Eastenders debuted in the United Kingdom on BBC television in 1985 (it made its debut in the US on PBS in 1988). Since that time the show has won numerous television awards (including the award for "Best Continuing Drama" at the British Academy Television Awards 2006) and is broadcast in many countries around the world.
Setting
Eastenders is set in Walford, a fictional borough in the East End of London, a working class, multicultural area. The characters live around Albert Square and the central setting on the show is the public house The Queen Victoria (or "Queen Vic"). The Queen Vic is home to dart tournaments, karaoke nights and many unforgettable displays of shameless and outrageous behavior. This isn't Pine Valley
Eastenders is celebrated as being different from most soap operas by its fans. While the characters on most U.S. soaps live glamorous lives as upper crust society mavens, there is nothing glamorous about Albert Square. It's residents work in the market, tend bar, fix cars, and hatch various entrepreneurial schemes (mostly legal) to make a buck.
Creator/producer Julia Smith has said that "We don't make life, we reflect it." Eastenders has consistently presented stories that have dealt with issues such as homosexuality, racial prejudice, euthanasia, domestic violence, unemployment, HIV and alcoholism in a realistic, believable context.
Eastenders certainly has its share of 'typical' soap opera themes - marital infidelity, financial indescretion, and family crises among them. However, there has been no siting of an evil third Mitchell brother who happens to be the twin of Phil or Grant. And if a character is killed on the show you can be assured you won't see them brought back to life as a long-lost sibling!
Creator/producer Julia Smith has said that "We don't make life, we reflect it." Eastenders has consistently presented stories that have dealt with issues such as homosexuality, racial prejudice, euthanasia, domestic violence, unemployment, HIV and alcoholism in a realistic, believable context.
Eastenders certainly has its share of 'typical' soap opera themes - marital infidelity, financial indescretion, and family crises among them. However, there has been no siting of an evil third Mitchell brother who happens to be the twin of Phil or Grant. And if a character is killed on the show you can be assured you won't see them brought back to life as a long-lost sibling!
Eastenders links
- BBC - EastEnders - Homepage
- The official BBC EastEnders website, with episode updates, your favourite characters, quizzes and clips, and answers to all your EastEnders questions.
Use the Episodes page to can find episodes by date or by event. There's a "Coming Up" tab with the week's BBC schedule. - The Walford Gazette Internet Edition
- This is the online edition of "The Walford Gazette", a newspaper dedicated to Eastenders. A print subscription edition is available. The Gazette features interviews with cast members and news about Eastenders viewership around the world.
- EastEnders Updates
- This site is the work of a fan named Jane who provides detailed show narratives. Well done and easily navigable.
- Walford Web
- News, episodes, spoilers, cast photographs and much more.
- BBC - writesroom - Insight
- Aspiring writers were given the unique chance to meet the creative team behind the award-winning popular drama series EastEnders. View video clips of the panel discussion or download transcripts.
- Eastenders Soundboard
- Pat, Peggy, all the beautiful people of London on this fun comedy soundboard, with free sound downloads mp3.
Photos of the cast from Flickr
Click on a thumbnail to view the full-sized photograph (with copyright information) on the Flickr website.
Pat (love her earrings)
Watch Eastenders
Eastenders currently airs around the world, including Europe, Africa and Asia. BBC America stopped broadcasting the series in the United States in 2003. In 2004 the Dish Satellite Network began showing Eastenders in the U.S. Eastenders is also aired on various PBS stations. However, these episodes are several years behind the current season.
A taste of Eastenders
Sharon and Peggy square off in the Queen Vic
The setup: Sharon's dad used to run the Queen Vic. After he left Walford, Sharon married Grant, Peggy's son. While Grant was serving a short jail sentence, Sharon had an affair with her brother-in-law Phil, Peggy's other son. Then Sharon sold her share of the Vic to Peggy (who was mad at her for 'ruining' her family) and left the show for a bit. With me so far? Ok, so a few years later Peggy sells the Queen Vic to an anonymous buyer who turns out to be...? Yep, Sharon!
Eastenders stuff on Amazon
Eastenders Who's Who (Eastenders)
Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)
Eastenders: The First 10 Years : A Celebration
Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)
EastEnders 20th Anniversary
Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)
Eastenders Annual 2009 (Annual)
Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)
Eastenders Trivia
(Source: Wikipedia)
* EastEnders was the most popular UK search term in 2005.
* As of February 2006, two original cast members are in the series; Wendy Richard and Adam Woodyatt, who have played Pauline Fowler and Ian Beale continuously since 1985.
* Pam St Clement (Pat Evans) has 125 pairs of earrings from which to choose and fans still send her earrings, which she sometimes wears in the programme.
* Brad Pitt is such a fan of the soap that when BBC America took EastEnders off the air in 2003, he and his then wife Jennifer Aniston joined a petition of 15,000 US fans demanding the cable channel reinstate it.
* Researchers from the BBC went to the East End and visited Fassett Square in the 1980s. Albert Square is based on Fassett Square, which is dubbed the "real life Albert Square".
* The Queen visited the set in 2001 and was shown around by actresses Wendy Richard and Barbara Windsor.
* Den, Angie and Sharon Watts were originally to be called Jack, Pearl and Tracey.
* As of February 2006, two original cast members are in the series; Wendy Richard and Adam Woodyatt, who have played Pauline Fowler and Ian Beale continuously since 1985.
* Pam St Clement (Pat Evans) has 125 pairs of earrings from which to choose and fans still send her earrings, which she sometimes wears in the programme.
* Brad Pitt is such a fan of the soap that when BBC America took EastEnders off the air in 2003, he and his then wife Jennifer Aniston joined a petition of 15,000 US fans demanding the cable channel reinstate it.
* Researchers from the BBC went to the East End and visited Fassett Square in the 1980s. Albert Square is based on Fassett Square, which is dubbed the "real life Albert Square".
* The Queen visited the set in 2001 and was shown around by actresses Wendy Richard and Barbara Windsor.
* Den, Angie and Sharon Watts were originally to be called Jack, Pearl and Tracey.
Eastenders collectibles on eBay
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