The other major soap opera in the United Kingdom, Eastenders, is set in the fictional borough of Walford in East London. Though not as long-running as other soap operas, Eastenders is probably the third-longest British soap opera since it began in 1985 and was created by the BBC as its answer to both Coronation Street and Emmerdale at ITV. With its own colorful cast of city characters, the show has largely focused on several groups of families, including the Beales, Brannings, Mitchells, Slaters, and Watts. This long history and large cast mean that there have been plenty of drama over the last thirty-eight years, producing plenty of interesting facts.

Watered Down Drinks

While the Rovers’ drinks are intentionally weak for the actors, they are at least somewhat the real thing. Eastenders’ Queen Vic, on the other hand, uses water for vodka, water with burnt sugar for whiskey, and watered-down apple juice for white wine. However, the QV has it over on Coronation Street in that the beer pulls are functional, serving up actual ale. Post-lockdown, the show added a beer garden to the famous fictional pub as it keeps up with the times.

Scene of the Crime

The outside of the Queen Vic has seen more murders than the rest of the fictional borough over the show’s history. Might not want to stay out after closing time.

Bargain Wardrobe

Dot Cotton’s clothes on the show were mostly from charity shops. Her character also famously wears the same dress every Christmas and said dress is quite possibly the oldest piece of clothing on the show.

The Oner

Dot Cotton is also the first character on the show to have an entire episode to herself. The episode “Pretty Baby” aired in 2008 and featured Dot recording a voice message for her husband who is in the hospital recovering from a stroke. Actress June Brown was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actress for the episode, the first time a soap opera actress was nominated since 1988.

Expensive Taste

In contrast to Dot’s spendthrift attire, Peggy Mitchell has one of the more expensive wardrobes of any Eastenders character. This is arguably due to the fact that actress Barbara Windsor had a lot to say in what Peggy wore each episode.

The Real Places

Eastenders is based on the experiences of the show’s creators, Julia Smith and Tony Holland, who grew up in East London. The name “Walford” is a portmanteau of “Walthamstow” and “Stratford” where they were born, respectively. As such, many places from the show are based on real-life parts of East London. Albert Square, for example, was based upon Fassett Square in the Dalston area of Hackney.

Carrying the Torch

As part of the leadup to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the Olympic torch actually went through Walford. It was carried by the character Billy Mitchell (actor Perry Fenwick) as an official torch bearer. Roughly seven minutes of live footage of Billy running with the torch was used for the episode.

We’re Live!

The Olympics episode isn’t the only time the show has ever gone live. In 2010, “Eastenders Live” was broadcast as a 25th Anniversary special. The filming of the episode involved fifty-one different characters who were part of the cast.

Theme Music

Pat Butcher and Peggy Mitchell are the only two characters in the show to have their own theme music. It makes sense, considering what utter pillars of the fictional community they are.

Don’t Use My Real Name

Much like filmmakers will use “Alan Smithee” to distance themselves from terrible works, Eastenders as “Julia Honour”. The idea for the name is that a script is so horrendously bad that it necessitates a complete rewrite to protect “Julia’s honour”. This happened roughly 54 times between 1998 and 2018.