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EastEnders is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the programme follows the stories of local residents and their families as they go about their daily lives. Within eight months of the show's original launch, it had reached the number one spot in BARB's television ratings and has consistently remained among the top-rated series in Britain. 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. EastEnders has been important in the history of British television drama, tackling many subjects that are considered to be controversial or taboo in British culture, and portraying a social life previously unseen on UK mainstream television.
Margaret Ann "Peggy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Peggy was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared in the episode broadcast on 30 April 1991, featuring in 10 episodes. Peggy was reintroduced in 1994, recast to Barbara Windsor, who made her first appearance in the episode broadcast on 7 November 1994. Peggy became a regular character, and Windsor played the role until she was forced to take a long break due to poor health and departed on 23 May 2003. She returned for two episodes broadcast on 16 and 17 September 2004, before rejoining as a regular character on 8 September 2005. Windsor announced in October 2009 that she would be leaving the show and departed on 10 September 2010. Windsor returned to the show for guest appearances on 20 September 2013, 25 September 2014, 17 February 2015 and 15 January 2016. She then appeared in six episodes between 9 and 17 May 2016, where the character was killed off. Her voice is last heard in the following episode, on 19 May 2016. Peggy's funeral aired on 4 July 2016. An archived recording of her voice was heard on 25 January 2022. On 26 July 2022, it was announced that Peggy would feature in a flashback episode set in 1979, alongside her husband Eric and their children Phil, Grant and Sam. Jaime Winstone played the role of Peggy for this special episode, which aired on 5 September 2022.
Matthew Robinson is a British-Cambodian television and film executive producer, producer, director and writer. After graduating from Cambridge University. he directed many hundreds of episodes of popular British television dramas and soap operas in the 1970s and 1980s. He became the first producer of the series Byker Grove (1989–1997), and was also made the executive producer of EastEnders (1998–2000).
Michael Ferguson was a British television director and producer. His early career included directing four serials of the BBC's science fiction series Doctor Who (1966–1971). He later directed ITV's police drama series The Bill and was promoted to become its producer (1988–1989), and as executive producer of the BBC soap opera EastEnders (1989–1991) he was responsible for the introduction of two of its most popular and long-running characters, Phil and Grant Mitchell. He then produced the BBC medical drama series Casualty (1993–1994).
Tiffany Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Martine McCutcheon from 1995 until 1999. The character was created by the writer, Tony Jordan. She was introduced as a school friend of Bianca Jackson in January 1995.
Ethel Skinner is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gretchen Franklin. Ethel also features in a 1988 EastEnders special episode, entitled "CivvyStreet", set on Albert Square during World War II, in which she is played by Alison Bettles.
Grant Mitchell is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Ross Kemp. He was introduced by producer Michael Ferguson to revamp the show, and originally served as one of the show's leading protagonists throughout the 1990s; with the character first appearing in 22 February 1990 and then departing on 25 October 1999 after Kemp had opted to leave the show. He then returned to the show on 24 October 2005 for a few weeks and returned again between March and June 2006. Kemp was persuaded to return to the role for brief stints during a period of heavy media criticism aimed at EastEnders. The return proved to be a ratings success. Kemp reprised the role of Grant for various guest stints in 2016, appearing in twelve episodes between 13 May and 9 September. An archived recording of his voice was heard on 25 January 2022. On 26 July 2022, it was announced that Grant would feature in a flashback episode focusing on the Mitchell family in 1979. Teddy Jay played the role of Grant for this special episode, which aired on 5 September 2022.
Patricia Doreen Coombs was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, film and television sitcoms and Children's ITV's Playbox and Ragdolly Anna. Her authorised biography, written by Andrew Ross, was published in 2021.
Frank Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Mike Reid. Frank makes his first appearance on-screen as a guest character in 1987, but due to a positive viewer reception, he is reintroduced in 1988 as a regular. Reid took a long hiatus from EastEnders in 1994 and Frank remained off-screen for over a year and a half. Frank made his return as a recurring character from December 1995 to January 1998. Frank eventually becomes a regular once again from May 1998 to November 2000, when Reid quit the show. Frank makes three brief reappearances after that, the final one in December 2005. Given the widespread identification of Mike Reid as Frank, Reid's death in July 2007 led to BBC bosses deciding that it would not be possible for the character to return in the future. In November 2007, it was announced that the character would die off-screen and in April 2008 his funeral was screened as part of a special set of episodes, dubbed "Frank Week".
Nigel Bates is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Paul Bradley from 1992 to 1998. Introduced in 1992 by Leonard Lewis, the character was incorporated gradually and brought back as a regular following a brief stint due to a popular reception. He is depicted as a lovable loser and a nerd. Bradley quit the role and Nigel was written out of the serial in April 1998 and was given a happy ending. The door was left open for a possible future return.
Lou Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anna Wing. Her first appearance is in the first episode, which was broadcast on 19 February 1985, and her last is in episode 362, first shown on 26 July 1988, after which the character was killed off. The character is played by Karen Meagher in the 1988 EastEnders special, CivvyStreet, set during the Second World War. She appears in 232 episodes.
Jules Tavernier is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Tommy Eytle between 5 July 1990 and 23 December 1997. Jules is depicted as a flirtatious older gentleman. He is introduced in 1990 and remains in the show after the departures of all of his on-screen family. He is largely semi-regular during the latter part of his stint, and is not featured again after December 1997. Jules Tavernier appeared in more than 150 episodes over his seven-year tenure.
Debbie Bates is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Nicola Duffett from 1993 to 1995. She was introduced as a love interest for Nigel Bates, but was killed-off in 1995 at Duffett's request.
Marge Green is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Pat Coombs. from 9 May 1989 to 8 February 1990. Introduced in 1989, elderly Marge is scripted as comical and timid. The character was one of many to be axed in 1990 when Michael Ferguson took over the role as executive producer from her introducer Mike Gibbon.
Leonard Jack Lewis was a British producer and director. He was most active in television. He was the Executive/Series Producer for BBC's EastEnders during the early 1990s, though he had success with many other television programmes for both the BBC and ITV. It has been said that Lewis believed in "the principles of public service broadcasting" and he has been described as a "gifted television producer with hidden directorial talents". After over 40 years working in the television industry, Lewis retired in 1995. He died in December 2005, aged 78.
Since its premiere in 1985, the BBC soap opera EastEnders has had a large impact on popular culture.
Corinne Ann Hollingworth is a British television producer and executive, best known for her contributions to British soap operas, including BBC's EastEnders and five's Family Affairs. Hollingworth has gained a reputation for winning huge drama audiences by concentrating on human interest storylines.
EastEnders: E20 is a British Internet soap opera, which began airing on 8 January 2010. A spin-off from the established BBC soap EastEnders, it is set in EastEnders' regular setting of Albert Square, a Victorian square in the fictional borough of Walford, in the East End of London. Each series follows a group of teenage characters: Zsa Zsa Carter, Leon Small, Fatboy and Mercy Olubunmi in series 1; Asher Levi and his brother Sol, Naz Mehmet, and Stevie Dickinson in series 2; and Ava Bourne, Donnie Lester and Faith Olubunmi in series 3. The show's title comes from Walford's fictional London postcode district, E20. The four characters from series 1 also appear in EastEnders, as well as Faith from series 3.
Lorraine Newman is a British scriptwriter, television producer, and the executive producer of the BBC soap opera EastEnders from 2012 to 2013. Newman, who has worked on EastEnders for "nearly 20 years", received the role of executive producer when her predecessor stepped down in 2012. Newman was also the executive producer of Babs, a BBC biopic about Dame Barbara Windsor.
References
- ↑ "Berridge Steps Down As EastEnders Executive Producer Archived 30 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine ", Walford Gazette. URL last accessed on 2007-11-11.
- ↑ Brake, Colin (1995). EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration . BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-37057-2.
- ↑ "EASTENDERS", BBC. URL last accessed on 2007-11-11.
- ↑ "John Yorke - The New EE Boss Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine ", Walford Gazette. URL last accessed on 2007-11-11.
- ↑ "EMILE, Barbara", BFI. URL last accessed on 2007-11-11.
- ↑ "Barbara Emile", BBC. URL last accessed on 2007-11-11.