Digital Spy opined that the ratings drop was accredited to "lacklustre storylines" and thought that storylines on rival soaps were better. The press were invited to Elstree to 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. Danny Dyer has opened up about his luxurious 140,000 Heart EastEnders actor Kellie Bright shares game-changing theory on Christmas murder heart.co.uk - Alice Dear The Osmans, Jefferys and Carpenters represented the more modern diverse ethnic community of the East End. It is shown on BBC UKTV from Mondays to Thursdays at 8pm. [2], Since co-creator Holland was from a large family in the East End, a theme heavily featured in EastEnders is strong families and each character is supposed to have their own place in the fictional community. [140] The original matriarch was Lou Beale (Anna Wing), though later examples include Mo Harris (Laila Morse),[141] Pat Butcher (Pam St Clement),[142] Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia),[143] Cora Cross (Ann Mitchell),[144] Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth),[145] Jean Slater (Gillian Wright),[146] and Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal). The show revealed that the killer of Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater) was her younger brother, Bobby (Eliot Carrington), during the second episode on Thursday, after a ten-month mystery regarding who killed her. Many people watched this together with friends and family, so the viewing figures were probably even higher than the 24.5 million suggests! 23h. In one segment of the . Hollingworth's contributions to the soap were awarded in 1997 when EastEnders won the BAFTA for Best Drama Series. [227], The majority of EastEnders episodes are filmed at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. [387], In December 2010, Ronnie Branning (Samantha Womack) swapped her newborn baby, who died in cot, with Kat Moon's (Jessie Wallace) living baby. [28] Anticipation and rumour grew in equal measure until the first transmission at 7p.m. on 19 February 1985. "[396], In 2022, EastEnders aired their first male rape scene which saw Lewis Butler (Aidan O'Callaghan) rape Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden). 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 1.03million who watched to see Mark Fowler's departure. "[91] O'Connor planned to stay with EastEnders until the end of 2017, but announced his departure on 23 June 2017 with immediate effect,[92] saying he wanted to concentrate on a career in film. Today all UK audience figures are based on readings from meters fixed to a sample set of televisions across the country and the information they collate being published to show a television chart ranking. EastEnders bosses want to go back to five 30 minute episodes a week after a ratings slump, according to reports. Official ratings are over a seven-day period up to 2014 and from 2022 onwards, and over a 28-day period from 2015 to 2021. Press coverage of EastEnders, which was already intense, went into overdrive once the show was broadcast. In 2021, "UEFA Euro 2020: England vs Denmark" recorded the largest TV viewing audience of the year, with 18.4 million individuals watching the program. [341][342], An example of EastEnders' popularity is that after episodes, electricity use in the United Kingdom rises significantly as viewers who have waited for the show to end begin boiling water for tea, a phenomenon known as TV pickup. [366], EastEnders has been criticised for being too violent, most notably during a domestic violence storyline between Little Mo Morgan (Kacey Ainsworth) and her husband Trevor Morgan (Alex Ferns). [281] The albert+ logo was first shown at the end of the EastEnders titles for episode 5281 on 9 May 2016. [4] Demolition on the old set commenced in November 2022.[5]. [281] A carbon literacy course was run with Heads of Departments of EastEnders attending and as a result, representatives from each department agreed to meet quarterly to share new sustainability ideas. Although the Euros have an effect on viewing figures, many now watch what they want when they want on . An episode of EastEnders Revealed that was commissioned for BBC Three attracted 611,000 viewers. It continues to draw in hefty viewing figures even in the age of streaming services. Danny went on to say his character had 'lost his way' after divorcing Linda and marrying Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks). The BBC received complaints from viewers who were unhappy with the content in the episode. [13] Smith and Holland had eleven months in which to write, cast and shoot the whole thing; however, in February 1984, they did not even have a title or a place to film. Moments of drama are often timed to peak with optimum viewing figuresand Christmas is a notoriously volatile time on Albert Square. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. [228] The producer then reviews the edits and decides if anything needs to be re-edited, which the director will do. Ofcom also took into account the programme's role in presenting sometimes challenging or distressing social issues. During her time at the soap Hutchison axed multiple characters, and reportedly ordered the rewriting of numerous scripts. saga. [340] In the spin-off, the Moons visit Ireland where they "search for answers to some very big questions". EastEnders has always featured a culturally diverse cast which has included black, Asian, Turkish, Polish and Latvian characters. [64][65] There have also been adverts in magazines and on radio. [6] The outline that Reid presented was vague: two episodes a week, 52 weeks a year. [231] During the filming week, actors can film for as many as eight to twelve episodes. Her criticisms were widely reported in the tabloid press as ammunition in its existing hostility towards the BBC. Episodes are roughly two weeks behind the UK. [296][297][298][299], EastEnders was regularly repeated at 10pm on BBC Choice from the channel's launch in 1998, a practice continued by BBC Three for many years until mid-2012 with the repeat moving to 10:30pm. The Scripts are full of hard, sharp drama, plus great one-liners which will translate well to Holland. In the same period, Emmerdale's viewing figures are said to have witnessed a 22 per cent decline. Kyle Slater (Riley Carter Millington), a transgender character, was introduced in 2015. Four EastEnders episodes are listed in the all-time top 10 most-watched programmes in the UK, including the number one spot when over 30 million watched the 1986 Christmas Day episode. BBC's head of drama, Piers Wenger, explained that since the episode duration had been shortened and the airtime frequently suffered changes, it had led to the audience not knowing when to watch it. In the show's narrative, Albert Square is a 19th-century street, named after Prince Albert (18191861), the husband of Queen Victoria (18191901, reigned 18371901). Lock also wrote a character guide entitled Who's Who in EastEnders (.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}ISBN978-0-563-55178-2) in 2000, examining main characters from the first 15 years of the show. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. A new era began in 1990 with the introduction of Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp)the Mitchell brotherssuccessful characters who would go on to dominate the soap thereafter. EastEnders is often filmed on location, away from the studios in Borehamwood. [397], In 2010, EastEnders came under criticism from the police for the way that they were portrayed during the "Who Killed Archie?" The series went behind the scenes of the show and spoke to some of the cast members. [307] In December 2019, Christmas episodes were added to Britbox UK. The wedding of Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell in Episode 523 got 20 million viewers when it aired in the UK in November 1988. With the change to the ITV network in 1968, when stations such as Associated Rediffusion were dropped and new stations such as Thames Television and London Weekend Television began, the independent stations and other interested parties (acting under the name of JICTAR, the Joint Industry Committee for Television Advertising Research, formed in the early 1960s) passed the contract for collating the data passed to AGB, today AGB Neilson, who still collate the data for the entire UK industry, BBC now included, on BARB's behalf to this day. [99] Although, since Yorke and Oates' reigns, opinions towards the storylines have become more favourable, with storylines such as Ruby Allen's (Louisa Lytton) sexual consent, which featured a special episode which "broke new ground"[100] and knife crime, both of which have created "vital" discussions. [15] The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where Tony Holland lived and a blend of Walthamstow and Stratfordthe areas of Greater London where the creators were born. Later on in the same evening, a special flashback episode averaged 10.3million viewers, and peaked with 11.2million. The UK communications regulator Ofcom later found that the episodes depicting the storyline were in breach of the 2005 Broadcasting Code. [138] Key people involved in the production of EastEnders have stressed how important the idea of strong families is to the programme. It was named as if Walford were part of the actual E postcode area which covers much of east London,[132] the E standing for Eastern. Subscribe now for more! Viewing Figures Christmas viewing . Some actors' salaries were leaked in 2006, revealing that Natalie Cassidy (Sonia Fowler) was paid 150,000, Cliff Parisi (Minty Peterson) received 220,000, Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchell) and Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell) each received 360,000 and Wendy Richard (Pauline Fowler) had a salary of 370,000. EastEnders has drawn in its lowest ever rating since it first aired 1985, according to reports. The soap also tackled the issue of mental illness and carers of people who have mental conditions, illustrated with mother and daughter Jean (Gillian Wright) and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner); Jean has bipolar disorder, and teenage daughter Stacey was her carer (this storyline won a Mental Health Media Award in September 2006[201]). [86] Treadwell-Collins left on 6 May[87] and O'Connor's first credited episode was broadcast on 11 July[88] Although O'Connor's first credited episode aired in July, his own creative work was not seen onscreen until late September. NOTE: Please do not add content from the BBC iPlayer's early episodes until it has been aired on television, as it is intrusive to our readers who may not have seen the episode on iPlayer. [13], The project had a number of working titlesSquare Dance, Round the Square, Round the Houses, London Pride and East 8. [166] Another recurring male character seen in EastEnders is the "loser" or "soft touch", males often comically under the thumb of their female counterparts, which have included Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher),[148] Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen),[168] Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves),[169] Lofty Holloway (Tom Watt)[170] and Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick).[171]. Is shown on BBC UKTV from Mondays to Thursdays at 8pm one-liners which will translate to... Full of hard, sharp drama, plus great one-liners which eastenders viewing figures by year translate to... 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