EastEnders is a long-running British soap opera that has aired on BBC One since 19 February 1985. Since its inception, several spin-offs have been produced, including books, television documentaries, videos, music singles and an album. During the run up to the first episode of EastEnders, interest with the public was already high, something which continued afterwards. EastEnders proved as successful as was hoped for by the BBC in its first years, so they capitalised on it with a number of products.
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Many novels relating to EastEnders have been produced. Between 1985 and 1988, Hugh Miller wrote a series of 12 books focussing on several characters in the show. The books told the characters' backstories from before the show's inception in February 1985. Miller also wrote a series of four books called Teen EastEnders. Similar to the original 12 books, they focussed on teenage characters in the show.
A further four novels were written by Kate Lock between 1998 and 2001. Two of these explored the backstories of the characters Grant Mitchell and Steve Owen, with the other two being "secret diaries" of characters Bianca Jackson and Tiffany Mitchell, giving an insight into the characters lives during storylines that were airing at the time.
Several non-fiction books have been produced, including EastEnders: The Inside Story in 1987, which was written by the show's creators, Tony Holland and Julia Smith.
| Author | Title | Year | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith, Julia and Holland, Tony | EastEnders: The Inside Story | 1987 | BBC Books | ISBN 9780563206019 |
| Buckingham, David | Public Secrets: EastEnders and its Audience | 1987 | BFI | ISBN 9780851702100 |
| Miller, Hugh and Harris, Keith | Albert Square | 1987 | David & Charles | ISBN 9780715391358 |
| Lynch, Tony and Bain, Morag | EastEnders Special | 1988 | Grandreams | ISBN 9780862276263 |
| Daniels, Therese and Gerson, Jane (eds.) | The Colour Black: Black Images in British Television | 1989 | BFI | ISBN 9780851702322 |
| Kingsley, Hilary | The EastEnders Handbook | 1991 | BBC Books | ISBN 9780563362920 |
| Monroe, Josephine | The EastEnders Programme Guide | 1994 | Virgin Publishing | ISBN 9780863698255 |
| Brake, Colin | EastEnders: The First 10 Years: A Celebration | 1994 | BBC Books | ISBN 9780563370574 |
| Sinotok, Karen | EastEnders: Real Soap | 1999 | Generation Publications | ISBN 9781903009048 |
| Lock, Kate | Who's Who in EastEnders | 2000 | BBC Books | ISBN 9780563551782 |
| Smith, Rupert | EastEnders: 20 years in Albert Square | 2005 | BBC Books | ISBN 9780563521655 |
| Randall, Tim | EastEnders Annual 2009 | 2008 | BBC Books | ISBN 9781846075551 |
| Jaffee, Larry (ed.) | Albert Square & Me: The Actors of EastEnders | 2009 | iUniverse | ISBN 9781440159879 |
| Author | Title | Year | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dobson, Anita | My East End | 1987 | Pavilion Books | ISBN 9781851451807 |
| Ritchie, Jean | The Leslie Grantham Story: the Secret Life of "Dirty Den" | 1989 | Angus & Robertson | ISBN 9780207162411 |
| Taylforth, Gillian | Kathy And Me | 1995 | Bloomsbury Publishing | ISBN 9780747523512 |
| Reid, Mike | T'rific | 1999 | Partridge Press | ISBN 9781852252779 |
| McCutcheon, Martine, with Wright, Matthew | Who Does She Think She Is?: My Autobiography | 2000 | Random House | ISBN 9780712669894 |
| Richard, Wendy | Wendy Richard: My Life Story | 2000 | André Deutsch | ISBN 9780233999180 |
| Windsor, Barbara | All of Me: My Extraordinary Life | 2000 | Headline Publishing Group | ISBN 9780747270072 |
| Palmer, Patsy | All of Me: Life, Love and Addiction | 2007 | Hodder & Stoughton | ISBN 9780340924112 |
| Author | Title | Year | Publisher | Central character(s) | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book One: Home Fires Burning | 1986 | Inner Circle Books | Lou Beale | ISBN 9781850180456 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Two: Swings and Roundabouts | 1986 | Inner Circle Books | Beale family | ISBN 9781850180500 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Three: Good Intentions | 1986 | Inner Circle Books | Debbie Wilkins and Andy O'Brien | ISBN 9781850180494 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Four: The Flower of Albert Square | 1986 | Inner Circle Books | Ethel Skinner | ISBN 9781850180524 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Five: Blind Spots | 1986 | Inner Circle Books | Den and Angie Watts | ISBN 9781850180593 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Six: Hopes and Horizons | 1986 | Inner Circle Books | Lofty Holloway | ISBN 9781850180616 |
| Miller, Hugh | Teen EastEnders - Solid Ground | 1986 | André Deutsch | Sharon Watts | ISBN 9780233981239 |
| Miller Hugh | Teen EastEnders - Growing Pains | 1986 | André Deutsch | Cassie Carpenter | ISBN 9780233981246 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Seven: The Baffled Heart | 1987 | Inner Circle Books | Dot Cotton | ISBN 9781850180685 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Eight: Growing Wild | 1987 | Inner Circle Books | Mary Smith | ISBN 9781850180692 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Nine: A Place in Life | 1987 | Inner Circle Books | Lofty Holloway | ISBN 9781850180760 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Ten: A Single Man | 1987 | Inner Circle Books | Colin Russell | ISBN 9781850180777 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Eleven: Taking Chances | 1987 | Inner Circle Books | James Willmott-Brown | ISBN 9780586072288 |
| Miller, Hugh | EastEnders - Book Twelve: Elbow Room | 1988 | Inner Circle Books | Simon Wicks | ISBN 9781850180814 |
| Miller, Hugh | Teen EastEnders - Heroes | 1988 | Lions | Simon Wicks | ISBN 9780006932352 |
| Miller, Hugh | Teen EastEnders - An Eye for Business | 1988 | Lions | Barry Clark | ISBN 9780006932369 |
| Lock, Kate | EastEnders - Blood Ties: The Life and Loves of Grant Mitchell | 1998 | BBC Books | Grant Mitchell | ISBN 9780563384830 |
| Lock, Kate | EastEnders - Tiffany's Secret Diary | 1998 | BBC Books | Tiffany Mitchell | ISBN 9780563551041 |
| Lock, Kate | EastEnders - Bianca's Secret Diary | 1999 | BBC Books | Bianca Jackson | ISBN 9780563551621 |
| Lock, Kate | EastEnders - Steve Owen: Still Waters | 2001 | BBC Books | Steve Owen | ISBN 9780563537229 |
Several EastEnders spin-off episodes have been produced, which look at the history of some of the characters using flashbacks. They are often a lead up for a character's return to the show or follow characters who have departed from the show in an overseas setting. These spin-offs are usually set outside the usual location of Albert Square. The first of these was Civvy Street, which aired in December 1988. It was set in Albert Square during World War II and featured younger versions of some of the soap's characters. Other episodes include Dot's Story, Perfectly Frank, Ricky & Bianca, Pat and Mo and The Return of Nick Cotton.
Documentaries have also been produced, particularly for the 10th, 15th and 20th anniversaries of the show looking back at the history of the show's inception, its characters and storylines. A behind-the-scenes documentary, EastEnders Revealed, aired regularly on BBC Choice and continued on BBC Three after the closure of BBC Choice. The first episode was in October 1999 and the show continued regularly until October 2005, with a few episodes still being made after this. A series of documentary shows, similar to EastEnders Revealed aired from 2006. EastEnders Xtra was an interactive series available between February and May 2005 via BBCi.
There have also been two EastEnders Christmas specials, and two charity specials: Dimensions in Time was a crossover with the science fiction series Doctor Who, and Pudding Lane relocated the characters to Pudding Lane in 1666. Both charity specials were made for Children in Need and neither are considered canon.
EastEnders' official website is located at the URL www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders and is part of BBC Online, the official website of the BBC. The website contains information on the cast and characters in the show, as well as games, news and interviews. The website was redesigned in 2007, with the new version going live on 20 April 2007. Another updated website went live in December 2009, to tie in with the show's 25th anniversary in February 2010. The site contains new features and is based on feedback from users of the website.[1] Occasionally, a character in the show sets up their own website. These websites are also created in reality; examples are watchagrownmanrot.com, rudemasood.co.uk, desperaterussianhousewives.co.uk and godlypodly.co.uk.
In October 2009, a 12-part Internet spin-off series entitled EastEnders: E20 was announced. The series was conceived by executive producer Diederick Santer "as a way of nurturing new, young talent, both on- and off-screen, and exploring the stories of the soaps' anonymous bystanders."[2] EastEnders: E20's characters are a group of sixth form students and it targets the "Hollyoaks demographic". It was written by a team of young writers and was shown on the EastEnders website in January 2010.[2] A second series was commissioned for later in 2010 and a third for 2011.
An internet mini-series, Lauren's Diaries, began in 2010, featuring Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) and giving an insight into her thoughts and feelings. A second series started in April 2011. The episodes feature on the official EastEnders website.[3]
The first EastEnders video was EastEnders – The Queen Vic, which looked at the major events in the lives of Angie Watts, Den Watts, Jan Hammond and Michelle Fowler, such as the birth of Michelle's baby, Vicki. The next video EastEnders – The Den and Angie Years, released in 1994. It included all of Den and Angie's moments such as their second honeymoon. In 1998, EastEnders – The Mitchells – Naked Truths was released, which was put together by writers such as Simon Ashdown, Tony Jordan and Christopher Reason. This video looked back at some of the most memorable storylines of Phil, Grant and Peggy Mitchell. This was essentially a two-hander between Phil and Grant, set in The Queen Victoria public house, intercut with flashbacks.
To celebrate 15 years of EastEnders, a special video, 15 Years of EastEnders, was released. The video included some of the highlights of the show, including Den serving Angie with divorce papers, Grant discovering his wife Sharon and his brother Phil's affair, Tiffany Mitchell's death and funeral, and Carol Jackson confronting her daughter Bianca over her relationship with Dan Sullivan.
The first EastEnders DVD was Slaters in Detention, released in November 2003 and also available on VHS. It contained a special comedic episode of EastEnders starring the Slater family. It was written by Tony Jordan, who helped devise the characters. It began with the female members of the Slater family dressed up in school uniform for a local disco, and they end up in a police cell where they reflect on the events of their lives, such as Kat revealing that Zoe was her daughter and Little Mo's marriage to Trevor Morgan. It also includes outtakes and an alternative ending to Little Mo's trial.[4]
A DVD entitled EastEnders: Last Tango in Walford was released on 8 February 2010 to coincide with the show's 25th anniversary. It focuses on the characters Tiffany Dean (Maisie Smith) and Liam Butcher (James Forde) in the run up to their mother Bianca Jackson's (Patsy Palmer) wedding to their father Ricky Butcher (Sid Owen). Cast interviews and archive footage also feature.[5]
The EastEnders theme tune was released on record in 1986 featuring the orchestra of the themes creator, Simon May. The tune was later turned into a song, titled "Anyone Can Fall in Love". The lyrics were created by Don Black, and it was recorded in 1986 by EastEnders star Anita Dobson, known as Angie Watts in the show. It reached number four in the UK Singles Chart, and Dobson appeared on Top Of The Pops.
A one-off album entitled The EastEnders' Sing-A-Long Album was released in 1986 on BBC Records. It featured most of the original cast and was an album of medleys containing well known cockney knees-up songs such as "Knees Up Mother Brown" and "Roll Out the Barrel". The record is notable for containing a Doctor Legg solo effort, performed by the actor who portrayed the character, Leonard Fenton. The album reached number 54 in the UK Albums Chart.[6]
Two songs from the show were released as singles. "Every Loser Wins" by Nick Berry (Simon Wicks) reached number one in the UK Singles Chart. "Something Outa Nothing" by Letitia Dean (Sharon Watts) and Paul Medford (Kelvin Carpenter) reached number 12. Both songs were featured in a storyline where the characters formed a band called The Banned.
In 1999, BBC Music in association with Telstar released a single with performances by Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchell) and Mike Reid (Frank Butcher). They came together to release the song "The More I See You", based on their characters' wedding.
One of the first products was a BBC EastEnders Knitting Collection pattern book which was released exclusively to high street store Woolworths in 1986. It contains many of EastEnders' characters at the time wearing the patterns shown in the book.
In 1988, a board game titled EastEnders the Game was released based on the characters and setting of the show. This game has since been reproduced. Since then there have also been items such as an EastEnders fridge magnet featuring The Queen Victoria pub and a hand-painted ceramic teapot based on The Queen Victoria, which was designed by Anne Rowe.
There has also been EastEnders the Arcade Game, which was published by Macsen Software in 1987. The game was available for the ZX Spectrum 48K. In the Xleague TV series, Wez and Larry's Top Tens, it was voted the third worst video game based on a TV license of all-time.
In November 2006, a wall calendar for 2007 was released, featuring pictures of the cast dressed as characters from William Shakespeare's plays, in aid of Children in Need.[7] A range of EastEnders T-shirts were released through Topshop in 2010.[8]
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