How EastEnders was created, from the theme tune to Angie and Den

Within the early analysis levels of EastEnders, a number of cities had been thought-about for the brand new cleaning soap, from Manchester to London to Birmingham, in response to BBC archive paperwork.

However one viewers report really useful {that a} serial set in a working-class neighbourhood in London would in all probability have essentially the most widespread attraction.

This could additionally set the cleaning soap other than different large sequence of the time, like Coronation Road (set in Better Manchester), Emmerdale Farm (set in Yorkshire) and Crossroads (set in a Midlands motel).

Although EastEnders creators Julia Smith and Tony Holland would ultimately choose the fictional Walford with its E20 postcode, at this level the present had a working title of East 8 – and it was to be based mostly on an actual avenue within the London borough of Hackney.

In March 1984, Smith and Holland headed to Lanzarote for a working vacation the place they created 23 character biographies, three years of storyline overviews and 20 detailed story breakdowns.

Regardless of all their planning, nonetheless, a number of the most vital parts of EastEnders had been last-minute accidents, together with the enduring drum “doof doofs” within the theme tune, which have since develop into shorthand for the present’s dramatic cliffhangers.

“In these days, if a theme tune was in style, you’d typically launch it as a single. So I might make longer variations of the themes to permit for that,” says Simon Might, the theme tune’s composer, who would go on to put in writing EastEnders-related singles for forged members Anita Dobson and Nick Berry.

“The longer model will get a bit extra Cockney, so I requested the drummer to play one thing to transition into the top theme. He performed these ‘doof doofs’ and Tony and Julia occurred to be within the studio on the time.

“They mentioned: ‘We love that drum factor.'”

One other key ingredient of the early years of EastEnders additionally occurred on the final minute: the pairing of the actors behind Angie and her bad-boy husband Den Watts, performed by Leslie Grantham.

After a read-through of the primary six episodes, the producers thought that unique Angie Watts actress Jean Fennell was not fairly working within the position. Anita Dobson took on the character on the final minute.

Actor and stuntman Derek Martin, who joined the cleaning soap 15 years later as Charlie Slater, explains he was additionally up for the position of Den.

“Leslie bought it, and he was superb, he was the women’ man, and I used to be extra the onerous man,” the 91-year-old actor says.

This pairing of Angie and Den proved in style with the general public – and the Christmas Day 1986 episode that sees Den serve Angie divorce papers stays the one scripted programme to have been watched by greater than 30 million individuals within the UK, in response to Barb figures.

The primary episode of EastEnders was broadcast on 19 February 1985, with 17 million individuals watching – making it the second most-watched episode on the BBC that week behind The Two Ronnies.

This in comparison with the 18 million who watched the identical week’s Coronation Road.

The episode began with a kick, as Den broke down a door to seek out the almost useless physique of Reg Cox (performed by Johnnie Clayton) – and ended with a punch, as suspect primary within the assault, Nick Cotton (John Altman), put his fist by way of the glass of the Queen Vic doorways.

Although the press was fast to arrange a rivalry between EastEnders and Coronation Road, the forged had their eye on one other ITV cleaning soap.

Actor Adam Woodyat, who performed Ian Beale in that first episode, says: “We had been going out similtaneously Emmerdale Farm at 7pm. It felt like Emmerdale Farm gave us an absolute kicking within the rankings till they shifted us to half previous seven.”

Newspapers of the time advised reactions had been combined. A Sunday Individuals ballot of 600 viewers confirmed 56% of respondents did not like the primary episode, with complaints over “coarse” and “bawdy” dialogue.

The Guardian, nonetheless, was extra measured, with their critic Hugh Hebert predicting it will “in all probability take a 12 months earlier than anybody is aware of whether or not the BBC has bought it proper”.

The present would show itself sooner than that. On 25 July 1985, the programme was the most-watched on the BBC that week. This coincided with the present’s first blockbuster storyline that noticed Michelle (performed by Susan Tully) develop into pregnant by a thriller man, ultimately revealed to be Den Watts.

“After the reveal of Den and Michelle,” says Woodyat, “that is after we began to understand we’d have one thing right here.”