Eastenders

EASTENDERS. British soap opera created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC1 since 1985. Set in Albert Square London, the programme follows the stories of local residents and their families as they go about their daily lives. Initially there were two 30-minute episodes per week but since 2001 episodes have been broadcast every weekday apart from Wednesdays. Within eight months of the show's launch, it reached the No1 spot in BARB's TV ratings and has consistently remained among the top-rated TV programmes in Britain. As of May 2016, the show has won nine BAFTAs and the Inside Soap Award for Best Soap for 14 years running (from 1997 to 2012). The legendary Christmas Day 1986 episode in which cheating husband Den Watts (Leslie Grantham d2018) hands divorce papers to his wife Angie (Anita Dobson) attracted a record breaking TV drama audience of 30.1 million viewers.