EastEnders off set episodes

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EastEnders off set episodes are special episodes of the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders that have not been filmed on the usual EastEnders set construction at Borehamwood, Elstree, but have been filmed on location.

[edit] On location filming

Several times a year EastEnders is filmed away from the programme's typical setting of Albert Square, which is situated at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Elstree. This is known as on location filming.^[1]

Normally, a week's worth of episodes are filmed on location, often following a group of characters on holiday either abroad or in the UK. Occasionally however, scenes in singular episodes are filmed on location, although in such episodes the majority of scenes are filmed on the regular set at Elstree.

It could be suggested that such a common theme helps it differentiate from others in the genre, other soap operas have done it, but rarely on such a prominent scale.

Away days or off-set episodes will often air in late June or early July and again in late October or early November.^[2] These episodes have a practical function and are the result of EastEnders making a "double bank".^[2] A double bank is when an extra week's worth of episodes are recorded at the same time as the regular schedule. These extra episodes, shot mainly on location, enable the production of EastEnders to stop for a two-week break at Christmas.^[2]

Contents: 1985 1986 1987 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 • See also • References

[edit] 1985

Pauline and Arthur Fowler travelled to the Southend to search for their 17-year-old son Mark, who had recently run away from home. They found him working as a mechanic on go-carts on the promenade. To their surprise he was living with a Swedish woman, Ingrid, and her two small children who knew Mark as Daddy! Mark refused to return to Walford with them.^[3]

These episodes which aired in December 1985 were the first time that EastEnders was filmed on location for an extended period. The episodes were written by Bill Lyons^[2] and the storyline's intention was to help highlight the problems some parents face when their teenage children disappear from home.^[4]

[edit] 1986

These were three episodes written and directed by the co-creators of EastEnders, Tony Holland and Julia Smith.^[2] The episodes took EastEnders abroad for the very first time. This was also the first time in the programme's history that the show was not shot entirely on videotape, as a union rule at the time prevented Julia Smith taking a video crew abroad and a film crew had to be used instead. However, the Walford-based scenes in these episodes were on video as usual.^[2]

Den and Angie Watts were in Venice for a second honeymoon - after Angie tells Den she has six months to live. There, supposedly by pure coincidence, Den ran into his mistress Jan Hammond and Angie saw them together. This prompted her to take up drinking again whilst they returned home on the Orient Express.^[5]

It was on the return journey home that Den learnt Angie was lying about having six months to live when she drunkenly confessed to a barman and he overheard. She was actually perfectly fine and a furious Den planned his revenge. Weeks later, on Christmas Day, Den confronted Angie with the fact that he knew she was telling lies, and served her with the divorce papers.^[2]

The Orient Express sequence was actually shot on a specially built set in Elstree. Lampshades and props on the set were continuously "jiggled" in order to give the impression that the train was moving.^[2] The trip to Venice was fraught with problems and actors Anita Dobson (Angie), Leslie Grantham (Den) and Jane How (Jan) were hounded by the press at all times.^[4] Their photographs appeared in British newspapers, ruining the shock surprise that writer Tony Holland had created by including Den's mistress in the episode. Despite huge efforts from all involved the Venice episodes were only moderately successful.^[4]

[edit] 1987

These episodes were written by series script editor, John Maynard.^[2] They were scripted to provide humour and were most notable for introducing the character of Frank Butcher into the serial.^[2] Frank has been described by writer Colin Brake as the most important introduction to the series that year, as the popularity of his appearance led to him playing a far greater role the following year. Frank was played by Mike Reid. Reid was already an established comedian and well known to the British audience. The casting of a comedian in a dramatic role was highly controversial at the time, but over the years the wisdom of that decision has been proved, as Frank has become one of the show's most popular and iconic characters.^[2]

In September 1987 the ladies darts team entered a tournament and travelled to Greenwich and the Isle Of Dogs to compete. Kathy Beale, Dot Cotton, Pauline Fowler, Ethel Skinner, Sue Osman and Pat Wicks were all in attendance.

Pat liaised with her old boyfriend Frank Butcher (his first ever appearance), who informed her that his wife had died and he wanted to get back together with her permanently. She declined. Pauline was pursued by a northern gentleman named Derek Taylor, who helped the team when their coach broke down.^[6]

[edit] 1988

On 15 September 1988, Carmel Roberts and her boyfriend Matthew Jackson took Carmel's nephew and niece, Junior and Aisha, to London Zoo. The episode was written by Jogn Maynard, directed by Julia Smith and produced by future executive-producer, Mike Gibbon.^[7]

[edit] 1989

Dot Cotton, Ethel Skinner, Mo Butcher and Marge Green went to Clacton, where they were seen taking part in a dancing competition. These episode were scripted to contain a lot of humour. At the time the programme had come under criticism in the British media for being too depressing; arguably a reputation that it has never been able to shake.^[2] The programme makers were determined to change this. In 1989 there was a deliberate attempt to increase the lighter, more comic aspects of life in Albert Square.^[2] The episodes were directed by Nicholas Prosser and produced by future executive-producer, Michael Ferguson.^[8]

During the trip, Ethel started to get jealous when her dancing partner, Reggie Thompson, began flirting outrageously with Gladys, another senior woman from Ethel's retirement home. Meanwhile Dot was appalled to discover that Ethel had brought her pug Willy along in her luggage. Marge was initially very gloomy, and spent much of her time worrying for her bed-ridden mother back in Walford. Things changed when she met the suave Mr. Conroy, a widower looking for love. Mo met a cantankerous Welsh man, and began arguing with him almost instantly, though she later found that she had more in common with him than she first realised.^[9] Mr. Conroy decided to propose to Marge and asked her to come and live with him in his cottage in Kent. Marge couldn't consider abandoning her sickly mother and was forced to turn him down. Embarrassed, Mr. Conroy called for a cab and left, at the same time that Marge received a phone call from home informing her that her mother had died, meaning she could have accepted his proposal after all.^[10]

[edit] 1990

• Diane and Frank Butcher in London (March 1990).^[2] The episodes used flashbacks to tell the story of Diane's three months living on the streets of London as a homeless person, while also telling the present story of Frank finding her and bringing her home to the Square.^[2]

When the storyline was originally scripted in 1989, it was left open-ended and it was unknown whether or not Diane would ever return home. However, following Michael Ferguson's appointment as executive-producer, one of his first decisions was that Diane "must be found" and the subsequent story of her adjusting to life back in Walford was developed.^[2] The episodes were written by Tony McHale, and have been described as a "radical departure from the normal EastEnders form".^[2]

Diane had fallen in with a bad crowd, including Disa O'Brien, a fellow runaway who tried to lure her into prostitution, and Matthew Taylor an 'artist' who persuaded Diane to model nude for him. She was eventually reunited with her father.^[11]

Writer Colin Brake has described the episodes as "powerful...they returned EastEnders to the tradition of gritty realism that had been integral in the early episodes".^[2]

• Ian, Pete, Steven and Cindy Beale and Simon Wicks in Devon (September 1990). These episodes were known to the EastEnders script department as "the Devon cottage climax". Debbie Cook's scripts contained elements "of tragedy and farce".^[2]

After Cindy confessed that Ian was not the father of Steven, she took her son and left Walford with the real father, Simon, to stay at her parents vacant cottage in Devon. However, Ian, freshly released from hospital with his leg in plaster, followed them there with his father Pete. When Ian arrived and learnt that Wicksy, his best friend, was Steven's real father, he threw bricks through Cindy's window as well as his crutch, and threatened to get his revenge on Simon by ominously stealing Cindy's father's shotgun.^[12]

The episodes were directed by Matthew Evans. They brought this long running storyline to a climax, but also "laid the roots" for several months of future stories, building up to Simon and Cindy's departures from the show.^[2] They were chosen by writer Colin Brake as the episodes of the year in EastEnders: The First Ten Years.^[2]

[edit] 1991

• Ricky, Frank and Pat Butcher and Sam, Grant, Phil and Peggy Mitchell and Peggy's boyfriend Kevin Masters in Gretna Green (July 1991). The episodes were written by Debbie Cook.^[2] Despite the Scottish setting, the recording of these episodes was done in Hertfordshire.^[2]

These episodes followed Sam and Ricky's attempt to elope to Gretna Green, with Frank, Pat, Peggy, Phil, Grant and Kevin all in hot pursuit. These episodes were essentially a "farcical chase",^[2] climaxing in a registry office wedding of the young lovers, with Frank and Pat in attendance. The Mitchells tried to stop the proceedings, but only succeeded in bursting in on someone else's wedding, as Sam was getting married in an entirely different town.^[13]

• In November 1991 Clyde and Kofi Tavernier and Michelle and Vicki Fowler went on the run to Portsmouth. The episode was written by renowned EastEnders scriptwriter Tony Jordan and directed by Mike Dormer.^[2]

Clyde was prime suspect for the murder of Eddie Royle. He decided to flee the country with his son Kofi, and his girlfriend Michelle opted to go with him with her daughter Vicki. They went to Portsmouth with the hope of catching a private ferry to France so they could start a new life together, but they were arrested whilst trying to board the boat.^[14]

Writer Colin Brake has stated that the episode had a "strong sense of tension" as it built up to Clyde's inevitable arrest and he goes on to describe it as "one of the most exciting thriller episodes of EastEnders".^[2]

[edit] 1992

• In June 1992 Mark and Gill Fowler — who was confined to a hospice as she was dying from AIDS — married away from Walford and then spent their honeymoon at Waverly Hotel. Mark's sister Michelle and his ex-girlfriend Rachel Kominski attended the ceremony. However, after only one night together Gill fell ill, and was taken back to the hospice. She died on the same day as she became terribly ill.^[15] The episodes were written by Debbie Cook and directed by Leonard Lewis. Although in many ways the episodes were sad and "downbeat", they were not without positive aspects, as Mark was able to discuss his own mortality on-screen, educating the audience about the subject of HIV. Susanna Dawson, the actress who played Gill, found the experience of playing a person living with—and dying from—Aids so intense that she co-produced an educational video based on the subject for use in schools and wrote a book, The Gill and Mark Story, to accompany it.^[2]

• In September 1992, Arthur Fowler took Michelle, Vicki and Martin Fowler on a caravan holiday to Leigh-on-Sea. Arthur's wife Pauline joined, having returned from a several month trip to New Zealand to discover none of her family at home. Pauline and Arthur found that they had changed in their time apart.

• In November 1992 Michelle Fowler introduced her friend Sharon Mitchell to her student life when she invited her to a college gig. They were chatted up by two students, including Jack Woodman. However Sharon's husband Grant and Michelle's boyfriend Clyde ruined the night by following them there. Grant suspected Sharon was cheating on him, but he and Clyde were both shocked when they discovered not Sharon but Michelle in bed with Jack. Clyde and Michelle split and when Sharon found Grant they had a huge row and she told him they were finished after Grant confessed to Sharon that he was responsible for the arson attack on the Queen Vic.

[edit] 1993

• In June 1993 Hattie and Clyde Tavernier and Phil Mitchell raced to Southampton so Hattie could stop Steve Elliot leaving.

Steve had decided that he didn't want to marry Hattie, and slipped away to take a job on a cruise ship. Hattie awoke to discover Steve's goodbye letter and persuaded Phil Mitchell to drive her to Southampton to persuade him to stay. When Clyde discovered what was happening he quickly sped off after them.

In Southampton Hattie went to the hotel where Steve was staying, while Phil waited for her in a nearby bar. Here he met Nadia Borovac, a Romanian refugee with immigration problems. The authorities were threatening to deport her, so she needed to marry an English man to remain in the country. Phil suggested a marriage of convenience and brought Nadia back to Walford with him.

Meanwhile Hattie found Steve, before Clyde showed up and a fight nearly erupted between him and Steve before Hattie broke it up. She and Steve slept together again, which led Hattie to believe that he was staying, but Steve thought it was just one final bon voyage and left anyway, without ever knowing that Hattie was pregnant with his baby.

• In September 1993 Pat and Frank Butcher, Sharon, Grant and Phil and Kathy Beale all went to France.

Whilst here, Pat and Frank went in search of Frank's daughter Diane. Frank was shocked to see that Diane was heavily pregnant and furious when she confessed that she was unsure who the father was. Frank stormed off in a rage, but Diane showed up at the dock just as they were departing home and waved him a tearful goodbye.

After loading up their van with cheap alcohol for The Vic, Sharon and Grant went for a romantic meal in Paris, leading Grant to expose his jealous side after Sharon flirted with a French waiter. Meanwhile Phil and Kathy also went for a meal, leading Phil to confess his affair with his sister-in-law, Sharon. Their trip ended with them igniting a romance. Sharon watched on with mixed emotions as they kissed on the ferry home.

• In November 1993 Mark and Michelle Fowler went to Amsterdam with Shelley Lewis and her casual boyfriend Clem.

The foursome spent their holiday smoking hash and getting stoned. Mark and Shelley grew closer, but Shelley was still dating Clem at the time, so she and Mark would sneak away to be together at any opportunity. They eventually managed to give Clem and Michelle the slip and ended back at their hotel. Shelley made her amorous intentions clear, but Mark seemed hesitant and ended up walking out. A confused Shelley followed him and berated him for leading her on. Mark was finally forced to divulge that the reason he couldn't sleep with Shelley was because he was HIV positive. Shelley was furious with him for not trusting her enough to tell her in the first place and she told him she never wanted to see him again.

Meanwhile Clem tried to seduce Michelle, but she promptly told him where to go. After much rowing between Shelley and Clem, Shelley and Mark, Michelle and Clem and also Mark and Clem, the boys decided to remain in Holland while the girls returned home. Clem accidentally left his bag with the girls, full of cannabis that he was trying to smuggle back to England. The bag was checked, but the dope was not found. When the girls discovered their lucky escape they were furious.

[edit] 1994

In December 1994 Nellie Ellis, Pauline and Arthur Fowler travelled to Eastbourne to attend Nellie's husband's funeral.

Nellie received news that her philandering husband — who left her for another woman — had died. Pauline and Arthur decided to take her to Eastbourne for the funeral. Nellie was disgusted to discover that George, her husband, was extremely wealthy, with a nice home and a daughter. She spent much of the trip moaning and scowling, but she also heard some harsh home truths, making her rethink her behaviour.

[edit] 1995

In July 1995 Steve Elliot, Phil and Grant Mitchell, David Wicks, Bianca Jackson and Ricky Butcher went on a holiday to Torremolinos, Spain.

On the holiday the lads all spent most of their time trying to bed women, whilst Ricky and Bianca went through a rocky patch and talked about splitting. Steve was the least lucky with the ladies and after having an unsuccessful evening he returned to their apartment to find a very drunk Bianca there and tried to kiss her. David witnessed this and went livid, leading Steve to question why he cared and Bianca to reveal to everyone that he was really her father! They eventually discovered that the reason Steve was repelling women was because of his not so fluent Spanish chat-up line, which was roughly translated to mean "my wife is an accountant". Ricky and Bianca patched up their differences and Ricky asked her to marry him.

Phil and Grant spent some of the holiday searching for their little sister Sam, but their leads just sent them on a wild goose chase and they couldn't track her down. Meanwhile David was having the most success with the ladies and after chatting up a supposed model, he brought her home to bed, but was interrupted when Steve — who he was sharing a room with — brought his lady friend back. The resulting commotion brought everyone else into the room, including Phil and Grant, who were furious to discover that the woman in bed with David was their sister Sam. They dragged her back to Albert Square.

[edit] 1996

Bianca Jackson, Tiffany Raymond, Sarah Hills, Tony Hills, Dan Zapierri and Melanie Fishman were in Blackpool.

Tony and Dan went to push drugs but it ended in disaster when Tony's little sister Sarah's drink was spiked, she survived. Tony and Simon also got close on the end of the pier and had a memorable kiss.

[edit] 1997

• Grant Mitchell, Phil Mitchell, Ian Beale and Ros Thorne in Italy.

The mission was to find Ian's sons, Peter and Steven, who had been taken by their mother, Cindy. They succeeded, managing to bring them back to Albert Square with Cindy close behind them. The episodes were praised in the media.^[16]

• The first one was with Grant Mitchell, Phil Mitchell, Kathy Mitchell, Tiffany Mitchell, Bianca Butcher, Diane Butcher and Ricky Butcher in Paris.

Grant and Tiffany bonded, Bianca found out that she was pregnant again, and Phil's' marriage ended.

• Also this year, Pauline Fowler, Ian Beale, Lucy Beale, Ruth Fowler, Mark Fowler and Martin Fowler went to Ireland, in which they found Pauline's long lost sister and her family, The Flaherty's.

Main article: EastEnders episodes in Ireland

The episodes filmed in Ireland received a great deal of criticism. EastEnders were accused of negative stereotyping in the way that they portrayed Irish people, depicting them as "dirty, rude, and drunk".^[16] The BBC were inundated with complaints from angry Irish people all over Britain and Ireland. In addition, complaints were made by the Irish Embassy and Irish holiday chiefs who feared that the show would have a negative effect on the Irish tourist trade.^[17] The BBC were forced to issue an apology for causing offence.^[16]

[edit] 1998

During 1998, EastEnders went away from the Elstree studio twice.

• Tony Hills, Simon Raymond, Matthew Rose, Teresa di Marco and Mary Flaherty went to the Norfolk Broads.^[18]

• And finally in a set of one off episodes, EastEnders returned to France where Pat Evans, Roy Evans, Barry Evans, Lenny Wallace and Huw Edwards went to the Football World Cup 98. These episodes were broadcast as three short episodes during the tournament. They were later combined into one 30 minute episode and shown on UK Gold in 2002.

[edit] 1999

• Melanie Healy, Steve Owen, Sam Mitchell, Ricky Butcher, Mark Fowler, Mick McFarlene, Janine Butcher and Dr Fonseca: Brighton

They all descended on Brighton for a Halloween ball. Janine was found unconscious on the beach, Mel and Steve slept together but she refused to run away with him, and ex-partners Ricky and Sam had to share a bedroom.

• Steve Owen, Barry Evans, Ricky Butcher, Robbie Jackson, Gianni di Marco, Melanie Healy, Natalie Price, Lisa Fowler, Jackie Owen, Andrea Price in Amsterdam in December.

The girls were celebrating Melanie and Natalie's hen night, whilst the boys celebrated Barry's stag night. Mel acted promiscuously and her attempts to seduce Steve were rebuffed. Meanwhile, Natalie was upset by her mother Andrea's behaviour.

The episode evoked criticism by the Broadcasting Standards Commission for its inclusion of “almost relentless drunken and promiscuous behaviour, sexual innuendo and drug-taking, before the watershed”. ^[19] The BBC defended the episode, claiming that its content would have “come as no surprise to viewers” and adding that the depiction of this behaviour conformed to an EastEnders tradition - that questionable conduct "only leads to further trouble…One character's quest for drugs led to embarrassment and nausea and a drinking binge led to the calling off of [Barry and Natalie’s] wedding while the prospects for another [Mel and Ian's] became bleaker." ^[20]

[edit] 2000

Terry Raymond, Irene Raymond, Pat Evans, Frank Butcher, Peggy Mitchell, and Roy Evans in Spain.^[21]

Pat and Frank slept together, Terry left Irene at the resort.

[edit] 2001

Kat Slater, Zoe Slater, Lynne Slater, Garry Hobbs, Jamie Mitchell in Brighton Sonia Jackson and Robbie Jackson in Brighton and Portsmouth.^[22]

A weekend away in Brighton proved the perfect opportunity for Jamie and Zoe to get up close and personal. After an entire day of dithering, the young star crossed lovers got down to business after sharing a romantic pizza dinner in the bedroom. But unfortunately for Zoe, Jamie was quite clear that it's just a one night stand and that what happened 'on tour' stayed on tour.

Garry also proposed to Lynne and Robbie found his father, who offered him money for not being there in his life, Robbie however, didn’t take the money.

[edit] 2002

Peggy Mitchell, Frank Butcher and Sam Mitchell in Southern Spain.^[23] The episodes re-introduced the character of Frank (played by Mike Reid back into the show for a week's worth of episodes. Prior to this appearance the character had not been seen on-screen since his disappearance in 2000.^[23]

Peggy travelled to Spain to attend the funeral of ex-husband Frank. Actress Barbara Windsor who plays Peggy has commented: "Once she hears that Frank’s dead, Peggy’s determined to go to the funeral...She feels she has to say goodbye to him once and for all".^[23] However, she promptly found him alive and well, learning that he staged his own death. Windsor added "Peggy’s fuming. She has come all the way to Spain for his funeral and he doesn’t even have the decency to be dead!". Peggy managed to drag her daughter Sam back to Walford, who this time was played by Kim Medcalf instead of the original actress Daniella Westbrook.^[23]

The Sun newspaper commented "It all makes for a fantastic sunshine week in southern Spain instead of east London" and Barbara Windsor added that "It was great to work with Mike Reid again...It felt very fresh working outside of the studio."^[23]

[edit] 2003

• Phil Mitchell, Lisa Fowler and Louise Mitchell in Portugal

This was screened after it actually supposed to have occurred in the serial time-line. It was based in late 2002, as Phil revealed all to undercover cop, Kate. The episodes were played in flashback scenes.^[24]

Having followed Lisa and Louise to Portugal, Phil employed the services of Dom who tracked her down. Despite a change of heart on Dom's side, Phil had the information he needed and headed to her flat where he broke in and stole their passports. When Phil confronted her, he asked her to get Louise and promised to leave her be, once he'd seen his daughter. Lisa knew better though and fled, hoping to run off to Lisbon to find Mel. After a hot car pursuit through the cliff side routes, Lisa was forced to abandon her car and was faced with an unpleasant choice: Phil or at cliff edge.

Phil undermined her confidence in herself. He said she was an unfit mother who needed professional help. He left with baby Louise, leaving Lisa devastated.

• Barry Evans, Janine Evans, Paul Trueman, Zoe Slater, Kelly Taylor, Kareena Ferreira, Tariq Larousi, Mickey Miller, Ronny Ferreira, Martin Fowler, Gus Smith, Spencer Moon,Sonia Fowler andWellard headed off to Scotland.

The cast and crew filmed scenes at the Loch Fyne Hotel and Leisure Club in Inveraray, Argyll. Much of the outside scenes were shot on a private estate called The Arkinglass Estate in Cairndow, while the wedding suite was actually really located in Grims Dyke Hotel, Harrow Weald, North London.

After months of Janine leading Barry on, they headed to Scotland to get married. But when she revealed the truth, they ended up scuffling and he fell over a cliff. Heartlessly, she watched him die.^[25]

Meanwhile, the others crashed their van and ended up stranded. Kelly and Zoe kissed, whilst Tariq revealed Dan Ferreira is his father.

[edit] 2004

• Sharon Watts and Dennis Rickman in Hertford, Hertfordshire.

The couple's small wedding ceremony was filmed at County Hall in Hertford, several miles away from the Eastenders studio.

[edit] 2005

• Garry Hobbs, Minty Peterson, Mickey Miller, Juley Smith, Gus Smith, Dawn Swann and Mike Swann in France. Some of the location filiming was performed in a small Normandy village of Blangy-le-Chateau. While there, the filming crew were surrounded by English tourists.^[26]

Mickey headed off to see his sister, Dawn, and took Gus, Juley, Garry and Minty with him. While there he met his long-lost father, Mike.^[27]

• Alfie Moon and Nana Moon in France on Armistice Day, the anniversary of the official end of World War I, 11 November 1918.^[28] The episode featured a guest appearance from the actor Trevor Peacock, who played Sid, a war veteran.^[29]

On November 11, Alfie took Nana to visit her late husband's grave in Normandy. This episode also featured flashbacks of Nana's first encounter with her late husband in war-time London.

The episode featured a two minute's silence to mark Remembrance Day—a day to commemorate the sacrifice of veterans and civilians in World War I, World War II, and other wars.^[28] It was the first time that a soap had featured the silence. The scene was reportedly "so emotional" that actor Shane Richie and Hilda Braid (Alfie and Nana), the only actors involved, ended in "floods of tears".^[28] A BBC insider said: “We decided to mark Armistice Day this year because it’s such an important day."^[28]

The episode—which was written by Sarah Phelps, directed by Paul Wroblewski and produced by Tom Mullens—won the 'Best Single Episode' award at the British Soap Awards, in 2006.^[30]

• Stacey Slater, Jean Slater, Mo Harris, Jake Moon, Chrissie Watts, Pat Evans and Frank Butcher in other parts of London.

A week of episodes following the storylines of Jean Slater's mental illness and attempted suicide, Chrissie in jail and deciding to plead guilty to Dirty Den's murder, and Frank and Pat attending Janine's trial, they sleep together and Frank persuades Pat to tell the truth, culminating in Janine's off-screen release.

[edit] 2006

• Phil Mitchell, Grant Mitchell, Johnny Allen, Ruby Allen, Danny Moon, Jake Moon in Essex.^[31] Several scenes were also filmed in Epping Forest.^[32]

Main article: Get Johnny Week

Grant tricks Phil into going on a week long break to sort out Phil's alcohol problem. Meanwhile Phil discovers that Johnny Allen is living in Essex so he decides to confront him about Dennis Rickman's death. Phil tricks Grant in kind by conning him into believing that they are heading to a golf club, which turns out to be Johnny Allen's house. There it is revealed that Danny Moon was the one who killed Dennis. The Mitchells are kidnapped by Johnny and Danny and as Danny is about to execute them both, his brother Jake turns up and accidentally shoots him dead in an effort to stop him. Johnny is persuaded by Ruby to give himself up to the police, and is seen being taken away in the back of a police car.^[33]

There were mixed reviews for this storyline. It was criticised as "patchy" and "awkwardly written...unveiling a common weakness in the EastEnders camp, that character continuity can often fall by the wayside when you are dealing with larger characters".^[34]

• Kevin Wicks, Deano Wicks, Carly Wicks, Denise Fox, Chelsea Fox, Libby Fox, Patrick Trueman and Yolande Trueman (4 December – 8 December)

Kevin took his children, the Foxes and the Truemans on holiday to Dorset. Patrick revealed the truth to Denise about his paternity test — that he was not her father, though he had previously said he was. Kevin's ex-wife Shirley met up with her children, though they did not know who she was.

Some of the shooting for these episodes was actually performed in the village of Worth Matravers, in the Isle of Purbeck area of the county of Dorset. Several different locations in the village were used for the episodes, including the Worth Tea Shop and the Square And Compass pub. Scenes were also shot in Kimmeridge. A worker from one of the establishments commented: "It was very exciting and it's good advertising for us".^[35]

[edit] 2007

• Stella Crawford and Ben Mitchell (23 February)

Stella took Ben to the London Dungeon in an attempt to get him to like her.

• Kevin Wicks (8 March – 9 March)

Kevin was on Dungeness beach, having been missing from Walford for several weeks. Whilst there, he met a man named Jed who stole Kevin's bag and eventually died in a road traffic accident.

• Jim and Dot Branning (9 April)

Jim took Dot to the "hop-picking fields" in Kent that they both went to in their youth. Dot decided that she wanted to visit her old friend Margot Baker who lived nearby but was told by the vicar of a local church, Mary Lavender, that Margot had died two weeks previously. The vicar suggested going to visit Margot's son Douglas, who was also a vicar. Douglas revealed he was no longer a vicar because he had lost his faith, which caused him and Dot to get into an argument about religion while Jim went to a local pub. Before returning to Walford, Dot went back to the church and found a baby, Tomas, abandoned there. The church scenes were filmed at St Giles Church of Wormshill.^[36] The Blacksmiths Arms, Wormshill was used for exterior shots of the pub and The Ringlestone Inn, two miles away, was used for the interior pub scenes.^[37] The scenes of Dot and Jim arriving at the site of the hop fields and the farm as well as the interior shots of Douglas's home and the cottage were filmed at Stansted, Kent.

• Kevin Wicks, Deano Wicks, Carly Wicks, Denise Wicks, Chelsea Fox, Libby Fox, Pat Evans and Shirley Carter (27 April)

Kevin and Denise's wedding took place, which was filmed on location at a registry office in North London.

• Ian and Peter Beale and Phil, Billy and Ben Mitchell (17 May – 21 May)

The two families went camping in the woods but when Phil burned down his tent by accident, they decided to return home. On the way, Phil and Ian argued in the car and as a result, Phil failed to see a fallen tree in the road, swerving at the last minute and crashing the car. The car later rolled into a lake with Peter and Ben still inside.

• Stella Crawford and Phil Mitchell (20 July)

Stella's final scenes were filmed on location at a disused office block, Evershed House off Alma Road in St Albans.^[38][39] In this episode, Phil confronts Stella on their wedding day about her abuse of his son Ben. Stella jumps off the roof to her death.

• Garry Hobbs, Dawn Swann, Summer Swann, Shirley Carter, Heather Trott, Minty Peterson, Hazel Hobbs and Pat Evans (20 August – 24 August)

Pat went to Worthing, while Garry, Dawn and Summer took a break in Brighton. Heather wanted to follow Garry there, so she and Shirley got a lift from Pat, and then stole her car to go to Brighton, abandoning her at a service station.

Pat met a man named Len Harker, who gave Pat a lift to Worthing. She believed her sister Joan, who had Down's syndrome, had died at the age of 22, and Pat was going to collect her belongings from the mental facility that her parents had sent her to at the age of 6, but she was too late as the building was to be demolished. She and Len broke in and eventually found Joan's belongings, discovering that she could still be alive. These scenes were filmed at an abandoned mental facility.^[40]

Minty and Hazel were also in Brighton together, not knowing that Hazel's son Garry was there with Dawn.

• Mickey and Keith Miller (20 August)

Mickey and Keith attempted to sell ice cream in Mickey's uncle Clint's ice cream van. This coincided with the first episode of the Brighton/Worthing week, but was a separate storyline, and several scenes were filmed at the usual Albert Square set.

[edit] 2008

• Stacey Branning and Rachel Branning (12 February)

Stacey visited Rachel at her house in Tring in order to find out the whereabouts of Bradley Branning.

• Stacey Branning and Bradley Branning (14th February-15 February)

Stacey and Bradley went to a Doctor Who convention, then to St. Paul's Cathedral, where Bradley told Stacey that he wanted a divorce.

[edit] See also

• Storylines of EastEnders

[edit] References

v • d • e EastEnders Characters Ian Beale · Dot Branning · Pat Evans · Ricky Butcher · Phil Mitchell · Peggy Mitchell · Clare Bates · Bianca Jackson · Lucy Beale · Peter Beale · Ben Mitchell · Billy Mitchell · Liam Butcher · Charlie Slater · Garry Hobbs · Mo Harris · Patrick Trueman · Minty Peterson · Mickey Miller · Bobby Beale · Yolande Trueman · Jane Beale · Darren Miller · Keith Miller · Stacey Branning · Jean Slater · Dawn Swann · Honey Mitchell · Bradley Branning · Chelsea Fox · Denise Wicks · Libby Fox · Max Branning · Tanya Branning · Abi Branning · Lauren Branning · Sean Slater · Janet Mitchell · May Wright · Shirley Carter · Jay Brown · Summer Swann · Heather Peterson · Zainab Masood · Shabnam Masood · Jase Dyer · Roxy Mitchell · Ronnie Mitchell · Tamwar Masood · Vinnie Monks · Masood Ahmed · Jack Branning · William Mitchell · Oscar Branning · Christian Clarke · Whitney Dean · Morgan Jackson-King · Tiffany Dean · Lucas Johnson · Jordan Johnson Past characters Crew members Julia Smith · Tony Holland · Simon May · Mike Gibbon · Michael Ferguson · Leonard Lewis · Barbara Emile · Corinne Hollingworth · Jane Harris · Matthew Robinson · John Yorke · Louise Berridge · Kathleen Hutchison · Kate Harwood · Diederick Santer Locations Residences · Buildings · Albert Square · Walford · London E20 · Walford East tube station · The Queen Victoria · R&R · Dickens Hill Storylines 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · Off-set storylines · Two-handers · The Banned · Sharongate · Fowlers in Eire · Who Shot Phil? · Get Johnny Week Spin-offs Television spin-offs · Dimensions in Time · EastEnders Revealed · A Question of EastEnders · EastEnders Xtra Merchandise · Books · "Anyone Can Fall in Love" · "Every Loser Wins" · "Something Outa Nothing" Other History · In popular culture · Theme tune · Beale family · Branning family Portal