95-913: Masculine given name For other uses, see Ziggy (disambiguation) . [REDACTED] Look up ziggy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Ziggy is a masculine given name, often a diminutive form ( hypocorism ) of Zigmunt and other names. It is also a nickname. Notable people with the name include: Nickname or hypocorism [ edit ] Ezekiel Ansah (born 1989), National Football League player Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928-2017), United States National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981 Zygmont Czarobski (1922–1984), American College Football Hall-of-Fame and National Football League player Ziggy Gordon (born 1993), Scottish footballer Evander Ziggy Hood (born 1987), National Football League player Zachary Ziggy Lichman (born 1981),
190-585: A "face to rival a neon sign", holding a Yorkshire Terrier in one hand and a pint of Guinness in the other. Other characters created included Jewish doctor Harold Legg , the Anglo-Cypriot Osman family ( Ali , Sue and baby Hassan ), black father and son Tony and Kelvin Carpenter , single mother Mary Smith and Bangladeshi couple Saeed and Naima Jeffery . Jack, Pearl and Tracey Watts were created to bring "flash, trash, and melodrama" to
285-407: A 1970s persona of David Bowie (1947–2016), English musician, singer-songwriter, producer, actor and arranger Ziggy Ramo (born Ziggy Ramo Burrmuruk Fatnowna), an Indigenous Australian singer, songwriter and activist Fictional characters [ edit ] Ziggy, a character in the video game Laura Bow 2 The title character of Ziggy (comic strip) Ziggy Astoni , character from
380-470: A close and continuing association between EastEnders and audience research, which, though commonplace today, was something of a revolution in practice. The show's creators were both Londoners, but when they researched Victorian squares, they found massive changes in areas they thought they knew well; however, delving further into the East End of London, they found exactly what they had been searching for:
475-909: A contestant on the reality TV show Big Brother UK, Season 8 Ziggy Lorenc (born 1958), Canadian television and radio personality David Nesta Ziggy Marley (born 1968), Grammy-winning Jamaican musician; oldest son of Bob Marley Ziggy Modeliste (born 1948), American drummer best known as a founding member of the funk group The Meters Ziggy Niszczot (born 1955), Australian former professional rugby league footballer Žigmund Pálffy (born 1972), retired National Hockey League player from Slovakia Sigurd Rosnes , Norwegian songwriter and producer Ilari Sahamies (born 1983), Finnish professional poker player David "Ziggy" Sigmond, guitarist for Canadian rock group Econoline Crush George Snider , American retired race car driver Zigmunt Ziggy Switkowski (born 1948), Australian businessman and nuclear physicist Zigmunt Zygi Wilf (born 1950), owner of
570-456: A distraction from your own life, it should be an exploration of the life shared by the audience and the characters." O'Connor planned to stay with EastEnders until the end of 2017, but announced his departure on 23 June 2017 with immediate effect, saying he wanted to concentrate on a career in film. John Yorke returned as a temporary executive consultant. Kent said, "John Yorke is a Walford legend and I am thrilled that he will be joining us for
665-566: A meeting with the BBC. Everyone agreed that EastEnders would be tough, violent on occasion, funny and sharp—set in Margaret Thatcher 's Britain—and it would start with a bang (namely the death of Reg Cox ). They decided that none of their existing characters were wicked enough to have killed Reg, so a 24th character, Nick Cotton was added to the line-up. He was a racist thug, who often tried to lead other young characters astray. When all
760-488: A new regime for EastEnders , giving the writers of the serial more authority in storyline progression, with the script department providing "guidance rather than prescriptive episode storylines". By the end of 1992, Greaves had left, and Lewis became executive and series producer. He left EastEnders in 1994 after the BBC controllers demanded an extra episode a week, taking its weekly airtime from 60 to 90 minutes. Lewis felt that producing an hour of "reasonable quality drama"
855-458: A programme that was more in touch with the real world than it had been over the previous year. A new era began in 1990, with the introduction of Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden ) and Grant Mitchell ( Ross Kemp )—the Mitchell brothers—successful characters who would go on to dominate the soap thereafter. As the new production team cleared the way for new characters and a new direction, all of
950-447: A real East End spirit, an inward-looking quality, a distrust of strangers and authority figures, a sense of territory and community that the creators summed up as "Hurt one of us and you hurt us all". When developing EastEnders , both Smith and Holland looked at influential models like Coronation Street , but they found that it offered a rather outdated and nostalgic view of working-class life. Only after EastEnders began, and featured
1045-466: A short period to oversee the show and to help us build on Sean's legacy while we recruit a long-term successor." Yorke initially returned for three months but his contract was later extended. In July 2018, a special episode was aired as part of a knife crime storyline. This episode, which showed the funeral of Shakil Kazemi ( Shaheen Jafargholi ) interspersed with real people talking about their true-life experiences of knife crime. On 8 August 2018, it
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#17327723968981140-578: A social life previously unseen on UK mainstream television. 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. The Watts , Beales , Mitchells , Brannings and the Slaters are some of the families that have been central to the soap's notable and dramatic storylines. EastEnders has been filmed at
1235-452: A special episode which "broke new ground" and knife crime, both of which have created "vital" discussions. The soap won the award for Best Continuing Drama at the 2019 British Academy Television Awards ; its first high-profile award since 2016; however, in June 2019, EastEnders suffered its lowest ever ratings of 2.4 million due to its airing at 7 pm because of the BBC's coverage of
1330-571: A stunt on the River Thames leading to the death of Dennis Rickman Jr ( Bleu Landau ). It was announced on 18 March 2020 that production had been suspended on EastEnders and other BBC Studios continuing dramas in light of new government guidelines following the COVID-19 pandemic , and that broadcast of the show would be reduced to two 30-minute episodes per week, broadcast on Mondays and Tuesdays, respectively. A spokesperson confirmed that
1425-504: A week was the maximum that any broadcasting system could generate without loss of integrity. Having set up the transition to the new schedule, the first trio of episodes—dubbed The Vic siege—marked Lewis's departure from the programme. Barbara Emile then became the Executive Producer of EastEnders , remaining with EastEnders until early 1995. She was succeeded by Corinne Hollingworth . Hollingworth's contributions to
1520-459: Is a 19th-century street, named after Prince Albert (1819–1861), the husband of Queen Victoria (1819–1901, reigned 1837–1901). Thus, central to Albert Square is The Queen Victoria Public House (also known as The Queen Vic or The Vic). The show's producers based the square's design on Fassett Square in Dalston . There is also a market close to Fassett Square at Ridley Road . The postcode for
1615-577: 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
1710-602: Is different from Wikidata All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2022 All set index articles Ziggy (disambiguation) Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.151 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 917529999 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:39:57 GMT EastEnders EastEnders
1805-454: The 2010 baby swap storyline , which attracted over 6,000 complaints, as well as complaints of showing too much violence and allegations of national and racial stereotypes. However, EastEnders has also been commended for representing real-life issues and spreading awareness on social topics. The cast and crew of the show have received and been nominated for various awards . In March 1983, under two years before EastEnders ' first episode
1900-528: The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup . As of 2019, the soap is one of the most watched series on BBC iPlayer and averages around 5 million viewers per episode. The soap enjoyed a record-breaking year on the streaming platform in 2019, with viewers requesting to stream or download the show 234 million times, up 10% on 2018. The Christmas Day episode in 2019 became EastEnders biggest ever episode on BBC iPlayer, with 2.14 million viewer requests. In February 2020, EastEnders celebrated its 35th anniversary with
1995-489: The 28th National Television Awards under his leadership. On 26 September 2024, it was announced Clenshaw would step down as series executive producer in February 2025, following the soap's 40th anniversary; Ben Wadey was announced as his successor. The central focus of EastEnders is the fictional Victorian square Albert Square in the fictional London Borough of Walford . In the show's narrative, Albert Square
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#17327723968982090-763: The BBC Elstree Centre since its inception, with a set that is outdoors and open to weather. In 2014, the BBC announced plans to rebuild the set entirely. Filming commenced on the new set in January 2022, and it was first used on-screen in March 2022. Demolition on the old set commenced in November 2022. EastEnders has received both praise and criticism for many of its storylines, which have dealt with difficult themes including violence, rape, murder and abuse. It has been criticised for various storylines, including
2185-520: The District and Hammersmith & City lines. Walford has the postal district of E20. It was named as if Walford were part of the actual E postcode area which covers much of east London, the E standing for Eastern . E20 was entirely fictional when it was created, as London East postal districts stopped at E18 at the time. The show's creators opted for E20 instead of E19 as it was thought to sound better. In March 2011, Royal Mail allocated
2280-626: The Millimages cartoon Trust Me, I'm a Genie! Demon King Ziggy from the Japanese manga Edens Zero Ziggy Stardust (character) , fictional alter ego of David Bowie Ziggy Chapman from the HBO series Big Little Lies . Ziggy Pascal, character in British soap opera Family Affairs Ziggy Roscoe , character in British soap opera Hollyoaks Eric Ziggy Greaves A Character from
2375-466: The theme music and Alan Jeapes created the visuals. The visual images were taken from an aircraft flying over the East End of London at 1000 feet. Approximately 800 photographs were taken and pieced together to create one big image. The credits were later updated when the Millennium Dome was built. The launch was delayed until February 1985 due to a delay in the chat show Wogan , that
2470-591: The 23 characters needed, in just 14 days. They took a holiday in Playa de los Pocillos, Lanzarote , and started to create the characters. Holland created the Beale and Fowler family , drawing on his own background. His mother, Ethel Holland, was one of four sisters raised in Walthamstow. Her eldest sister, Lou, had married a man named Albert Beale and had two children, named Peter and Pauline. These family members were
2565-618: The Australian soap opera Home and Away Ziggy ( EastEnders ) , from the British soap opera EastEnders Ziggy Sobotka , on the HBO drama The Wire Ziggy, from the Icelandic children's television program LazyTown Ziggy ( Quantum Leap ) , from the American TV series Quantum Leap Ziggy Grover, from Power Rangers RPM Ziggy ( Xenosaga ) , from the science fiction video game series Xenosaga Ziggy from
2660-406: The BBC launched a new advertising campaign using the slogan "There's more to EastEnders ". The first television advert showed Dot Branning with a refugee baby, Tomas , whom she took in under the pretence of being her grandson. The second and third featured Stacey Slater and Dawn Swann, respectively. There have also been adverts in magazines and on radio. In 2009, producers introduced a limit on
2755-702: The British children's television drama series Grange Hill As a female nickname [ edit ] Christine "Ziggy" Berman from Fear Street Part Two: 1978 Animals [ edit ] Ziggy (elephant) (1917–1975), an Indian elephant who lived at the Brookfield Zoo outside Chicago See also [ edit ] Zigi , Ghanaian singer Ziggi Recado , reggae singer Siggy (disambiguation) Zig (disambiguation) Zygi , village in Cyprus Zygi (given name) [REDACTED] Name list This page or section lists people that share
2850-505: The E20 postal district to the 2012 Olympic Park . In September 2011, the postcode for Albert Square was revealed in an episode as E20 6PQ. EastEnders is built around the idea of relationships and strong families, with each character having a place in the community. This theme encompasses the whole Square, making the entire community a family of sorts, prey to upsets and conflict, but pulling together in times of trouble. Co-creator Tony Holland
2945-870: The Executive Producer of EastEnders in 2000. Yorke was given the task of introducing the soap's fourth weekly episode. He axed the majority of the Di Marco family, except Beppe di Marco ( Michael Greco ), and helped introduce popular characters such as the Slater family . As what Mal Young described as "two of EastEnders' most successful years", Yorke was responsible for highly rated storylines such as " Who Shot Phil? ", Ethel Skinner 's ( Gretchen Franklin ) death, Jim Branning ( John Bardon ) and Dot Cotton 's ( June Brown ) marriage, Trevor Morgan 's ( Alex Ferns ) domestic abuse of his wife Little Mo Morgan ( Kacey Ainsworth ), and Kat Slater 's ( Jessie Wallace ) revelation to her daughter Zoe Slater ( Michelle Ryan ) that she
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3040-581: The ITV network) was very different in style and approach from EastEnders . The British Film Institute described Market in Honey Lane thus: "It was not an earth-shaking programme, and certainly not pioneering in any revolutionary ideas in technique and production, but simply proposed itself to the casual viewer as a mildly pleasant affair." The target launch date was originally January 1985. Smith and Holland had eleven months in which to write, cast and shoot
3135-839: The Minnesota Vikings National Football League team Ziggy the bagman (born c. 1950), Zbygnew Marian Willzek, a homeless man who lives in Toowong, Brisbane, Australia Brad Ziegler (born 1979), relief pitcher for the Oakland Athletics Technology [ edit ] Ziggy, as a wake word and alternate name for Amazon Alexa , a virtual assistant developed by Amazon Stage name [ edit ] Ziggy Alberts (born 1994), an Australian folk singer and songwriter Ziggy Elman , stage name of American jazz trumpeter Harry Aaron Finkelman (1914–1968) Ziggy Stardust ,
3230-514: The Queen Vic on the former College Park Hotel pub in Willesden at the end of Scrubs Lane at the junction with Harrow Road NW10 just a couple of miles from BBC Television Centre. Walford East is a fictional London Underground station for Walford, and a tube map that was first seen on air in 1996 showed Walford East between Bow Road and West Ham , in the actual location of Bromley-by-Bow on
3325-497: The Square (they were later renamed Den , Angie and Sharon ). The characters of Andy O'Brien and Debbie Wilkins were created to show a modern couple with outwardly mobile pretensions, and Lofty Holloway to show an outsider; someone who did not fit in with other residents. It was decided that he would be a former soldier, as Holland's personal experiences of ex-soldiers were that they had trouble fitting into society after being in
3420-529: The UK, prohibiting the "promotion of homosexuality" by local authorities , by the first on-the-mouth gay kiss in a British soap when Colin kissed a new character, Guido Smith (Nicholas Donovan), an episode that was watched by 17 million people. Writer Colin Brake suggested that 1989 was a year of big change for EastEnders , both behind the cameras and in front of them. Original production designer Keith Harris left
3515-564: The area, E8 , was one of the working titles for the series. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where Tony Holland lived and a blend of Walthamstow and Stratford—the areas of Greater London where the creators were born. Other parts of the Square and set interiors are based on other locations. The railway bridge is based upon one near BBC Television Centre which carries the Hammersmith & City line over Wood Lane W12, and
3610-491: The army. When they compared the characters they had created, Smith and Holland realised they had created a cross-section of East End residents. The Beale and Fowler family represented the old families of the East End, who had always been there. The Osmans, Jefferys and Carpenters represented the more modern diverse ethnic community of the East End. Debbie, Andy and Mary represented more modern-day individuals. Once they had decided on their 23 characters, they returned to London for
3705-402: The basis for Lou Beale , Pete Beale and Pauline Fowler . Holland also created Pauline's unemployed husband Arthur Fowler , their children Mark and Michelle , Pete's wife Kathy and their son Ian . Smith used her personal memories of East End residents she met when researching Victorian squares. Ethel Skinner was based on an old woman she met in a pub, with ill-fitting false teeth, and
3800-420: The challenges in production and filming of the show has led to the show's reduced output, but also stated that the crew had been "trialing techniques, filming methods and new ways of working" to prepare the show for its return. Filming recommenced on 29 June, with episodes airing from 7 September 2020. On 9 April 2021, following the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , the episode of EastEnders that
3895-417: The characters had been created, Smith and Holland set about casting the actors, which also involved the input of lead director Matthew Robinson , who supervised auditions with the other directors at the outset, Vivienne Cozens and Peter Edwards. Through the next few months, the set was growing rapidly at Elstree, and a composer and designer had been commissioned to create the title sequence. Simon May wrote
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3990-520: The characters introduced under Gibbon were axed from the show at the start of the year. Ferguson introduced other characters and was responsible for storylines including HIV, Alzheimer's disease and murder. After a successful revamp of the soap, Ferguson decided to leave EastEnders in July 1991. Ferguson was succeeded by both Leonard Lewis and Helen Greaves , who initially shared the role as Executive Producer for EastEnders . Lewis and Greaves formulated
4085-433: The characters of Tony Carpenter and Kelvin Carpenter , did Coronation Street start to feature black characters, for example. 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. They also looked at Brookside , but found there
4180-556: The death of Bradley Branning ( Charlie Clements ) at the conclusion of the " Who Killed Archie? " storyline, which saw Bradley's wife Stacey Slater ( Lacey Turner ) reveal that she was the murderer. Viewing figures peaked at 16.6 million, which was the highest viewed episode in seven years. Other events to mark the anniversary were a spin-off DVD, EastEnders: Last Tango in Walford , and an Internet spin-off, EastEnders: E20 . Santer officially left EastEnders in March 2010, and
4275-473: The decision was made to reduce transmission so that EastEnders could remain on-screen for longer. Two months later, Charlotte Moore , the director of content at the BBC, announced plans for a return to production. She confirmed that EastEnders would return to filming during June 2020 and that there would be a transmission break between episodes filmed before and after production paused. When production recommenced, social distancing measures were utilised and
4370-502: The departure of two of the soap's most popular characters, Den and Angie Watts ( Anita Dobson ), left a void in the programme, which needed to be filled. In addition, several other long-running characters left the show that year, including Sue and Ali Osman ( Sandy Ratcliff and Nejdet Salih ) and their family; Donna Ludlow ( Matilda Ziegler ); Carmel Jackson ( Judith Jacob ) and Colin Russell ( Michael Cashman ). Brake indicated that
4465-458: The feel of the week is active and exciting and not too reflective. There'll be those moments for some of our longer-serving characters that briefly reflect on themselves and how they've changed. The characters don't know that it's the 25th anniversary of anything, so it'd be absurd to contrive too many situations in which they're reflective on the past. The main engine of that week is great stories that'll get people talking." The live episode featured
4560-533: The first two episodes consolidating to ratings of 13.21 to 13.34 million viewers. On Friday 11 November 2005, EastEnders was the first British drama to feature a two-minute silence. This episode later went on to win British Soap Award for "Best Single Episode". In October 2006, Diederick Santer took over as Executive Producer of EastEnders . He introduced several characters to the show, including ethnic minority and homosexual characters to make
4655-563: The media began investigating the private lives of the show's popular stars. Within days, a scandalous headline appeared – "EASTENDERS STAR IS A KILLER". This referred to Leslie Grantham , and his prison sentence for the murder of a taxi driver in an attempted robbery nearly 20 years earlier. This shocking tell-all style set the tone for relations between Albert Square and the press for the next 20 years. The show's first episode attracted some 17 million viewers, and it continued to attract high viewing figures from then on. By Christmas 1985,
4750-417: The new era of EastEnders ." EastEnders started broadcasting in high definition on 25 December 2010. Old sets had to be rebuilt, so The Queen Victoria set was burnt down in a storyline (and in reality) to facilitate this. In November 2011, a storyline showed character Billy Mitchell , played by Perry Fenwick , selected to be a torch bearer for the 2012 Summer Olympics . In reality, Fenwick carried
4845-460: The number of speaking parts in each episode due to budget cuts, with an average of 16 characters per episode. The decision was criticised by Martin McGrath of Equity, who said: "Trying to produce quality TV on the cheap is doomed to fail." The BBC responded by saying they had been working that way for some time and it had not affected the quality of the show. From 4 February 2010, CGI was used in
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#17327723968984940-404: The pre- EastEnders figure of seven million, though EastEnders then climbed to highs of up to 23 million later on in the year. Following the launch, both group discussions and telephone surveys were conducted to test audience reaction to early episodes. Press coverage of EastEnders , which was already intense, went into overdrive once the show was broadcast. With public interest so high,
5035-465: The private lives of the cast. Anticipation and rumour grew in equal measure until the first transmission at 7 p.m. on 19 February 1985. Neither Holland nor Smith could watch; they both instead returned to the place where it all began, Albertine's Wine Bar on Wood Lane. The next day, viewing figures were confirmed at 17 million. The reviews were largely favourable, although, after three weeks on air, BBC1's early evening share had returned to
5130-416: The production team decided that 1989 was to be a year of change in Walford, commenting, "it was almost as if Walford itself was making a fresh start". By the end of 1989, EastEnders had acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson , who had previously been a successful producer on ITV 's The Bill . Brake suggested that Ferguson was responsible for bringing in a new sense of vitality and creating
5225-421: The recast of Amy Mitchell ( Ellie Dadd ), as well as the reintroduction of Cindy Beale ( Michelle Collins ), who returned from the dead after 25 years. Public opinion on Clenshaw then changed and he has been credited for improving ratings and garnering critical acclaim for the soap, with EastEnders winning the award for Best British Soap at the 2023 British Soap Awards and the award for Serial Drama at
5320-412: The same given name . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ziggy&oldid=1254249429 " Categories : Given names Masculine given names Nicknames Hypocorisms Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
5415-527: The show "feel more 21st Century". Santer also reintroduced past and popular characters to the programme. On 2 March 2007, BBC signed a deal with Google to put videos on YouTube. A behind the scenes video of EastEnders , hosted by Matt Di Angelo , who played Deano Wicks on the show, was put on the site the same day, and was followed by another on 6 March 2007. In April 2007, EastEnders became available to view on mobile phones , via 3G technology, for 3 , Vodafone and Orange customers. On 21 April 2007,
5510-634: The show for the first time, with the addition of computer-generated trains. EastEnders celebrated its 25th anniversary on 19 February 2010. Santer came up with several plans to mark the occasion, including the show's first episode to be broadcast live , the second wedding between Ricky Butcher ( Sid Owen ) and Bianca Jackson ( Patsy Palmer ) and the return of Bianca's relatives, mother Carol Jackson ( Lindsey Coulson ), and siblings Robbie Jackson ( Dean Gaffney ), Sonia Fowler ( Natalie Cassidy ) and Billie Jackson ( Devon Anderson ). He told entertainment website Digital Spy , "It's really important that
5605-567: The show has been broadcast every weekday from Monday to Thursday in a 7:30 pm slot, making it the first time in the show's history that the programme began airing permanently on Wednesdays. On 2 June 2022, EastEnders aired an episode celebrating the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II . Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall guest starred in the episode; it also marked the first executive producer credit for Clenshaw. Clenshaw's first major decision as executive producer
5700-416: The show now." He said that " EastEnders has always had a distinctly different tone from the other soaps but over time we've diluted our unique selling point. I think we need to be ourselves and go back to the origins of the show and what made it successful in the first place. It should be entertaining but it should also be informative—that's part of our unique BBC compact with the audience. It shouldn't just be
5795-506: The show" in the absence of the show. Jon Sen , the show's executive producer , expressed his excitement at the new series, dubbing it "a unique opportunity to see from the cast themselves just what it is like to be part of EastEnders ". Plans for the show's return to transmission were announced on 12 June 2020. It was confirmed that after the transmission break, the show would temporarily broadcast four 20-minute episodes per week, until it could return to its normal output. Sen explained that
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#17327723968985890-484: The show's 30th anniversary in 2015 with a week of live episodes . Treadwell-Collins announced his departure from EastEnders on 18 February 2016. Sean O'Connor , former EastEnders series story producer and then-editor on radio soap opera The Archers , was announced to be taking over the role. Treadwell-Collins left on 6 May and O'Connor's first credited episode was broadcast on 11 July Although O'Connor's first credited episode aired in July, his own creative work
5985-450: The show's cast were required to do their own hair and make-up, which is normally done by a make-up artist. It was announced on 3 June 2020 that EastEnders would go on a transmission break following the broadcast of episode 6124 on 16 June. A behind-the-scenes show, EastEnders: Secrets From The Square , will air in the show's place during the transmission break and is hosted by television personality Stacey Dooley . The first episode of
6080-458: The show, and Holland and Smith both decided that the time had come to move on too, their final contribution coinciding with the exit of one of EastEnders' most successful characters, Den Watts ( Leslie Grantham ). Producer Mike Gibbon was given the task of running the show, and he enlisted the most experienced writers to take over the storylining of the programme, including Charlie Humphreys, Jane Hollowood and Tony McHale . According to Brake,
6175-420: The soap was criticised for its boring storylines and its lowest-ever figures pointing at around 4.8 million. Dominic Treadwell-Collins was appointed as the new executive producer on 19 August 2013 and was credited on 9 December. He axed multiple characters from the show and introduced the extended Carter family. He also introduced a long-running storyline, " Who Killed Lucy Beale? ", which peaked during
6270-516: The soap were awarded in 1997 when EastEnders won the BAFTA for Best Drama Series. Hollingworth shared the award with the next Executive Producer, Jane Harris . Harris was responsible for the critically panned Ireland episodes and Cindy Beale 's ( Michelle Collins ) attempted assassination of Ian Beale ( Adam Woodyatt ), which brought in an audience of 23 million in 1996, roughly four million more than Coronation Street . In 1998 Matthew Robinson
6365-475: The streaming service would be beneficial for fans of the show who want to watch at their own chosen pace. Sen also confirmed that the episodes will still air on BBC One throughout the week. The release of these boxsets was extended for a further five weeks, due to similar impacts caused by the 2020 Summer Olympics . On 12 October 2021, it was announced that EastEnders would partake in a special week-long crossover event involving multiple British soaps to promote
6460-435: The tabloids could not get enough of the soap. "Exclusives" about EastEnders storylines and the actors on the show became a staple of tabloid buyers' daily reading. In 1987, the show featured the first same-sex kiss on a British soap, when Colin Russell ( Michael Cashman ) kissed boyfriend Barry Clark ( Gary Hailes ) on the forehead. This was followed in January 1989, less than a year after legislation came into effect in
6555-521: 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
6650-521: The topic of climate change ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference . During the week, beginning from 1 November, a social media clip featuring Maria Connor ( Samia Longchambon ) from Coronation Street was featured on the programme while Cindy Cunningham ( Stephanie Waring ) from Hollyoaks was also referenced. Similar clips featuring the show's own characters, Bailey Baker (Kara-Leah Fernandes) and Peter Beale (Dayle Hudson), were featured on Doctors and Emmerdale during
6745-413: The torch through the setting of Albert Square, with live footage shown in the episode on 23 July 2012 . This was the second live broadcast of EastEnders . In 2012, Kirkwood chose to leave his role as executive producer and was replaced by Lorraine Newman . The show lost many of its significant characters during this period. Newman stepped down as executive producer after 16 months in the job in 2013 after
6840-436: The week features exclusive interviews with the show's cast, while the second episode will be a repeat of "iconic" episodes of the show. Beginning on 22 June 2020, Dooley interviews two cast members together in the show's restaurant set while observing social distancing measures. Kate Phillips, the controller of BBC Entertainment , explained that EastEnders: Secrets From The Square would be the "perfect opportunity to celebrate
6935-414: The week. In November 2021, it was announced that Sen would step down from his role as executive producer, and would be succeeded by former story producer Chris Clenshaw . Sen's final credited episode as executive producer was broadcast on 10 March 2022 and coincided in a week of episodes that saw the arrest of serial killer Gray Atkins ( Toby-Alexander Smith ). From the week commencing on 7 March 2022,
7030-499: The whole thing; however, in February 1984, they did not even have a title or a place to film. Both Smith and Holland were unhappy about the January 1985 launch date, favouring November or even September 1984 when seasonal audiences would be higher, but the BBC stayed firm, and Smith and Holland had to concede that, with the massive task of getting the Elstree Studios operational, January was the most realistic date; however, this
7125-497: Was a lack of central meeting points for the characters, making it difficult for the writers to intertwine different storylines, so EastEnders was set in Albert Square . A previous UK soap set in an East End market was ATV 's Market in Honey Lane ; however, between 1967 and 1969, this show, which graduated from one showing a week to two in three separate series (the latter series being shown in different time slots across
7220-514: Was announced on 10 December 2018 to be taking on the role of executive producer. In late 2016, popularity and viewership of EastEnders began to decline, with viewers criticising the storylines during the O'Connor reign, such as the killing of the Mitchell sisters and a storyline centred on the local bin collection. Since Yorke's and Oates' reigns, however, opinions towards the storylines have become more favourable, with storylines such as Ruby Allen 's ( Louisa Lytton ) sexual consent, which featured
7315-508: Was announced that Kate Oates , who has previously been a producer on the ITV soap operas Emmerdale and Coronation Street , would become Senior Executive Producer of EastEnders , as well of Holby City and Casualty . Oates began her role in October, and continued to work with Yorke until the end of the year to "ensure a smooth handover". It was also announced that Oates was looking for an Executive Producer to work under her. Jon Sen
7410-469: Was anxiety at first that the viewing public would not accept a new soap set in the south of England, though research commissioned by lead figures in the BBC revealed that southerners would accept a northern soap, northerners would accept a southern soap and those from the Midlands , as Julia Smith herself pointed out, did not mind where it was set as long as it was somewhere else. This was the beginning of
7505-704: Was appointed as the Executive Producer of EastEnders . During his reign, EastEnders won the BAFTA for " Best Soap " in consecutive years 1999 and 2000 and many other awards. Robinson also earned tabloid soubriquet "Axeman of Albert Square" after sacking a large number of characters in one hit, and several more thereafter. In their place, Robinson introduced new long-running characters including Melanie Healy ( Tamzin Outhwaite ), Jamie Mitchell ( Jack Ryder ), Lisa Shaw ( Lucy Benjamin ), Steve Owen ( Martin Kemp ) and Billy Mitchell ( Perry Fenwick ). John Yorke became
7600-498: Was broadcast, the show was a vague idea in the mind of a handful of BBC executives, who decided that what BBC One needed was a popular bi-weekly drama series that would attract the kind of mass audiences that ITV were getting with Coronation Street . The first people to whom David Reid, then head of series and serials, turned were Julia Smith and Tony Holland , a well established producer/script editor team who had first worked together on Z-Cars . The outline that Reid presented
7695-466: Was created, instead of using E8. Julia Smith came up with the name Eastenders after she and Holland had spent months telephoning theatrical agents and asking "Do you have any real East Enders on your books?" Smith thought " Eastenders " "looked ugly written down" and was "hard to say", so decided to capitalise the second "e". After they decided on the filming location of BBC Elstree Centre in south Hertfordshire , Smith and Holland set about creating
7790-548: Was due to be aired that night was postponed along with the final of Masterchef . In May 2021, it was announced that from 14 June 2021, boxsets of episodes would be uploaded to BBC iPlayer each Monday for three weeks. Executive producer Sen explained that the bi-annual scheduling conflicts that the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup cause to the soap, premiering four episodes on
7885-733: Was from a large East End family, and such families have typified EastEnders . 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 ). Pauline's family, the Beales , consisted of Pauline's twin brother Pete Beale ( Peter Dean ), his wife Kathy ( Gillian Taylforth ) and their teenage son Ian ( Adam Woodyatt ). Pauline and Pete's domineering mother Lou Beale ( Anna Wing ) lived with Pauline and her family. Holland drew on
7980-403: Was her mother. In 2002, Louise Berridge succeeded Yorke as the Executive Producer. During her time at EastEnders , Berridge introduced popular characters such as Alfie Moon ( Shane Richie ), Dennis Rickman ( Nigel Harman ), Chrissie Watts ( Tracy-Ann Oberman ), Jane Beale ( Laurie Brett ), Stacey Slater ( Lacey Turner ) and the critically panned Indian Ferreira family . Berridge
8075-467: Was later to be changed to February. The project had a number of working titles: Square Dance , Round the Square , Round the Houses , London Pride and East 8 . It was the latter that stuck (E8 is the postcode for Hackney) in the early months of creative process; however, the show was renamed after many casting agents mistakenly thought the show was to be called Estate , and the fictional postcode E20
8170-497: Was not seen onscreen until late September. Additionally, Oliver Kent was brought in as the Head of Continuing Drama Series for BBC Scripted Studios, meaning that Kent would oversee EastEnders along with O'Connor. O'Connor's approach to the show was to have a firmer focus on realism, which he said was being "true to EastEnders ' DNA and [finding] a way of capturing what it would be like if Julia Smith and Tony Holland were making
8265-419: Was outed in an internet sex scandal, which coincided with a swift decline in viewer ratings. The scandal led to Grantham's departure from the soap, but the occasion was used to mark the 20th anniversary of EastEnders , with an episode showing Den's murder at the Queen Vic pub. On 21 September 2004, Berridge quit as executive producer of EastEnders following continued criticism of the show. Kathleen Hutchison
8360-480: Was replaced by Bryan Kirkwood . Kirkwood's first signing was the reintroduction of characters Alfie Moon ( Shane Richie ) and Kat Moon ( Jessie Wallace ), and his first new character was Vanessa Gold , played by Zöe Lucker . In April and May 2010, Kirkwood axed eight characters from the show, Barbara Windsor left her role of Peggy Mitchell , which left a hole in the show, which Kirkwood decided to fill by bringing back Kat and Alfie, which he said would "herald
8455-410: Was responsible for some ratings success stories, such as Alfie and Kat Slater 's ( Jessie Wallace ) relationship, Janine Butcher ( Charlie Brooks ) getting her comeuppance, Trevor Morgan ( Alex Ferns ) and Jamie Mitchell 's ( Jack Ryder ) death storylines and the return of one of the greatest soap icons, Den Watts ( Leslie Grantham ), who had been presumed dead for 14 years. His return in late 2003
8550-413: Was swiftly appointed as the Executive Producer of EastEnders , and was tasked with quickly turning the fortunes of the soap. During her time at the soap Hutchison axed multiple characters, and reportedly ordered the rewriting of numerous scripts. Newspapers reported on employee dissatisfaction with Hutchison's tenure at EastEnders . In January 2005, Hutchison left the soap and John Yorke (who by this time,
8645-467: Was the BBC Controller of Continuing Drama Series) took total control of the show himself and became acting Executive Producer for a short period, before appointing Kate Harwood to the role. Harwood stayed at EastEnders for 20 months before being promoted by the BBC. The highly anticipated return of Ross Kemp as Grant Mitchell in October 2005 proved to be a sudden major ratings success, with
8740-431: Was the axing of five series regulars: Peter Beale ( Dayle Hudson ), Stuart Highway ( Ricky Champ ), Jada Lennox (Kelsey Calladine-Smith), Dana Monroe (Barbara Smith) and Lola Pearce ( Danielle Harold ). Viewers criticised the decision, feeling that some of the characters had potential to add to the soap. Clenshaw has since overseen the returns of Alfie Moon ( Shane Richie ) and Yolande Trueman ( Angela Wynter ),
8835-489: Was to be a part of the major revamp in BBC1's schedules. Smith was uneasy about the late start as EastEnders no longer had the winter months to build up a loyal following before the summer ratings lull. 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
8930-475: Was vague: two episodes a week, 52 weeks a year. After the concept was put to them on 14 March 1983, Smith and Holland then went about putting their ideas down on paper; they decided it would be set in the East End of London. Granada Television gave Smith unrestricted access to the Coronation Street production for a month so that she could get a sense of how a continuing drama was produced. There
9025-529: Was watched by over 16 million viewers, putting EastEnders back at number one in the rating war with the Coronation Street ; however, other storylines, such as one about a kidney transplant involving the Ferreiras, were not well received, and although Den's return proved to be a ratings success, the British press branded the plot unrealistic and felt that it questioned the show's credibility. A severe press backlash followed after Den's actor, Leslie Grantham ,
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