", "EastEnders fans notice something different about Kathy Beale", "EastEnders spoilers: 'Not the answer!' Corrie's first episode was not a critical success, with one columnist predicting it wouldn't last longer than 3 weeks. [173][174] This has spurred criticism, most notably from the actress Anna Wing, who portrayed Lou Beale in the show. During the storyline, DCI Jill Marsden (Sophie Stanton) and DC Wayne Hughes (Jamie Treacher) talk to locals about the case and Hughes accepts a bribe. For this, the cast and crew have received and been nominated for various awards. Erin Pizzey, who became internationally famous for having started one of the first women's refuges, said that EastEnders had done more to raise the issue of violence against women in one story than she had done in 25 years. [89] 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. The increased competition from ITV meant that EastEnders viewing figures were down . Question 9: How many viewers watched the Friday 4th June 2010 episode of the popular BBC1 soap series EastEnders? This rating is not combined with the omnibus; the lowest rating for an episode with a combined rating was 12.02million. Millions of EastEnders viewers have turned their back on the long-running soap, according to the latest reports. [394] On 17 November 2014 it was announced that Ofcom will investigate over the storyline. "[74][75] EastEnders started broadcasting in high definition on 25 December 2010. Viewing Figures Christmas viewing . Hit British soaps including EastEnders and Coronation Street have seen a significant drop in their viewing figures, it has been claimed. "[325] The Dutch version began broadcasting on VARA 13 March 1993 but was cancelled after 20 episodes. [317], EastEnders is shown on BBC Entertainment (formerly BBC Prime) in Europe and in Africa, where it is approximately six episodes behind the UK. [230] Episodes are produced in "quartets" of four episodes, each of which starts filming on a Tuesday and takes nine days to record. During his reign, EastEnders won the BAFTA for "Best Soap" in consecutive years 1999 and 2000 and many other awards. 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. It was 4.99 million - way down on last winter's figures. Berridge was responsible for some ratings success stories, such as Alfie and Kat Slater's relationship, Janine Butcher getting her comeuppance, Trevor Morgan and Jamie Mitchell's death storylines and the return of one of the greatest soap icons, Den Watts, who had been presumed dead for 14 years. [41] Lewis felt that producing an hour of "reasonable quality drama" a week was the maximum that any broadcasting system could generate without loss of integrity. [102][103] 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. EastEnders ratings dropped to lowest figures in the soap's 36-year history (Image: BBC). [271] The episode was then copied onto D3 video. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. [284] [351] The following day the show received its lowest ever ratings at that time (6.2million) when ITV scheduled an hour-long episode of Emmerdale against it. EastEnders has not had a brilliant year. After a year of UK airing, Neighbours was rivalling Coronation Street and EastEnders. As what Mal Young described as "two of EastEnders' most successful years", Yorke was responsible for highly rated storylines such as "Who Shot Phil? [37] Ferguson introduced other characters and was responsible for storylines including HIV, Alzheimer's disease and murder. In 2002, Louise Berridge succeeded Yorke as the Executive Producer. [135] In 2016, the Fowlers were revived and merged with the Slaters, with Martin Fowler (James Bye) marrying Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner). story arc in 2001 that attracted over 19 million viewers and was one of the biggest successes in British soap television; the "Who Killed Archie?" Pauline and Pete's domineering mother Lou Beale (Anna Wing) lived with Pauline and her family. In a flashback episode which revisited the night of the murder, Bobby was revealed to have killed his sister. [228] The producer then reviews the edits and decides if anything needs to be re-edited, which the director will do. Conversely there are female characters who handle tragedy less well, depicted as eternal victims and endless sufferers, who include Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack), Little Mo Mitchell (Kacey Ainsworth), Laura Beale (Hannah Waterman), Sue Osman (Sandy Ratcliff), Lisa Fowler (Lucy Benjamin), Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite) and Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks). The early 2000s saw a shift in attention towards the newly introduced female Slater clan, before a renewal of emphasis upon the restored Watts family beginning in 2003. [234][235] EastEnders is normally recorded using four cameras. Episodes from prior years are still shown on various PBS stations in the US. [203] EastEnders covered child abuse with its storyline involving Phil Mitchell's (Steve McFadden) 11-year-old son Ben (Charlie Jones) and lawyer girlfriend Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson),[204][205] and child grooming involving the characters Tony King (Chris Coghill) as the perpetrator and Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) as the victim.[206]. In August 2006, a scene involving Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley) and Jake Moon (Joel Beckett) having sex on the floor of Scarlet nightclub, and another scene involving Owen Turner (Lee Ross) violently attacking Denise Fox (Diane Parish), prompted 129 and 128 complaints, respectively. The finger of blame was also pointed towards the show's lack of distinctive icons like those of yesteryear, such as Peggy Mitchell and Dot Branning, while Corrie has stuck by its veteran stars like Bill Roache who plays Ken Barlow. The set had to be made to look as if it had been standing for years. [288], The omnibus edition, a compilation of the week's episodes in a continuous sequence, originally aired on BBC One on Sunday afternoons,[289] until 1 April 2012 when it was changed to a late Friday night or early Saturday morning slot, commencing 6 April 2012, though the exact time differed. [229] When the number of episodes was increased to four per week, more studio space was needed, so Top of the Pops was moved from its studio at Elstree to BBC Television Centre in April 2001. [364] Ratings expert Stephen Price also noted that the drop is partly due to the rise of streaming services.[364]. [6] Granada Television gave Smith unrestricted access to the Coronation Street production for a month so that she could get a sense how a continuing drama was produced. New figures show that EastEnders viewers have dropped dramatically with issues said to be its trendy-but-dull storylines and lack of iconic characters. Holland also created Pauline's unemployed husband Arthur Fowler, their children Mark and Michelle, Pete's wife Kathy and their son Ian. From 10 August 2001, EastEnders then added its fourth episode (shown on Fridays). Many other cast members only found out at the same time as the public, when the episode was broadcast. This was attributed to a conflicting one-hour special episode of Emmerdale on ITV1; however, ratings for the 10pm EastEnders repeat on BBC Three reached an all-time high of 1.4million; however, there have been times when EastEnders had higher ratings than Emmerdale despite the two going head-to-head. The character of Nick Cotton (John Altman) gained a reputation for making constant exits and returns since the programme's first year until the character died in 2015. While W was showing same-day repeats of EastEnders, they also returned the weekend omnibus, starting on 20 February 2016. [227], The majority of EastEnders episodes are filmed at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The BBC responded by saying they had been working that way for some time and it had not affected the quality of the show. EastEnders has been filmed at the BBC Elstree Centre since its inception, with a set that is outdoors and open to weather. [10], Once they had decided on their 23 characters, they returned to London for a meeting with the BBC. [54] Harwood stayed at EastEnders for 20 months before being promoted by the BBC. This included a warning before the episode and implying the assault, rather than depicting it. [376], In 2008, the show was criticised for stereotyping their Asian and Black characters, by having a black single mother, Denise Fox (Diane Parish), and an Asian shopkeeper, Zainab Masood (Nina Wadia). [352] Under new producers, EastEnders and Emmerdale continued to clash at times, and Emmerdale tended to come out on top, giving EastEnders lower than average ratings. Often, their promiscuity masks a hidden vulnerability and a desire to be loved. The live-episode averaged 15.6 million viewers, peaking at 16.6 million in the final five minutes of the broadcast. Millions of EastEnders viewers have turned their back on the long-running soap, according to the latest reports. 25 Dec 1986 EastEnders Christmas 1986 Part 2 EastEnders Second of a two-part classic episode that broke the record for British soap viewing. [121], 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. This remains the highest rated episode of a soap in British television history. 23h. It has been criticised for various storylines, including 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. [71] In April and May 2010, Kirkwood axed eight characters from the show,[72][73] 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 the new era of EastEnders. [69] Other events to mark the anniversary were a spin-off DVD, EastEnders: Last Tango in Walford, and an Internet spin-off, EastEnders: E20. [391][392][393], In October 2014, the BBC defended a storyline, after receiving 278 complaints about 6 October 2014 episode where pub landlady Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) was raped by Dean Wicks (Matt Di Angelo). In March 1983, under two years before EastEnders' first episode 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 was getting with Coronation Street. "Exclusives" about EastEnders storylines and the actors on the show became a staple of tabloid buyers' daily reading. [139] The live-episode averaged 15.6million viewers, peaking at 16.6million in the final five minutes of broadcast. EastEnders ' inconsistent airing schedule and shorter episodes are partly to blame for its lower ratings, according to BBC drama boss Piers Wenger. However, the 16-20 million viewers was actually a combination of the afternoon showing and . Smith thought "Eastenders" "looked ugly written down" and was "hard to say", so decided to capitalise the second "e". It should be noted that before the establishment of BARB, not only did BBC and ITV collect audience data separately but they collected and collated it using different methods. She regarded EastEnders as a fundamental assault on the family and morality itself. Posted on: February 14, 2023 Download The key viewing figures In January, adults watched an average of 2 hours of commercial linear TV each day. The Beale and Fowler family represented the old families of the East End, who had always been there. EastEnders was originally broadcast twice weekly at 7:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 19 February 1985; however, in September 1985 the two episodes were moved to 7:30pm as Michael Grade did not want the soap running in direct competition with Emmerdale Farm, and this remained the same until 7 April 1994. EastEnders is often filmed on location, away from the studios in Borehamwood. EastEnders Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. In one segment of the . 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,[59] and was followed by another on 6 March 2007. [202] The issue of illiteracy was highlighted by the characters of middle-aged Keith (David Spinx) and his young son Darren (Charlie G. [40] He left EastEnders in 1994 after the BBC controllers demanded an extra episode a week, taking its weekly airtime from 60 to 90 minutes. Jean Slater homeless in TRAGIC cancer plot twist? During the 30th anniversary week in which there were vital elements and the climax of the Who Killed Lucy Beale? The Beales, Brannings, Mitchells, Slaters and the Watts are some of the families that have been central to the soap's notable and dramatic storylines. [104] The Christmas Day episode in 2019 became EastEnders biggest ever episode on BBC iPlayer, with 2.14million viewer requests. It gets too lightweight."[175]. [28] Anticipation and rumour grew in equal measure until the first transmission at 7p.m. on 19 February 1985. The 30-year-old singer and her professional dance partner Graziano Di Prima were victorious after performing a thrilling cha cha, which earned them a perfect score of 40 from the judges. This rating is not combined with the omnibus; the lowest rating for an episode with a combined rating was 13.89million. [45] Harris was responsible for the critically panned Ireland episodes and Cindy Beale's attempted assassination of Ian Beale, which brought in an audience of 23 million in 1996, roughly four million more than Coronation Street. Emmerdale was watched by 8.1million viewers. Despite the slightly lower figure, it still made it to 12th place on Channel 5's weekly chart. EastEnders has lost an array of its stars over the past year with the BBC soap's viewing figures dropping below both Emmerdale and Coronation Street. The overnight TV ratings refer only to live television viewing and do not include online or catch-up audiences. Hawkins). 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. [287], On 21 February 2022, it was announced that from 7 March 2022, EastEnders would begin airing from Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm, therefore no longer airing on a Friday. However, viewers flocked to the show and it's still going strong 61 years later. Before this, the BBC conducted its audience research while the separate ITV companies sub-contracted out the task to other organisations, in the main TAM (Total Audience Measurement) and AC Neilson. [19] Smith used her personal memories of East End residents she met when researching Victorian squares. 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. [28] The next day, viewing figures were confirmed at 17million. The programme has more recently included a higher number of teenagers and successful young adults in a bid to capture the younger television audience. Channel 5's #DinosaurWithStephenFry held on to a fair amount of its audience, pulling in 0.89M for episode 2; this marks a drop of 28%. And she admitted she fears for soaps in general following the demise of Neighbours earlier in the year. [64][65] There have also been adverts in magazines and on radio. It continues to draw in hefty viewing figures even in the age of streaming services. After weeks of build-up, the downfall of serial killer Pat Phelan gave Coronation Street its biggest viewing figures in three years this Spring. In tragedy theres humour. [196] In 2011, the head of BBC drama, John Yorke, said that the real East End had changed significantly since EastEnders started, and the show no longer truly reflected real life, but that it had an "emotional truthfulness" and was partly "true to the original vision" and partly "adapt[ing] to a changing world", adding that "If it was a show where every house cost a fortune and everyone drove a Lexus, it wouldn't be EastEnders. Notably, from 1985 to 1988, author and television writer Hugh Miller wrote 17 novels, detailing the lives of many of the show's original characters before 1985, when events on screen took place. The Dutch version was re-written from already existing EastEnders scripts. 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. [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. His mother, Ethel Holland, was one of four sisters raised in Walthamstow. On one occasion following a scene in an episode broadcast in October 2002, where Phil brutally beat his godson, Jamie Mitchell (Jack Ryder), 31 complaints came from viewers. In April 2018, it was announced that Drama would be showing repeats starting 6 August 2018 during weekdays[306] and they are also available on-demand on the UKTV Play catch-up service for 30 days after the broadcast. [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. The videotape editor used the director's notes so they knew which scenes the director wanted to appear in a particular episode. We have worked closely with organisations and experts in the field to tell this story which we hope will raise awareness of sexual assaults and the issues surrounding them. The mess of scheduling around the World Cup certainly didn't help, however, I would expect by this time of year the figures to be between 5.5-6.5million. When Danny joined the BBC One show in 2013, EastEnders was regularly getting up to eight million viewers a night, but in the past year those figures have dwindled to 2.5 million an episode.. His . It has frequently been referred to in many different media, including songs and television programmes. However, there have been times when EastEnders had higher ratings than Emmerdale despite the two going head-to-head. [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. This shocking tell-all style set the tone for relations between Albert Square and the press for the next 20 years. Ofcom also took into account the programme's role in presenting sometimes challenging or distressing social issues. Moments of drama are often timed to peak with optimum viewing figuresand Christmas is a notoriously volatile time on Albert Square. [305] These have since been taken down. They then published their data as millions of viewers. 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