry from EastEnders".

   A specially filmed clip of EastEnders features in the 2006 episode of
   Doctor Who entitled Army of Ghosts. In the scene, Peggy Mitchell
   confronts the "ghost of Den Watts", ordering it to get out of her pub
   and that "We don't serve spirits".

   When Emmerdale actor Nick Miles (who plays Jimmy King) starred in a
   play at the Edinburgh Festival called Meeting Joe Strummer, his
   character was from Walford. Miles said in an interview that his
   character was originally going to be from the village of Emmerdale, but
   it was changed to Walford for fun.

   A promotional picture of Pauline Fowler and Joe Macer was used on the
   official Torchwood website, in a fictional magazine article about
   aliens.

   The monthly Dot Cotton Club, a gay club night in Cambridge, is named
   after the character of Dot Branning, who was previously named Dot
   Cotton.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastEnders"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
