storyline and second wedding of Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen) and Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer), and the show's first live episode on 19 February 2010. [380], In 1992, writer David Yallop successfully sued the BBC for 68,000 after it was revealed he had been hired by producer Mike Gibbon in 1989 to pen several controversial storylines in an effort to "slim down" the cast; however, after Gibbon left the programme, executive producers chose not to use Yallop's storylines, which put the BBC in breach of the contract Yallop had signed with them. The launch was delayed until February 1985[27] due to a delay in the chat show Wogan, that was to be a part of the major revamp in BBC1's schedules. [372], In 2017, viewers complained on Twitter about scenes implying that Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters) is the father of his 15-year-old sister Bernadette Taylor's (Clair Norris) unborn baby, with the pair agreeing to keep the pregnancy secret from their mother, Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley); however, the baby's father is revealed as one of Bernadette's school friends. [13], The project had a number of working titlesSquare Dance, Round the Square, Round the Houses, London Pride and East 8. Main Page; Discuss; All Pages; Community; Interactive Maps; Recent Blog Posts; Navigation. "[12], The target launch date was originally January 1985. There'll be those moments for some of our longer-serving characters that briefly reflect on themselves and how they've changed. These included the wedding of Michelle Fowler and Lofty Holloway, the revelation of the father of Michelle's baby, a two-hander between Dot Cotton and Ethel Skinner and the 1986 Christmas episode featuring Den Watts presenting Angie Watts with divorce papers. [7] This was the beginning of a close and continuing association between EastEnders and audience research, which, though commonplace today, was something of a revolution in practice. EastEnders fans will know that Danny Dyer left his role as Mick Carter on Christmas Day last year (Sunday December 25, 2022). Mrs Brown's Boys flopped in the Christmas Day 2021 TV ratings - while EastEnders trailed behind the other soaps, the viewing figures have revealed. [195] Creator/producer Julia Smith declared that "We don't make life, we reflect it". Santer also reintroduced past and popular characters to the programme. [257] A week of episodes in 2011 saw filming take place on a beach in Thorpe Bay[258] and a pier in Southend-on-Seaduring which a stuntman was injured when a gust of wind threw him off balance and he fell onto rocks[259][260] with other scenes filmed on the Essex coast. [355] EastEnders received its second lowest ratings on 17 May 2007, when 4.0million viewers tuned in. The poor ratings motivated the press into reporting viewers were bored with implausible and ill-thought-out storylines. [367] The character of Phil Mitchell (played by Steve McFadden since early 1990) has been criticised on several occasions for glorifying violence and proving a bad role model to children. [325][326][327] The schedule remained the same as EastEnders twice weekly episodes; however, some notable changes included the programme is now set in Rotterdam rather than London, characters are given Dutch names (Den and Angie became Ger and Ankie) and The Queen Victoria] pub is renamed "Cade Faas". [281] The albert+ logo was first shown at the end of the EastEnders titles for episode 5281 on 9 May 2016. John Yorke returned as a temporary executive consultant. [363] Later that year, EastEnders suffered its lowest rating ever, with 1.7 million viewers watching live. [208] The EastEnders lot was designed by Keith Harris, who was a senior designer within the production team together with supervising art directors Peter Findley and Gina Parr. He added: "It should feel more like London. [198] Storylines included the cot death of 14-month-old Hassan Osman, Nick Cotton's (John Altman) homophobia, racism and murder of Reg Cox (Johnnie Clayton),[199] Arthur Fowler's (Bill Treacher) unemployment reflecting the recession of the 1980s, the rape of Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) in 1988 by James Willmott-Brown (William Boyde)[199] and Michelle Fowler's (Susan Tully) teenage pregnancy. ", "EastEnders 30th anniversary: The most memorable moments of the hit BBC soap", "TV ratings January 29: EastEnders edges past Emmerdale", "EastEnders: 'Who Killed Lucy?' The BBC did not use meter readings but instead used audience questionnaires based on the memory of the sample they chose. The Circle. The set had to be made to look as if it had been standing for years. In March 2011, Royal Mail allocated the E20 postal district to the 2012 Olympic Park. Around 3,400 complaints were received, with viewers branding the storyline "insensitive", "irresponsible" and "desperate". [264] In October 2013, scenes were filmed on a road near London Southend Airport in Essex. However, a spokesperson told MailOnline that the show's figures had been impacted by its decision to drop a week's worth of episodes directly onto the iPlayer while the Euros and Olympics were in full swing. Ratings expert Stephen Price told Broadcast magazine that the issue is also partly to do with streaming services. The viewing figures for 16 episodes are not combined with the omnibus. [28] The reviews were largely favourable,[28] although, after three weeks on air, BBC1's early evening share had returned to the pre-EastEnders figure of seven million, though EastEnders then climbed to highs of up to 23million later on in the year. Corrie's first episode was not a critical success, with one columnist predicting it wouldn't last longer than 3 weeks. [338][339] On 4 April 2015, EastEnders confirmed plans for a BBC One series featuring Kat and Alfie Moon. 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 [364] Ratings expert Stephen Price also noted that the drop is partly due to the rise of streaming services.[364]. "[68] The live episode featured the death of Bradley Branning (Charlie Clements) at the conclusion of the "Who Killed Archie?" Despite the slightly lower figure, it still made it to 12th place on Channel 5's weekly chart. 26 Dec 1986 24/12/1998 EastEnders Grant and. The first episode was watched by 2.2 million but by early 1973 other regions . [9] They came to the conclusion that Coronation Street had grown old with its audience, and that EastEnders would have to attract a younger, more socially extensive audience, ensuring that it had the longevity to retain it for many years thereafter. Millions of EastEnders viewers have turned their back on the long-running soap, according to the latest reports. Mary Whitehouse, social critic, argued at the time that EastEnders represented a violation of "family viewing time" and that it undermined the watershed policy. [247], If scenes during a normal week are to be filmed on location, this is done during the normal recording week. "The expansion of minority representation signals a move away from the traditional soap opera format, providing more opportunities for audience identification with the characters and hence a wider appeal". [1] 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. Mick went missing after jumping in the river to save Linda from. [281], Since 1985, EastEnders has remained at the centre of BBC One's primetime schedule. This was also the lowest ever audience share, with just 19.6 per cent. [292] The last omnibus on the BBC was shown on 24 April 2015. It is estimated that the show's new set is costing 86million of licence fee cash. EastEnders has received both praise and criticism for most of its storylines, which have dealt with difficult themes, such as violence, rape, murder and child abuse. Episodes 1 - 38 are single showings only. The ratings increased in 2010, thanks to the "Who Killed Archie?" [18] The first central family was the combination of the Fowler family, consisting of Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard), her husband Arthur (Bill Treacher), and teenage children Mark (David Scarboro/Todd Carty) and Michelle (Susan Tully). [290][291] It reverted to a weekend daytime slot as from January 2013 on BBC Two. The storyline attracted over 200 complaints. Now the viewing figures are in, and it seems that Doctor Who didn't do too badly at all.. On the actual night, 3.71 million viewers tuned in to see the Doctor fighting against the Daleks, Cybermen, and the Master; as well as a number of other treats, not least the return . Over the years they have been joined by the likes of Mo Butcher (Edna Dor), Jules Tavernier (Tommy Eytle), Marge Green (Pat Coombs), Nellie Ellis (Elizabeth Kelly), Jim Branning (John Bardon), Charlie Slater (Derek Martin), Mo Harris (Laila Morse), Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker), Cora Cross (Ann Mitchell), Les Coker (Roger Sloman), Rose Cotton (Polly Perkins), Pam Coker (Lin Blakley), Stan Carter (Timothy West), Babe Smith (Annette Badland), Claudette Hubbard (Ellen Thomas), Sylvie Carter (Linda Marlowe), Ted Murray (Christopher Timothy), Joyce Murray (Maggie Steed), Arshad Ahmed (Madhav Sharma), Mariam Ahmed (Indira Joshi) and Vi Highway (Gwen Taylor). 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. [281], As a result of EastEnders' sustainability, it was awarded albert+, an award that recognises the production's commitment to becoming a more eco-friendly television production. The following episode dropped 600k. The I'm A Celebrity 2022 final blew last year's viewing figures out of the water with an increase of more than 3,000,000 viewers. 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