The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorianpublic house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.
The former College Park Hotel in Harlesden, on which the design for The Queen Victoria was based.
In the series' backstory, Albert Square was built in the early 1860s during the reign of Queen Victoria. In February 2020, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) revealed that the original landlords of The Queen Victoria were a Mr and Mrs Bagstock, and that he had drowned his wife in the bath.
Originally, the pub was to be called The Balmoral Arms, but after the death of Prince Albert, it was renamed as a tribute to the mourning Queen. In reality, Albert Square is based on the real Fassett Square in Hackney, but there is no pub there, so The Queen Victoria is based on what was once College Park Tavern on Harrow Road in Harlesden.[1] Initially, the pub's exterior is first seen painted brown. This is later changed to a green and cream colour scheme in late 1990, before Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) sets alight to the Queen Victoria in 1992, after which it is painted red. Following another blaze in 2010, started by Grant’s brother Phil, the pub is painted red, green and cream. On Boxing Day 2013, the new family to the square, the Carters, took over the Queen Vic, and since then it has had a refurbishment and has been painted red once again.
During the first months of the show, The Queen Victoria has a partition wall down the middle of the bar, which separates it into two sections. The smaller section, known as the 'snug', houses a dart board[citation needed] and fruit machines, whilst the larger section, known as the saloon bar, is used primarily as the customer seating area. Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) gets permission from the brewery to remove the partition in 1985, and hires Tony Carpenter (Oscar James) to do the job. In 2007, the pub has its first major refurbishment in 15 years, and another in late 2010 following another fire.
In reality, the pub exterior shell on the outdoor permanent set was built during 1984 for the new series, which began the following year. The exterior shell was made to look as though it had stood for over 100 years. The internal sets are in a studio separate from the building situated in the Square.
Exterior of The Queen Victoria as it appeared 2010–2014
In a storyline shown during September 2010, The Queen Victoria was severely damaged by a fire. This allowed for a subtle redesign and upgrade of the set; required when high-definition broadcasting commenced.[3] A separate set was built on the George Lucas sound stage at Elstree Studios to enable the pub interior to be set alight safely.
A team of more than 40 crew members were involved in the filming of the fire including makeup, stunt team, fire safety officers, cameras, lighting, sound and the costume department.[4] The exterior scenes took five half days to shoot (as it could only be shot at night) and were shot at the BBC studios in Borehamwood. The interior scenes were shot a week after and took three days to film.
Safety necessitated having the set re-created at the Elstree Film Studios stage facility that is designed and equipped to film fire scenes.[4] EastEnders Production Manager Rona McKendrick said "Potentially hazardous scenes like this always require specialist knowledge and we rely on their experience and advice to ensure that everything is achieved as safely as possible. We had a Stunt Team comprising Lee Sheward, our Stunt Co-ordinator and his team of Stunt Doubles. A Visual FX team designed and executed all the fire sequences and we had specialist Fire Officers providing out of vision fire cover / safety."
Of the fire itself, McKendrick said "Everyone was very sad to see The Vic taken out of Stage One and moved to Elstree Film Studios for the burn, I've known the set for 18 years and to see the enormous space it left was as if a piece of history had been removed".[4]
Storylines
As one of the show’s focal points, the pub has been the scene of many of the biggest storylines.
In the EastEnders series spin-off CivvyStreet (1988), life in Albert Square is featured between 1939 and 1945, and The Queen Victoria (The Queen Vic) freehold is owned by the brewery, Luxford & Copley. Ray and Lil Sewell (Robert Putt and Frances Cuka) are the landlords. When the series begins, the brewery remain owners and Den (Leslie Grantham) and Angie Watts (Anita Dobson) have been landlords for ten years; previous landlords alluded to in conversation include Gus and Flo Leonard and Alf and Polly Barrett. In 2020, the first landlords of the pub are mentioned as being Mr and Mrs Bagstock, Mrs Bagstock having been drowned by her husband in the bath.
Angie is served with divorce papers by Den on Christmas Day 1986, and two years later, he passes control to Frank (Mike Reid) and Pat Butcher (Pam St. Clement). In 1990, Frank and Pat hand over the pub to Eddie Royle. Eddie is murdered by Nick Cotton (John Altman) the following year, and the daughter of Den and Angie, Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), becomes the first licensee when she buys the freehold of The Queen Vic with the assistance of her husband Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and his brother Phil (Steve McFadden); the three live there. Grant sets fire to the pub in 1992 in an insurance scam and it is refurbished. Grant and Sharon divorce in 1995 after her affair with Phil is exposed, and their share of The Queen Vic is sold to Grant and Phil's mother, Peggy (Barbara Windsor).
Peggy marries Frank in 1999, and he again becomes a landlord. When Grant leaves Walford soon afterwards, Peggy's alcoholic son Phil sells his share of the pub to Dan Sullivan (Craig Fairbrass) for a mere £5 to spite his domineering mother. However, he subsequently buys back his share and evicts Dan from The Queen Vic.
After Frank leaves in November 2000 and leaves her penniless, Peggy is soon left with no option but to sell the pub. The new buyer is revealed to be Sharon, in partnership with Steve Owen (Martin Kemp). Steve soon has to sell his share to raise ransom money for his wife Mel (Tamzin Outhwaite) and Phil buys back part of The Queen Vic. In 2002, Sharon also sells up to Phil and the pub returns to the control of the Mitchells. Peggy appoints Alfie Moon as manager later that year.
On Christmas Eve 2004, Den tricks his way back into ownership of The Queen Vic, but within two months, he is killed by his second wife, Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman), who buries his body in the cellar of pub. Chrissie forges his signature on a deed of transfer and tells the customers that he has left her for another woman, signing The Queen Vic over to her.
Six months later, Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) digs up Den's body and Chrissie, in a plan to escape, sells the pub to Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). However, she is subsequently arrested for murder. Her confessing to forging his signature nullifies the sale to Ian, and ownership reverts to Sharon, Den's heir, who returns The Queen Vic to Peggy and Phil. When Sam (now played by Danniella Westbrook) breaches her bail conditions in 2009, the family goes into debt.
Phil secures The Queen Vic against a loan from Ian, who is forced to sell it to Peggy's ex-husband Archie (Larry Lamb). The Mitchells initially continue running the pub, but Peggy relents and hands over control to Archie and his fiancée Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) after her stepdaughter Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack) suffers a miscarriage during a confrontation with her father Archie.
After Archie is murdered on Christmas Day, his daughter Roxy (Rita Simons) inherits The Queen Vic. When Roxy tries to sell it on, Peggy objects, and Roxy signs over the pub to her. Later, in 2010, Phil develops a drug addiction and is locked in a room in the pub by Peggy. After he escapes, he argues with his mother and sets fire to the pub as an act of revenge. The fire traps him and Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner) along with her baby Lily, but they all manage to escape.
Again, fire destroys The Queen Vic and Peggy transfers ownership to Phil before she leaves Walford. Phil renovates the pub and rents it to Alfie Moon and his wife Kat (Jessie Wallace). Kat is away temporarily in 2012 when Roxy is landlady again, but upon Kat's return, The Queen Vic is forced to close down due to an outbreak of bed bugs, the source of which was thought to be Shirley Carter (Linda Henry), who has been staying.
Instead, it was found that the source was the flat where Kat was meeting her lover Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman). The Queen Vic returns to Phil when Kat and Alfie fail to pay rent; Roxy is again made manager. However, Phil has a change of mind about Kat and Alfie when he finds out from Kat about her affair and subsequent attempt to save her marriage, all the while leaving Roxy as manager.
During Christmas 2012, Alfie finds out about the affair; they separate and Roxy and Amy move back to The Queen Vic. Roxy replaces Kat as the joint licensee of the pub with Alfie, but leaves after Alfie reunites with Kat on the day of his and Roxy's wedding. As an act of revenge against the Moons, Phil decides to sell the pub; Alfie and Kat are forced to move out.
Janine initially tries to buy the pub, but is arrested for murder before paying Phil. Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) buys The Queen Victoria on Christmas Day, 2013, and the following day moves into the pub with his wife Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and son Johnny Carter (Sam Strike). Phil is surprised to discover that Mick is Shirley's brother. When Shirley persuades their estranged father into giving them £10,000 to repair the rising damp in the cellar, Mick and Linda give Shirley a 10% stake in the pub.
In 2016, Mick and Linda's son, Lee Carter (Danny-Boy Hatchard) gets into debt, and Mick pays it off by taking out loans. The family struggle to afford the court fines after Babe Smith (Annette Badland) sells alcohol outside of licensing hours, paying for repairs to a leaking roof, the cost Sylvie Carter's (Linda Marlowe) funeral, and the vet bills for their dog, Lady Di (Hot Lips). While Linda and Mick are away, Linda sends Woody Woodward (Lee Ryan) to look after the pub as a manager.
Max Branning (Jake Wood) hears of the Carters' financial problems, and suggests to Shirley that they sell the freehold of the pub. Shirley convinces Linda, but they do not tell Mick, and Shirley forges his signature. The new freeholders, Grafton Hill, send Fi Browning (Lisa Faulkner), a business consultant, to look at ways to maximise profit at the pub, and she concludes that two members of staff need to be made redundant. However, she insists that the freeholders want Woody to stay, so Sharon and barmaid Tracey (Jane Slaughter) are made redundant.
It then emerges that the company Max works for, Weyland & Co, are involved, and they have a mole in the pub, as the company is planning to redevelop the local area, and The Queen Vic is their first target. It is soon revealed that Fi is the mole, and Grafton Hill makes them pay for further repairs. Fi tricks the Carters into thinking that the debt is less, so when they fail to pay, they are given a month to leave, and it is revealed that Fi's father, James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde) is the owner.
However, after Fi realises that James is a rapist, who had attacked Kathy back in 1988, and he is arrested for fraud, she offers the Carters the chance to buy the Vic back, which they are eventually able to do.
In 2020, after Linda struggles with alcoholism, Mick decides to sell the pub in order to help Linda recover. Phil tries to buy the pub in order to repair his marriage to Sharon, but after he kicks her out, Linda refuses to sell to Phil. The pub is therefore sold to Ian, who installs Sharon as the landlady, and she moves in with her son, Albie Watts. In 2021, after Ian disappears from Walford, he transfers ownership over to Sharon. After being blackmailed by Max, Phil convinces Sharon to sell the Vic back to Mick and Linda.
On Christmas Day 2022, Mick vanishes at sea, and is presumed dead, leaving Linda as the joint owner, with Janine as Mick's personal representative to his estate. Since May 2023, the pub has been co-owned by Linda and her mother Elaine Peacock, now played by Harriet Thorpe.
The Queen Victoria's bust of Queen Victoria (pictured on display at the Elstree and Borehamwood Museum) was used from 1993 until 2010, and from 2012 onwards.
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is the primary setting for the soap. EastEnders is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work is filmed in nearby Watford, which was chosen for many of the exterior scenes due to its close proximity and the town's name being so similar to Walford. Thus, any stray road signs or advertising boards which are accidentally filmed in the back of shots will appear to read Walford. Locations used in Watford include most interior and exterior church scenes of various churches, the snooker club, the County Court and Magistrates' Courts courtrooms, and the cemetery.
Kathleen "Kat" Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Jessie Wallace. She was also played by Kate Peck in a flashback in 2001 and Sumar-Elise Sandford in a flashback in 2018. Kat is the second eldest Slater family sister and first appeared on 18 September 2000. Kat's usual dress is very short skirts and leopard-print tops, with much make-up and heavy fake tan. Her initial stint saw her involved in many storylines, most significantly in a plot twist that sees her supposedly sister Zoe Slater, revealed to be her daughter after she was raped by her uncle Harry Slater as a child. Kat and Zoe's relationship is tested several times, and a feud forms when they compete against each other for the affection of Anthony Trueman. Another key aspect to the character's storylines is her marriage to Alfie Moon, prior to which she became briefly engaged to Andy Hunter ; after Kat jilted Andy on their wedding day, he blackmailed her into sleeping with him in his revenge bid against Alfie and Kat. Kat was absent between November 2004 and May 2005 following Wallace's maternity leave, but returned early to tie in with Zoe’s exit storyline. Kat later left the soap on 25 December 2005.
Phil Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Steve McFadden. He was introduced to the soap opera on 20 February 1990 and was followed by his brother Grant, sister Sam and mother Peggy. Phil was one of the major characters introduced by executive producer Michael Ferguson, who wanted to bring in some macho male leads. Phil and his brother Grant became popularly known as the Mitchell brothers in the British media, with Phil initially portrayed as the more level-headed of the two thugs. Storylines featuring the Mitchell family dominated the soap opera throughout the 1990s, with Phil serving as one of the show's central characters and protagonists since the 1990s. McFadden temporarily left the series in late 2003, then returned in April 2005 for a brief appearance before making a permanent return in October 2005, and has now overtaken Dot Cotton as the second-longest-serving character in EastEnders, surpassed only by original character Ian Beale. A teenage version of Phil, played by Daniel Delaney, appeared in a flashback episode broadcast on 5 September 2022, which focuses on the Mitchell family in the 1970s.
Janine Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, introduced in 1989. The character was played by Rebecca Michael from 1989 to 1993, Alexia Demetriou from 1993 to 1996, and Charlie Brooks from 1999 to 2022. Brooks initially departed on 7 May 2004. She returned for a three episode guest stint in April 2008 before returning permanently on 18 December of that year. Brooks later took a break from September 2012 until April 2013, then departed again on 20 March 2014. In April 2021, it was announced that Brooks would reprise the role once again and return later in the year. She returned on 6 September 2021. It was announced on 24 September 2022 that Brooks had only agreed to reprise the role for 12 months and would depart again at the conclusion of her storyline, with her final scenes airing on 26 December 2022.
Dean Wicks is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Matt Di Angelo. He made his first appearance on 2 January 2006. It was announced on 18 August 2007 that the characters of Deano and his sister Carly Wicks were being axed by executive producer Diederick Santer. Deano made his final appearance on 7 February 2008. On 15 January 2014, it was announced that Deano, now called Dean, would be returning and he first reappeared on 11 April of that year. Di Angelo took a three-month break from the soap from January to April 2015, with a one-off appearance in February to tie in with the show's 30th anniversary celebrations. In October 2015, it was announced that Di Angelo would be leaving the show in early 2016. The character is arrested for attempted rape with his final scenes set in court airing on 4 and 5 February 2016. On 19 August 2016, Dean is acquitted of attempted rape after standing trial off-screen. On 30 October 2023, Di Angelo made an unannounced return as Dean.
Aunt Sal is a recurring fictional character in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anna Karen Introduced in 1996, she appeared sporadically from 21 March 1996 until 29 December 1997, then from 28 September 2001 until 17 September 2004, 19 July 2007 until 4 April 2011 and 22 November 2013 to 20 January 2017. She appears for just a few episodes at a time and has been collectively featured in 58 episodes of the show.
Shirley Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Linda Henry. She first appeared on 7 December 2006, during episodes set in Dorset. This is Henry's second role in EastEnders, as she previously played prostitute Lorraine Salter (1991–1992). Henry took a break from the show on 7 September 2012, before returning on 3 December 2012. On 29 December 2022, Henry took an extended break from the show, with Shirley hoped to return at some point in the future. However, there is currently no confirmed date for her return.
Since its premiere in 1985, the BBC soap opera EastEnders has had a large impact on popular culture.
Roxanne Lizette "Roxy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Rita Simons. Roxy arrived in Walford with her sister Ronnie on 24 July 2007 and decides to move permanently to Walford from Ibiza where they ran a bar together. Roxy is the younger of the two sisters. She is described as the "fire", as opposed to Ronnie's "ice". Simons took a temporary hiatus in 2016, with Roxy off screen from 1 January until 4 May 2016. Following the announcement that Womack would be leaving the series, Simons' departure was also announced. Roxy departed the series in scenes broadcast on 1 January 2017, when she drowned in a hotel swimming pool along with Ronnie. Simons returned in 2019 to record a voiceover as Roxy, which was broadcast on 3 May 2019. A younger version of Roxy, played by Elodie de Rohan Willner, appeared in a flashback episode broadcast on 5 September 2022, which focuses on the Mitchell family in the 1970s. Simons reprised her role on 27 April 2023 for a one-off appearance as a hallucination to her daughter, Amy Mitchell.
Jack Branning is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Scott Maslen. He made his first appearance on 29 October 2007. He is the youngest child of Jim and Reenie Branning and the brother of April Branning, Carol Jackson, Derek Branning, Suzy Branning and Max Branning. The character was introduced to the show during a period when EastEnders was being routinely criticised in the media for its reliance on resurrecting old characters. The casting of Maslen provoked some controversy, being the first time an actor had been poached from one mainstream soap to another. It was quickly established that Jack is a morally ambiguous character with a murky past in the police force resulting in the paralysis of his young daughter, Penny. Tabloid media have praised the character for his role as resident Romeo, commenting frequently on his good looks and attractiveness, although broadsheet press have been more critical of Maslen's acting. On 1 July 2019, Maslen filmed his 1,000th episode as Jack.
Dominic Treadwell-Collins is a British television producer, known for his work on the soap operas Family Affairs and EastEnders, creating the EastEnders spin-off series Kat & Alfie: Redwater and Executive Producing the award-winning A Very English Scandal for the BBC and Amazon. In 2019, he set up his own television company, Happy Prince under ITV Studios.
The Mitchell family is a fictional family in the UK soap opera EastEnders. They were first introduced in February 1990, when brothers Phil and Grant Mitchell bought the local garage, the Arches. Their sister Sam was introduced later in 1990, and their mother Peggy shortly after in 1991, before being reintroduced as a regular character in 1994, with the role recast to Barbara Windsor. Since then, the family has been significantly expanded to include both the immediate and extended families. Phil has been the longest running Mitchell on the show, and the family has expanded significantly in the years since, remaining a large presence on the square.
Linda Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Kellie Bright. She first appeared on 19 December 2013 and her casting was announced alongside her on-screen partner, Mick Carter. Linda was introduced as the new landlady of the Queen Victoria pub by new executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins as part of the Carter family. The introduction of Dyer and Bright was part of a large cast shake-up planned by new executive producer Treadwell-Collins in an attempt to improve ratings. Linda became landlady of The Queen Victoria public house and moved there with her family from her mother's pub in Watford. She has been compared to original landlady Angie Watts, and Bright has said that she had based her portrayal of Linda on Angie.
Mick Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders played by Danny Dyer, making his first appearance in the show in the episode originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on 25 December 2013. Dyer's casting was announced on 1 October 2013 with that of his on-screen partner, Linda Carter, played by Kellie Bright. He is the son of established character Shirley Carter and is a member of the Carter family. Mick immediately becomes the new landlord of The Queen Victoria public house, bringing Linda, their son Johnny Carter and pet bulldog Lady Di with him. They are later joined by daughter Nancy Carter, son Lee Carter and other members of the extended family. In January 2022, it was announced that Dyer had quit the show after nine years in the role of Mick, and his final scenes aired on 25 December 2022.
EastEndersLive Week is a set of five EastEnders episodes, including live elements, which was broadcast from 17–20 February 2015 to mark the programme's 30th anniversary.
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