EastEnders set secrets including what it was originally going to be called
EastEnders turns 35 this week but while we may think we know the characters, their stories and even their houses like the back of our hands, there’s a lot of hidden magic that goes on behind the scenes.
From record breaking props to charity-shop chic characters, we reveal 35 things you didn’t know about 35 years of one of Britain’s best-loved soaps…
1. All of the paint used on Eastenders since it first aired could fill more than half of an Olympic sized swimming pool.
2. Filming is fast paced as approximately 13 minutes of the soap is recorded each day – more than double that of a typical TV drama.
3. Each episode has at least three colour-coded draft scripts before the final shooting script is released.
4. Over the course of 30 years, Eastenders had used enough timber to go up and down Mount Everest around 21 times.
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5. Both Queen Vic fires were started by one of the Mitchell brothers. The pub was first set alight by Grant in 1992 and then again in 2010 by Phil.
6. Pat Evans was the soap’s most married woman – tying the knot to Pete Beale, Brian Wicks, Frank Butcher and Roy Evans.
7. Walford is a made up name which combines Walthamstow and Stratford – the areas where creators, Julia Smith and Tony Holland were born.
8. It’s all in the names – as Den, Angie and Sharon Watts were originally called Jack, Pearl, Tracey.
9. The biggest car that can fit into The Arches and allows the door to close is a Mini.
10. Fassett Square in Hackney is the real location which inspired the soap’s infamous square.
11. Dot wears the same red, paisley print dress every Christmas and it’s the oldest item in the show’s wardrobe department.
12. Wellard was the longest serving pet in Eastenders history and despite being male, was mainly played by a female Belgian Tervuren Shepherd.
13. One of the show’s studios used to be home to Top Of The Pops.
14. The outdoors Albert Square set was built on the same plot of land as the building site in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
15. Since February 4, 2010, Watford has had computer-generated tube trains running through the fictional Walford East Station.
16. The programme first got its name when co-creator Julia Smith asked agents: “Do you have any real East Enders on your books?”
17. The Eastenders set was built in 1984, so to make the buildings look older, designers chipped at the set with pickaxes.
18. She was once dubbed the perfect example of “London chic” during London Fashion week but most of Dot Cotton’s clothes come from charity shops.
19. The character of Pat Butcher owned over 125 pairs of earrings and the BBC also encouraged fans to send in jewellery for her too.
20. Patsy Kensit, Cheryl Baker and Joanna Lumley were all in the running for the part of Chrissie Watts and Barbara Windsor was fourth choice to play Peggy Mitchell.
22. EastEnders was the first British drama to ever feature a two minute silence for Armistice Day on Friday November 11, 2005.
23. Before she joined Spice Girls, Emma Bunton auditioned for the role of Bianca Jackson. She didn’t get the part but played a troubled teen in 1992.
24. Filming takes place up to 12 weeks in advance, so the leaves and daffodils in Albert Square are made of plastic so they can be easily changed to match the season.
25. The Olympic Park stole Walford’s fictitious, “E20” postcode in 2011.
26. Kat Slater’s storyline about historical child abuse caused calls to the NSPCC to soar by 60% and the show was praised for handling it in a sensitive way.
27. Working titles for the show originally included: Square Dance, E8, Round the Houses and London Pride.
28. Nasty Nick was the square’s most notorious killer and alongside the murder of Reg Cox in 1985 and Eddie Royle in 1991, he was also responsible for two more deaths. For, he accidentally killed his son, Ashley, in 2001 and former police officers, Emma Summerhayes, in 2015.
29. The Vic is the most dangerous place in Walford as more people have died there than anywhere else.
30. Barbara Windsor says she got her inspiration for Peggy from Violet Kray (the mother of the Kray twins), her own mother and actor, Mike Reid, who played her on-screen husband, Frank Butcher.
31. Dot Cotton became the first character to ever do a solo episode in 2008. And the achievement has never been repeated since.
32. Ian Beale is the show’s longest serving character as actor, Adam Woodyatt, has featured in the show since it began in 1985.
33. The Eastenders’ art department has used enough wallpaper to go round the M25 three times or even to beyond the International Space Station.
34. Ian Beale is the only character to have been a prime suspect in three “who-dunnits” as he was in the frame for who shot Phil? Who killed Archie? And who killed Lucy Beale?
35. Nick Berry had a number one single with Every Loser Wins in 1986 but the song was first performed by fictional Eastenders band, The Banned.
*EastEnders airs Mondays and Fridays at 8pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One
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