TV Soap: Eastenders (30th Anniversary Part 2)

In my post yesterday I predicted that mistakes would be made in the live episodes being shown for the 30th anniversary week of "Eastenders". I was right, but I didn't expect such a whopper. Actress Jo Joyner, who plays Tanya Branning, got Ian Beale's name wrong when she asked his fiancée Jane (Laurie Brett) about him. She referred to him as Adam, which is the actor's real name, Adam Woodyat. Funny. This led to a strained pause as both actresses realised there had been a blunder.

Today I also watched the very first episode of "Eastenders" that was shown again to commemorate the anniversary. It was preceded by the above warning screen. That's so weird. Are today's television audiences really so much more sensitive than they were 30 years ago? I'm not 100% sure what the warning refers to. There were a few racist comments, but they were in no way condoned by the show. There were racists in 1985, and there are racists today. The show just wanted to give an accurate display of life in the East End of London. Maybe the difference is that today the ones who feel that they are the targets of racism react more violently.

It was interesting to see which actors were in the original episode who have remained with the series for 30 years. There are four of them. Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), Nick Cotton (John Altman), Silent Tracey (Jane Slaughter) and of course Ian Beale (Adam Woodyat).