A soap opera , daytime drama , or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial , frequently characterized by melodrama , ensemble casts , and sentimentality . The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by " horse opera ", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.
191-399: " Queen Vic Fire Week " is a group of four episodes of the BBC soap opera EastEnders , broadcast between 6 and 10 September 2010 on BBC One . The episodes included a fire at The Queen Victoria public house , also known as The Queen Vic or The Vic, and the departure of the character Peggy Mitchell , portrayed by Barbara Windsor , who left the series after sixteen years in the role. During
382-654: A circumcision operation. He takes Vanessa to Walford and dumps her bags outside Max's house, realises who Max really is, and asks Vanessa what Max has that he does not, to which she says he can manage sex more than once a week. Harry says they are welcome to each other and leaves, taking Vanessa's car. However, when Jodie reveals to Vanessa that Harry is heartbroken, Vanessa ends her affair with Max and moves back to Chigwell. Harry then comes to Walford with Vanessa and Jodie to meet Darren. At Vanessa's birthday party, Max's ex-wife Tanya ( Jo Joyner ) tells Vanessa that Max misses her and she should go back to him. Jodie sees that Harry
573-567: A 3.9% share of the audience during broadcast. The 7 September episode, in which Stacey confessed to Peggy that she killed Archie, was viewed by 8.60 million people on BBC One and 990,000 on BBC Three, with audience shares of 34.9% and 4.7% respectively. The fire episode on 9 September received 9.40 million viewers and a 41% share of the audience, and the BBC Three repeat saw 1.59 million viewers (7.4%) tuning in. Peggy's departure on 10 September received 10.09 million viewers for BBC One,
764-468: A 38.1% share during broadcast, and the later BBC Three repeat was watched by 1.16 million viewers, attaining a 5.3% share. Additionally, the four episodes were the most-watched programmes on BBC One that week and the Friday episode was the second most-watched on all channels. The fire and Peggy's exit episodes garnered a mixed reception by critics. Liam Tucker, founder of website Watch With Mothers, compared
955-601: A 40-year-plus run, were cancelled in 2011. All My Children aired its network finale in September 2011, with One Life to Live following suit in January 2012. Both All My Children and One Life to Live were briefly revived online in 2013, before being cancelled again that same year. In 2019, production of Days of Our Lives was put on "indefinite hiatus" and all of the cast's contracts were terminated, raising concerns within soap publications that cancellation would ensue, though
1146-646: A 72-year run (including radio). As the World Turns aired its final episode on September 17, 2010, after a 54-year run. As the World Turns was the last of 20 soap operas produced by Procter & Gamble, the soap and consumer goods company from which the genre got its name. As the World Turns and Guiding Light were also among the last of the soaps that originated from New York City. All My Children , another New York–based soap, moved its production out to Los Angeles in an effort to reduce costs and raise sagging ratings; however, both it and One Life to Live , each with
1337-440: A brief return to EastEnders on 1 January 2016. Danny Mitchell is played by soap newcomer Liam Bergin and made his first appearance on 21 January 2010. He is the son of Glenda Mitchell ( Glynis Barber ) and half brother to Ronnie ( Samantha Womack ) and Roxy Mitchell ( Rita Simons ). His arrival and casting were announced on 26 December 2009. The character is described as a "loveable rogue" and "a charmer with an eye for
1528-452: A chequered past is an understatement and it's no secret that Dotty's upbringing was marred by her parents." He said further: "Sandy's arrival catches Dotty off guard and she'll be forced to confront everything she's tried to leave behind." Sandy is Dotty Cotton 's ( Molly Conlin ) mother. She turns up at Dot Branning 's ( June Brown ) house looking for her daughter, Kirsty, but Dot says she knows nobody of that name. Dot and Sandy meet up in
1719-400: A dead body, but hey, even if you do, he or she can always come back to play the evil identical twin. Marlena Laird in 1992, during her time as a line producer and director for General Hospital . Romance , secret relationships, extramarital affairs, and genuine hate have been the basis for many soap opera storylines. In US daytime serials, the most popular soap opera characters, and
1910-479: A delivery of it. Jay Brown ( Jamie Borthwick ) meets him with the jewellery, but Connor under-pays him and threatens him not to tell Phil. However Jay then confronts him again and beats him up, retrieving the cash owed in the process. Connor meets up with Whitney and flirts with her. He also asks her to help him sell the stolen jewellery, which she agrees to. However, Phil's partner Shirley Carter ( Linda Henry ) buys it and Phil finds out. He tells Connor to sell it by
2101-444: A drink and then says he smells cigarette smoke on her. She lies that she was out with friends but he says one of her friends called earlier that day and has not seen Vanessa for weeks. Vanessa then says she went out on her own as she could not face being bored at home, and admits to smoking, which Harry dislikes. He wonders if she is seeing someone else, and after he watches Vanessa go upstairs to bed, he moves an ornament back to where it
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#17328523567232292-593: A family party. However, Jack Branning ( Scott Maslen ) is the one who is shot. The next day, Connor arrives looking for Billie, and reveals that Kylie has been arrested. Months later, Connor arrives at Billie's birthday party with four friends who bring plenty of alcohol. The next morning, after everyone has left, Billie is found dead. The next week, Billie's mother Carol Jackson ( Lindsey Coulson ) visits Connor in Balham, who says he has heard that Billie died. Carol rants at him, blaming him for Billie's death, and bans him from
2483-428: A few weeks later and take Billie for drinks where they are told to leave by Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden ). The gang decide to rob the pub using a fake gun, and they get away with the money. Billie then realises the real gun that he hid has gone missing after Kylie found it earlier. Kylie tells Billie he must choose between the gang or Whitney. Billie chooses Whitney, so Kylie takes revenge by trying to shoot him during
2674-463: A fixture of American daytime television in the early 1950s, joined by game shows , sitcom reruns and talk shows. In 1988, H. Wesley Kenney , who at the time served as the executive producer of General Hospital , said to The New York Times : I think people like stories that continue so they can relate to these people. They become like a family, and the viewer becomes emotionally involved. There seem to be two attitudes by viewers. One, that
2865-511: A funeral. Once Tylo reprised her character in 2005, a retcon explained that Taylor had actually gone into a coma. Stunts and complex physical action are largely absent, especially from daytime serials. Such story events often take place off-screen and are referred to in dialogue instead of being shown. This is because stunts or action scenes are difficult to adequately depict without complex movements, multiple takes, and post-production editing. When episodes were broadcast live, post-production work
3056-402: A letter of apology, but Mercy bins it. Upset with the amount of litter around the streets, she urges Mercy and Fatboy to volunteer to pick it up. She takes Mercy's friends, Zsa Zsa Carter ( Emer Kenny ) and Leon Small ( Sam Attwater ), to get their GCSE results and says she used to be a teacher. The next month Leon breaks one of her commemorative plates and Fatboy tries to create a new one in
3247-647: A long-running controversial storyline for Ronnie Branning ( Samantha Womack ) and Kat Moon ( Jessie Wallace ). Fatima Inzamam is the wife of Inzamam Ahmed ( Paul Bhattacharjee ) and mother of Jamila (Sara Aisha Kent) and Ali (Omar Kent). She made her first screen appearance on 1 January 2010 played by an uncredited actress. Anu Hasan took over the role for Fatima's return from 15 May 2015. She first appears before Syed Masood 's ( Marc Elliott ) wedding to Amira Shah ( Preeya Kalidas ) but leaves when Inzamam's brother Masood Ahmed ( Nitin Ganatra ) tells Inzamam he
3438-411: A love interest for Darren Miller ( Charlie G. Hawkins ) and is described as big-hearted with "an infectious smile and a personality to match." Executive producer Bryan Kirkwood told entertainment website Digital Spy , "I'm really excited about Kylie taking on the role of Jodie. She brings yet more fresh energy to the show—she's a ray of sunshine." The character is 19 years old on her arrival and Jodie
3629-485: A luxury of space that makes them seem more naturalistic; indeed, the economics of the form demand long scenes, and conversations that a 22-episodes-per-season weekly series might dispense with in half a dozen lines of dialogue may be drawn out, as here, for pages. You spend more time even with the minor characters; the apparent villains grow less apparently villainous. Soap opera storylines run concurrently, intersect and lead into further developments. An individual episode of
3820-432: A married couple whose onscreen and real-life romance was widely covered by both the soap opera magazines and the mainstream press at large. The first program generally considered to be a "soap opera" or daytime serial by scholars of the genre is Painted Dreams , which premiered on WGN radio Chicago, on October 20, 1930. It was regularly broadcast in a daytime time slot, where most listeners would be housewives; thus,
4011-466: A miscarriage after discovering she is pregnant by her local church's youth minister, Benjamin (Damien Lynch), and facing deportation back to Nigeria. She left EastEnders on 12 July 2011. Grace Olubunmi is the grandmother of Mercy Olubunmi ( Bunmi Mojekwu ). She appears in episode 8 of the first series of EastEnders spin-off EastEnders: E20 , credited only as Mrs. Olubunmi and played by Jay Byrd. New executive producer Bryan Kirkwood introduced
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#17328523567234202-432: A more intelligent woman. He then waits for Peggy and she asks him the same question, to which he says he would have chosen Peggy as he prefers a woman with class. Pat and Peggy meet again and agree they did the right thing, but then both their mobile phones receive text messages at the same time and they walk away from each other smiling. Harvey spends time with Pat while Peggy is away but when Peggy returns he invites her to
4393-454: A note from Grace saying it was not about the job. Dot visits Grace and offers her a few weeks work while Dot is away. Grace feels honoured, and tells Dot she was dismissed for slapping a pupil. Dot thanks her for her honesty. However, when Dot joins a local choir that Grace is a member of, the pair start quarrelling again, as Dot is unimpressed with the singing standard of the group. She later holidays in her native Nigeria but returns in time for
4584-566: A number of soap actors were also accomplished stage actors who performed live theater during breaks from their soap roles. In the 1960s and 1970s, new serials such as General Hospital , Days of our Lives , and The Young and the Restless were produced in Los Angeles . Their success made the West Coast a viable alternative to New York-produced soap operas, which were becoming more costly to perform. By
4775-425: A particular place, or focus on a large extended family. The storylines follow the day-to-day activities and personal relationships of these characters. "Soap narratives, like those of film melodramas, are marked by what Steve Neale has described as 'chance happenings, coincidences, missed meetings, sudden conversions, last-minute rescues and revelations, deus ex machina endings.'" These elements may be found across
4966-550: A place to stay, but Grace refuses. Grace is also upset when Lola Pearce ( Danielle Harold ), Abi Branning ( Lorna Fitzgerald ) and Ben Mitchell (Joshua Pascoe) prank call her and then break her hanging basket. When Faith returns home drunk, Grace slaps her telling her to leave. Although Grace is not seen on-screen after this, she still lives locally and is mentioned on occasion. In April 2013, Max Branning ( Jake Wood ) informs his wife Kirsty ( Kierston Wareing ) that Grace has left Walford to move back to Nigeria, and that her flat
5157-521: A radio drama in January 1937 and subsequently transferred to television in June 1952. With the exception of several years in the late 1940s, during which creator Irna Phillips was involved in a dispute with Procter & Gamble , Guiding Light was heard or seen nearly every weekday from 1937 to 2009, making it the longest story ever told in a broadcast medium. Originally serials were broadcast as 15-minute installments each weekday in daytime slots. In 1956, As
5348-433: A reunion between Max and his former wife Tanya ( Jo Joyner ). Concurrent to their romance, which was extended to span Lucker's increased tenure, Vanessa separates from her controlling husband Harry, and reveals that he is not the father of her teenage daughter Jodie. Lucker describes Vanessa as a glamorous risk-taker, who does not fit into the soap's Albert Square setting. She received critical praise for her comic timing in
5539-538: A score to settle. As Carol walks away, Connor apologises and says he will leave her alone. Kylie is then sentenced to 15 years in prison. When Carol receives Billie's ashes, she takes them to Connor to ask him where Billie might have wanted them scattered. Connor reveals he has nowhere to live so Carol invites him to move in with her and Glenda Mitchell ( Glynis Barber ). They then start a sexual relationship, and Connor starts stealing cars for Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden ). Carol kicks him out after finding cannabis in
5730-510: A series of daily prime time soaps from 2006 to 2007, which aired on newly created sister network MyNetworkTV , but the experiment was largely a failure after disappointing ratings). Due to the masses of episodes produced for a series, release of soap operas to DVD (a popular venue for distribution of current and vintage television series) is considered impractical. With the exception of occasional specials, daytime soap operas are notable by their absence from DVD release schedules (an exception being
5921-520: A short time from 1979 to 1980). More than half of the serials had expanded to one-hour episodes by 1980. As of 2012, three of the four U.S. serials air one-hour episodes each weekday; only The Bold and the Beautiful airs 30-minute episodes. Soap operas were originally broadcast live from the studio, creating what many at the time regarded as a feeling similar to that of a stage play. As nearly all soap operas were originated at that time from New York City ,
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6112-477: A single missing episode) was rerun on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s. After The Edge of Night 's 1984 cancellation, reruns of the show's final five years were shown late nights on USA Network from 1985 to 1989. On January 20, 2000, a digital cable and satellite network dedicated to the genre, Soapnet , began re-airing soaps that originally aired on ABC, NBC and CBS. Newer broadcast networks since
6303-462: A soap opera will generally switch between several concurrent narrative threads that may at times interconnect and affect one another or may run entirely independent to each other. Episodes may feature some of the show's storylines, but not always all of them. Especially in daytime serials and those that are broadcast each weekday, there is some rotation of both storyline and actors so any given storyline or actor will appear in some but usually not all of
6494-437: A third of the total viewing audience. They were the most watched programmes on BBC One in the week of broadcast, and the Friday episode was the second-most watched show across all channels. The episodes received a mixed response from critics. Several highlighted inaccuracies and implausibilities in the storyline, including the lack of fire alarms and sprinklers in the pub. Others focussed on Peggy's departure, with James McCarthy of
6685-400: A tour bus. Pat and Peggy catch him up and take over the tour guide's microphone, saying that Harvey is vermin and slapping him before they get off. Harvey returns to Walford to explain that he wants to carry on seeing them both, but if it can only be as friends then so be it. When he goes to the toilet, Pat reveals that she has slept with Harvey and Peggy reveals that she has not. They realise he
6876-401: A week's worth of episodes. Soap operas rarely conclude all their storylines at the same time. When one storyline ends, there are several other story threads at differing stages of development . Soap opera episodes typically end on some sort of cliffhanger , and the season finale (if a soap incorporates a break between seasons) ends in the same way, only to be resolved when the show returns for
7067-527: Is Vanessa Gold 's ( Zöe Lucker ) husband and stepfather to Jodie ( Kylie Babbington ). The character was announced on 15 June 2010 and appears from 23 June. He was created by Simon Ashdown and was described by Kris Green from entertainment website Digital Spy as being controlling and similar to the character Archie Mitchell ( Larry Lamb ). He left on 9 November 2010, and returned again on 29 August 2011. Harry first appears when Vanessa returns home from seeing Max Branning ( Jake Wood ). He asks her for
7258-462: Is Babbington's first television role. Jodie left the series on 14 November 2011. Jade , played by Niamh Webb, is a character which meets Lucas Johnson ( Don Gilet ) and appears in the episodes broadcast on 8, 9 and 15 June 2010. Jade first appears when Lucas visits a bar and sees her on her own. He offers to take her somewhere more quiet and they leave together. He takes her to a secluded spot and tells her that drinking and throwing herself at men
7449-440: Is Lily's father. In light of the incident, Peggy decides against reporting Stacey for Lily's sake. She then plans to make a fresh start, bidding her family goodbye and leaving Walford . The episodes were directed by Lee Salisbury and produced by Bryan Kirkwood . The first was written by Daran Little and the remainder by Simon Ashdown . Kirkwood intended to give Windsor an "epic and poignant" departure, as befitting her status as
7640-590: Is a bad influence on her. When the character arrives in EastEnders , she urges Mercy to tell Fatboy that they are moving to Lagos . She makes friends with Liz Turner ( Kate Williams ), mother of Owen Turner ( Lee Ross ) and later tells Fatboy about their plans. She hosts a lunch at the community centre and tells Lucas Johnson ( Don Gilet ) that she has grown fond of London but is going to Lagos for Mercy's sake. Fatboy then realises that neither Grace nor Mercy want to go and makes them realise this after Mercy has returned
7831-743: Is a friend of Billie Jackson 's ( Devon Anderson ) from his housing estate in Balham . Kylie appears between 24 February and 1 April, along with her fellow gang members Connor Stanley ( Arinze Kene ) and Mitch Gannon ( Theo Barklem-Biggs ). Billie returns to Balham with Whitney Dean ( Shona McGarty ) and Kylie tells him he belongs with his crew. The next week, Whitney goes there looking for Billie, and when she meets Kylie, she insults her and Kylie and her friends attack her, telling her to ask Billie for their gun back. They later arrive in Albert Square and apologise to Whitney, and Billie insists he has disposed of
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8022-506: Is annoyed that they will not get a decision over whether she can stay in the country straight away. Mercy is allowed to stay in the UK but decides to leave anyway over guilt at her deception. Grace waves Mercy off as she leaves in the back of a black cab. Two days later Grace worries when Fatboy does not come home, and finds he stayed with Dot. Fatboy later tells Grace that he will be living with Dot as Grace's house holds too many memories of Mercy. Grace
8213-573: Is being kept in a safe place. Yusef later reveals that he has left him with an old friend called Laila . Masood manages to get Laila's address and goes to retrieve Kamil. Laila refuses to let Masood in as Yusef had told her Masood was dead, but Masood forces his way in and takes back his son. Yusef dies soon after and Kamil's parents reunite. When his parents separate again in February 2013, Kamil leaves Walford with his mother to live in Pakistan. Kamil returns at
8404-405: Is deceitfully posing as Sonia's father, is horrified to discover that Sandy is back and demands Dotty make her leave. On Christmas Day, Dotty reveals the truth about Rocky's identity. However, this does not go down well with Sandy who fears that Dotty has ruined their plan to extort money. Sandy angrily tells Dotty that Rocky is actually her father, and not Nick. A devastated Dotty asks Sandy if she
8595-409: Is for sale. Ava Hartman ( Clare Perkins ) also likes the flat, and eventually buys it, before Max and Kirsty. Grace is not mentioned since. Mercy and Grace's introduction to EastEnders made them the first Nigerian family to appear in the series. Mojekwu, who plays Mercy, was surprised at how long it took the programme to represent her community in the series, but congratulated them for doing so. On
8786-467: Is just trying to get as much sex as he can and plan to humiliate him. Pat leaves Peggy and Harvey alone and Peggy says that night she was going to sleep with Harvey and they could still do so. He goes upstairs and Peggy steals his clothes. When he comes downstairs, Pat and Peggy are waiting and they tell him to leave after Pat throws his clothes out the door. Harvey has a sheet around him but Pat snatches it off him before he leaves humiliated. Mercy Olubunmi
8977-445: Is like a mother to her. Peggy tells Ronnie to give her real mother, Glenda ( Glynis Barber ), another chance. Peggy's daughter Sam ( Danniella Westbrook ) does not want her to leave as Peggy promised to look after Sam's baby Richard for her, however, Peggy says she is old now and the baby needs a strong mother. Peggy gives her jewellery to Sam to sell so she has some money. Peggy speaks to Phil, accepting responsibility for making him
9168-519: Is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the actor with the longest uninterrupted performance in a single role. A number of performers played roles for 20 years or longer, occasionally on more than one show. Rachel Ames played Audrey Hardy on both General Hospital and Port Charles from 1964 until 2007, and returned in 2009. Susan Lucci played Erica Kane in All My Children from
9359-637: Is no longer welcome at the wedding. In May 2015, Fatima visits after being contacted by her niece Shabnam Masood ( Rakhee Thakrar ) to find her a husband for an arranged marriage, frustrated at her boyfriend Kush Kazemi 's ( Davood Ghadami ) inability to commit. Fatima invites the suitor, Asim ( Nitin Kundra ), to the house and introduces him to Shabnam. However, when Shabnam dodges the question of future children, Fatima confronts her, revealing she knows Shabnam abandoned her daughter on her doorstep seven years earlier. She tells Shabnam that she does not keep in touch with
9550-500: Is not good enough for Ryan, but he reassures her and they marry. Stacey attends their wedding reception in The Queen Victoria, leaving Lily in a bedroom upstairs. She is surprised by a photograph of Peggy and Archie, and is frightened to hear Phil making noises in the living room. Stacey tells Peggy that she thinks Archie is alive and locked upstairs. Peggy assures Stacey that Archie is dead, telling her that Bradley killed him, as he
9741-598: Is not scheduled or because of last-minute deferrals of scheduled episodes to the following day because of breaking news coverage. ( Temporary production stoppages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic similarly resulted in CBS and ABC airing older reruns of The Young and the Restless , The Bold and the Beautiful and General Hospital during the Spring and Summer of 2020 in order to ration first-run episodes and, eventually, to fill airtime after
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#17328523567239932-470: Is not uncommon for a single character to be played by multiple actors. The key character of Mike Karr on The Edge of Night was played by three actors. Conversely, several actors have remained playing the same character for many years, or decades even. Helen Wagner played Hughes family matriarch Nancy Hughes on American soap As the World Turns from its April 2, 1956, debut through her death in May 2010. She
10123-416: Is or once was married to Nick. In October 2021, eleven years later, Sandy returns and gatecrashes a private party at Ruby Allen 's ( Louisa Lytton ) nightclub and ordered to leave by Vinny Panesar ( Shiv Jalota ). Sandy refuses to and she is bounced by club security. Sonia Fowler ( Natalie Cassidy ) finds Sandy drunk in the street, demanding to see Dotty (now played by Milly Zero ). Sandy then returns to
10314-471: Is played by Bunmi Mojekwu . Mercy originally appears in the Internet spin-off series EastEnders: E20 as one of the main characters, alongside Zsa Zsa Carter ( Emer Kenny ), Leon Small ( Sam Attwater ) and Fatboy ( Ricky Norwood ), between 8 and 25 January 2010, however, she was the only character from the spin-off to not feature in EastEnders . Mojekwu's casting was announced on 25 November 2009, and It
10505-424: Is pleased to see her but she realises she was only with him because of her grief over Billie. He tries to make a move on her but she rejects him. The incident gives Carol closure and she is able to scatter Billie's ashes. The original storyline was criticised by Ruth Deller of lowculture .co.uk, calling it flawed and unrepresentative of the real Balham. A writer on website Balham People expanded on this, saying that
10696-432: Is revealed that Connor has been sleeping with both Carol and Whitney, Bianca attacks Connor with a metal pipe, leaving him hospitalised. Carol visits Connor in hospital but his mother Kendra ( Sharon D. Clarke ) arrives and tells Carol to go home and leave Connor alone, and Connor tells Carol he now has his mother and does not need her. Carol pays Connor a visit after Whitney goes missing to see if he knows where she is. He
10887-538: Is said to be a potential love interest for characters Peggy Mitchell ( Barbara Windsor ) and Pat Evans ( Pam St Clement ). Jarvis said on his casting: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be a potential thorn between two roses working with two actresses I greatly admire and have had the pleasure of working with before. I'm delighted to be reunited with Pam and Barbara and to have a part in EastEnders ." He arrives in The Queen Victoria public house to interview Peggy on
11078-449: Is sentenced to 15 years in prison. The storyline was criticised by Ruth Deller of lowculture .co.uk, calling it flawed and unrepresentative of the real Balham, and describing Kylie as an "irritant". A writer on website Balham People expanded on this, saying that the writers had not researched Balham properly. An EastEnders spokesperson responded, saying "Although some of Billie's friends or associates are from Balham we have never implied
11269-499: Is shocked when Shabnam brings up Denise Fox ( Diane Parish ) and Stacey Slater 's ( Lacey Turner ) past relationships, discovering that Denise's ex-husband, Lucas Johnson ( Don Gilet ), is a serial killer and that Stacey had an affair with her father-in-law, Max Branning ( Jake Wood ). Fatima is also shocked to discover Shabnam had been in numerous relationships previously and is unimpressed when Denise, Stacey and Kush's mother Carmel ( Bonnie Langford ) drink alcohol, worrying about
11460-416: Is still not happy. Grace later gives Dot her CV to give to her boss, and Dot says there is not a job for her but Grace tells her that Jesus disagrees. The next day, Grace asks Dot if she has looked at her CV yet. Dot says Grace is overqualified as she used to be a teacher. Grace says she will not be teaching again as she was dismissed from her last job. Later, Dot finds a tin of cakes in the launderette with
11651-462: Is surprised when Mercy's sister Faith Olubunmi ( Modupe Adeyeye ) arrives from Nigeria and moves in with her. Faith later holds a party at Grace's house and she has sex with Fatboy but they are caught by Grace. The next day, when Faith returns home drunk, Grace slaps her and kicks her out of the house. Following this, Grace makes appearances in EastEnders: E20 , where Faith continues to ask her for
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#173285235672311842-446: Is telling the truth but Sandy leaves. In September 2022, Dotty confronts Rock, who says that he can't be her father, as he and Sandy never had sex and that Nick is actually her dad, proving that Sandy was lying. In 2022, Laura-Jayne Tyler from Inside Soap called Sandy "chaotic" and called for her return, writing that there was huge "storyline potential" for her and Dotty that was being wasted. Kylie , played by Elarica Gallacher ,
12033-489: Is the niece of regular character Shirley Carter ( Linda Henry ), with whom she is said to have a lot in common. She is described as "Beautiful, funky and an outspoken tomboy," as well as "a lone wolf [who] doesn't care about anyone." Zsa Zsa was axed in May 2010 by new executive producer Bryan Kirkwood , though Kenny continued to write for EastEnders: E20 . Her storylines mostly revolve around her relationship with Leon Small ( Sam Attwater ). The character's last appearance
12224-587: Is the world's longest-running radio soap opera. The longest-running existing television soap is Coronation Street , which was first broadcast on ITV in 1960. According to Albert Moran, one of the defining features that make a television program a soap opera is "that form of television that works with a continuous open narrative. Each episode ends with a promise that the storyline is to be continued in another episode". In 2012, Los Angeles Times columnist Robert Lloyd wrote of daily dramas: Although melodramatically eventful, soap operas such as this also have
12415-442: Is usually just one. The episodes took seventeen days to film, where normally crew are given eight days to film a week's worth of episodes. Between forty and forty-five members of crew were required for filming the fire episode, including assistant directors, a design department, cameras, lighting, sound, make up, costume, visual effects, fire safety officers and a stunt team consisting of a stunt co-ordinator and stunt doubles. Filming
12606-451: Is wrong and that her soul is lost. He says she needs to be cleansed and forces her to pray, but she attempts to fight back. She escapes but Lucas catches up to her, again telling her to beg for God's forgiveness. Lucas then removes his tie, and when he returns home, there are deep scratch marks on his neck. Jade's fate is unknown until Lucas's wife Denise ( Diane Parish ) suspects Lucas is cheating on her, so Lucas takes her to see where he got
12797-474: The Nottingham Evening Post wrote "Never in the history of soap fires, of which there have of course been legion, have so many hilariously overindulgent explosions been captured on camera." The People deemed the lack of deaths "a wasted opportunity." Writing for entertainment news website Digital Spy , Daniel Kilkelly said Peggy's final episode featured "plenty of poignant moments [...]—not least
12988-530: The Western Mail writing that it would "doubtless remain the stuff of EastEnders ' legend for years to come," and Jim Shelley calling it "a good way to go." In contrast, the Daily Mirror 's Polly Hudson found Peggy's exit a nonsensical "non event", and Gareth McLean of The Guardian deemed it "suitably sentimental", but several years overdue. The fire was nominated in the "Best Stunt" category at
13179-513: The BBC soap opera EastEnders during 2010, listed by order of first appearance. Executive producer Diederick Santer left EastEnders on 26 February 2010, handing over to Bryan Kirkwood , who fully took control from 1 March 2010. Santer introduced five new main characters in January, three from the online spin-off EastEnders: E20 , Zsa Zsa Carter ( Emer Kenny ), Leon Small ( Sam Attwater ) and Fatboy ( Ricky Norwood ), as well as two members of
13370-518: The R&;R nightclub , but Janine feels betrayed by Pat when Peggy reveals that she said Janine's marriage would not last. Janine meets a man named Richard Monroe ( Andrew Hall ), who settles her bill. Impressed by his car, Janine leaves with him. Worried about her son Phil ( Steve McFadden ) because of his addiction to the drug crack cocaine , Peggy enlists the help of Minty Peterson ( Cliff Parisi ) and Billy Mitchell ( Perry Fenwick ) to abduct him from
13561-520: The theme tune , called " Peggy's Theme ", was created for Windsor's final episode. It was released as an EP , available for download following the episode, and features as the lead track on composer Simon May 's album The Simon May Collection . The episodes were accompanied by two documentaries on BBC Three , one following the filming of the fire, and the other examining ten of Peggy's most iconic moments in EastEnders . Viewership ranged from 8.60–10.09 million, with no episode watched by less than
13752-415: The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton . She does not watch the wedding, however, as Mercy is leaving because she faces deportation. Grace and Mercy say goodbye to each other but as Mercy's taxi drives off, Fatboy stops it and asks Mercy to marry him. Grace is opposed to the idea at first, until she realises that Fatboy loves Mercy. After Mercy and Fatboy's wedding, Grace attends Mercy's hearing and
13943-516: The "dramatic and distressing" events of EastEnders to publicly highlight the devastation a real fire can cause, urging viewers to be more aware of how to protect themselves. Soap opera According to some dictionaries, for something to be adequately described as a "soap opera", it doesn't need to be long-running. , but some authors define the word in a way that excludes short-running serial dramas from their definition of "soap opera". BBC Radio 's The Archers , first broadcast in 1950,
14134-542: The 1970s, became one of the first older women on the American serials to enter the workforce. Guiding Light dealt with Bert Bauer ( Charita Bauer ) and her alcoholic husband Bill, and their endless marital troubles. When Bert's status shifted to caring mother and town matriarch, her children's marital troubles were showcased. Search for Tomorrow mostly told its story through the eyes of Joanne Gardner ( Mary Stuart ). Even when stories revolved around other characters, Joanne
14325-455: The 1990s and 2000s incorporated supernatural and science fiction elements into their storylines in an attempt to boost their ratings. One of the main characters on the earlier soap opera Dark Shadows was Barnabas Collins , a vampire, and One Life to Live featured an angel named Virgil. Both shows featured characters who traveled to and from the past. In 1995, Days of our Lives featured a storyline in which fan favorite character Marlena Evans
14516-404: The 2011 All About Soap Bubble Awards. Peggy Mitchell ( Barbara Windsor ), who has just regained her status as landlady of The Queen Victoria public house , decides to throw a wedding reception for Janine Butcher ( Charlie Brooks ) and Ryan Malloy ( Neil McDermott ) to let everyone know the pub is hers again. Peggy's friend Pat Evans ( Pam St Clement ) arranges a hen party for Janine at
14707-420: The Internet spin-off EastEnders: E20 . He is one of four characters created for the spin-off who also appear in the main show. Norwood's casting was announced on 25 November 2009. Fatboy is described as having "invented all manner of personas since he was seven years old—in an attempt to avoid being his real self. His current and most sustained self-creation is brash wheeler-dealer Fatboy." The character left
14898-399: The U.S. since the 2000s. As of September 2022, only four daytime soap operas – General Hospital , Days of Our Lives , The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful – are still in production with three airing on two broadcast networks and one on streaming, down from a total of 12 soaps broadcast during the 1990–91 season and a high of 19 in the 1969–70 season. This marks
15089-452: The World Turns and The Edge of Night , both produced by Procter & Gamble Productions , debuted as the first half-hour soap operas on the CBS television network. All soap operas broadcast half-hour episodes by the end of the 1960s. With increased popularity in the 1970s, most soap operas had expanded to an hour in length by the end of the decade ( Another World even expanded to 90 minutes for
15280-537: The announcement of Mojekwu's departure, it was revealed that Mercy's family would remain in the series. Bryan Kirkwood confirmed this. In October 2011, Thomas received a special mention at the Screen Nation Awards, which celebrate the best British Black talent. Vanessa Gold , played by Zöe Lucker , is a businesswoman who is described as "dynamic and assured" and is a love interest for Max Branning ( Jake Wood ). The character first appears on 4 June. She
15471-638: The area had a problem with gangs". The Balham People writer feared that viewers who do not know the area would make "subconscious erroneous judgements almost by osmosis." Connor Stanley , played by Arinze Kene , is a friend of Billie Jackson 's ( Devon Anderson ) from his housing estate in Balham . He appears between 1 March and 2 April along with his fellow gang members Kylie ( Elarica Gallacher ) and Mitch Gannon ( Theo Barklem-Biggs ). Connor appears again from 8 October 2010 until 24 January 2011, and again on 15 March 2011. When Whitney Dean ( Shona McGarty ) goes to Balham looking for Billie, Connor and
15662-424: The baby but abortion is forbidden by her faith. In February 2010, Zainab becomes locked inside her office unable to contact anyone when her labour starts. She is found by Christian Clarke ( John Partridge ) who contacts Masood and his two sons Syed ( Marc Elliott ) and Tamwar ( Himesh Patel ). Christian calls for an ambulance, but the baby starts to come so Christian passes on instructions while Masood delivers
15853-401: The baby. Kamil is not breathing when he is born, so Christian instructs Masood to perform CPR, saving the infant's life. Zainab is then taken to hospital where she and Masood name their son. Kamil's parents divorce, and Zainab marries Yusef Khan ( Ace Bhatti ) soon afterwards. Yusef wants to move to Pakistan and fearful that Zainab will not go with him, he kidnaps Kamil, telling Zainab that he
16044-546: The café and Sandy says she was an alcoholic but gave up the day Dotty's father Nick Cotton ( John Altman ) took her away. Dot later decides to tell Dotty about her mother, who wants to see her. After Sandy visits Dotty, Dot decides that she should live with her mother. Dotty receives an emotional send-off from Dot as she and Sandy leave the Square. In October 2010 during a conversation with Grace Olubunmi ( Ellen Thomas ), Dot refers to Sandy as her daughter-in-law, suggesting that Sandy
16235-401: The cast and crew ventured to Jamaica to tape a love consummation storyline between the characters of Garth and Kathy. During the 1980s, perhaps as a reaction to the evening drama series that were gaining high ratings, daytime serials began to incorporate action and adventure storylines, more big-business intrigue, and an increased emphasis on youthful romance. One of the most popular couples
16426-433: The cast and storylines are rotated across the week's episodes so that each cast member will appear in some but not all episodes. UK and Australian soap operas move through storylines at a faster rate than daytime serials, making them closer to U.S. evening soap operas in this regard. American daytime soap operas feature stylistic elements that set them apart from other shows: Soap opera ratings have significantly fallen in
16617-399: The character to EastEnders in his first episode on 4 June 2010, this time played by Ellen Thomas . She also appeared in series 3 of E20 along with Mercy's younger sister, Faith Olubunmi , who Grace sent to Nigeria to get back on the straight and narrow, but she returns to the UK and is worse than ever. In EastEnders: E20 , Grace tells Mercy that her friend Fatboy ( Ricky Norwood )
16808-457: The charging of Stephen Griffiths with the murder of three prostitutes in Bradford , the decision was made to reshoot the scenes to remove the prostitute references, less than a week before the scenes were due to air. A spokesperson for the programme said the decision was made to "ensure we do not cause distress to the families involved in these tragic events." Harry Gold , played by Linal Haft ,
16999-401: The child's adoptive parents but assures her that she is in good health. After Shabnam accepts Kush's proposal, Fatima confesses to Masood that she and Inzamam have separated, he has moved back to Pakistan and that she lied to Shabnam about her daughter; she knows where she is. Fatima later visits again with Shabnam's wedding dress and makes alterations to it to conceal her pregnancy bump. Fatima
17190-441: The club and causes a commotion, much to Dotty's shock. An argument ensues, where Sandy berates Dotty and Dotty discovers needle tracks on her arms, confirming she is using again. When Dotty asks Sandy what she wants, she tells her she wants money. Dotty attempts to settle Sandy into one of Suki Panesar 's ( Balvinder Sopal ) properties, but Suki evicts her. Meanwhile, Dotty's long-lost uncle Tom 'Rocky' Cotton ( Brian Conley ), who
17381-454: The daily episode format of its daytime counterparts) and Another Life (a soap that combined standard serial drama with religious overtones), during the 1980s. Fox, the fourth "major network" , carried a short-lived daytime soap Tribes in 1990. Yet, other than this and a couple of pilot attempts, Fox mainly stayed away from daytime soaps, and has not attempted them since their ascension to major-network status in 1994 (it did later attempt
17572-503: The demographic group for which soap opera advertisers pay the most. Those who might watch in workplace breakrooms are not counted, as Nielsen does not track television viewing outside the home. The rise of cable and the Internet has also provided new sources of entertainment during the day. The genre's decline has additionally been attributed to reality television displacing soap operas as TV's dominant form of melodrama. An early term for
17763-442: The early 1970s, nearly all soap operas had transitioned to being taped. As the World Turns and The Edge of Night were the last to make the switch, in 1975. Port Charles used the practice of running 13-week " story arcs ," in which the main events of the arc are played out and wrapped up over the 13 weeks, although some storylines did continue over more than one arc. According to the 2006 Preview issue of Soap Opera Digest , it
17954-443: The effect it will have on Masood's reputation. When Carmel questions her relationship with Masood, Fatima is forced to reveal that she is just his sister-in-law, stopping short of revealing that her marriage is over. Once she has finished with Shabnam's dress, Carmel disapproves of the alterations and tells an unimpressed Fatima that Shabnam should not be ashamed to be pregnant, which Shabnam agrees with. Masood later calls Fatima back to
18145-648: The election, Harvey visits them individually, giving them his card and inviting them out for drinks. A week later, they both decide to call him on the same day. He takes Pat out for lunch and Peggy out for dinner without them knowing he is seeing them both. The next day he tries his best to stop them finding out but eventually they realise what he has been doing, so he quickly leaves. Pat and Peggy argue over him but eventually agree not to let him come between their friendship. They tell him so and tell him to get out in unison. Later, Harvey talks to Pat and she asks who he would have chosen if he had to choose. He says Pat as he prefers
18336-455: The end of July when Masood brings him back. During this time Kamil bonds with his uncle AJ Ahmed ( Phaldut Sharma ), and then later leaves again in September and goes back to Pakistan. In November 2015, Zainab sends Kamil to Walford to meet his sister Shabnam ( Rakhee Thakrar ) for the first time and attend her wedding. Masood later contacts Zainab and refuses her access to Kamil unless she comes back to Walford. In December, Kamil auditions for
18527-524: The end of the week. Connor then gives it back to Whitney to look after but Bianca finds it and dumps it down a drain. Bianca tells Phil that Connor should pay, so Phil beats Connor, but is interrupted by Carol. She takes Connor back to her flat where Connor admits he was only with Whitney to make Carol jealous, and they start kissing. They start their relationship again in secret, and spend New Year's Eve together. Connor also starts working for Phil at his garage and starts seeing Whitney behind Carol's back. When it
18718-418: The episode broadcast on 23 February 2010, which was set on 19 February 2010. In August 2009, Zainab is forced to come to terms with the fact that she is 15 weeks pregnant in her mid-40s, and the pregnancy means that her and Masood's plans to see the world have to be cancelled. Zainab is terrified due to her age and the fact a baby will interfere with her career, and she feels trapped because she does not want
18909-504: The episode's use of the song " Murder on the Dancefloor ", featuring the line "Gonna burn this god damn house right down", was "clever". A writer for Heat said "We knew the Vic fire was coming, but actually seeing it was quite another thing, and knowing that it also marked the end of an era with the departure of Barbra [ sic ] Windsor made it that much more emotional." A reporter for
19100-553: The episodes, Peggy—the pub landlady—has her crack cocaine -addicted son Phil ( Steve McFadden ) imprisoned in The Queen Victoria, forcing him to go cold turkey . She later learns that her deceased husband Archie ( Larry Lamb ) was murdered by the person he raped: Stacey Branning ( Lacey Turner ). Before she can report Stacey to the police, Phil escapes and sets the pub on fire. Stacey and her infant daughter Lily are trapped inside, but are rescued by her lover Ryan Malloy ( Neil McDermott ) – prompting Stacey to reveal to him that he
19291-465: The exotic appeal of the stereotypes connected to the location. As examples, EastEnders focuses on the tough and grim life in the East End of London; Coronation Street and its characters exhibit the stereotypical characteristic of "northern straight talking". If we want to blend an actor back into a show, there's always a way. You can generally find a way to twist and manipulate something. You rarely see
19482-404: The explosion happened, she "was actually blown off my feet and landed on Steve McFadden who ended up with bruised ribs". Windsor's final episode on 10 September 2010 did not end with the usual EastEnders theme tune . Instead the occasionally used " Julia's Theme ", a piano version of the theme, was reworked specially for the broadcast, and given the name "Peggy's Theme". The theme was created by
19673-410: The figure to 4.62 million. A documentary looking at the filming of the fire was broadcast on 24 September 2010 on BBC Three . It received 800,000 viewers. The 6 September episode, featuring Janine's hen party, attracted 9.54 million viewers on BBC One. It was watched by 36.1% of television viewers during its original broadcast. The later BBC Three repeat was viewed by 840,000 people, attaining
19864-516: The fire episode to the film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and admired the special effects and performances of the episode, but said that it seemed unlikely that everyone would have escaped safely, especially Stacey and her baby. Roz Laws from the Sunday Mercury wondered if the fire episode was inaccurate due to the lack of fire alarms, sprinklers and emergency lighting in the pub, but noted that
20055-456: The fire was to show the fear, panic and pandemonium that comes when a fire starts and quickly spreads. He wanted the story to be character-led rather than led by the fire, saying that the fire "almost becomes a backdrop". Salisbury said it was hard to make the fire look real because "you can't actually set fire to stuff". As the fire lasted for some time, characters' scenes could be divided up into small sections. Salisbury commented: "Bryan Kirkwood,
20246-428: The first network daytime serial. The main characteristics that define soap operas are "an emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts; some coverage of topical issues; set in familiar domestic interiors with only occasional excursions into new locations". Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in
20437-429: The first new daytime soap opera to premiere on a major broadcast network since Passions in 1999. As women increasingly worked outside of the home, daytime television viewing declined. New generations of potential viewers were not raised watching soap operas with their mothers, leaving the shows' long and complex storylines foreign to younger audiences. As viewers age, ratings continue to drop among young adult women,
20628-511: The first soap opera since Generations to feature an African American cast. On April 12, 2024, CBS renewed The Talk for a 15th and final season, with the show concluding in December 2024. Three days later, on April 15, The Gates (now titled " Beyond the Gates ") was greenlit by CBS and is slated to premiere on February 24, 2025, likely to take the time slot of The Talk , meaning it will be
20819-530: The first time since 1953 that there have been only four soap operas airing on broadcast television . The Young and the Restless , the highest-rated soap opera from 1988 to the present, had fewer than 5 million daily viewers as of February 2012, a number exceeded by several non-scripted programs such as Judge Judy . Circulations of soap opera magazines have decreased and some have even ceased publication. Soapnet, which largely aired soap opera reruns, began to be phased out in 2012 and fully ceased operations
21010-486: The flames as "like a very sooty clockwork mouse". James McCarthy of Welsh newspaper Western Mail said Windsor's "final emotional scene will doubtless remain the stuff of EastEnders ' legend for years to come," and Jim Shelley from the Daily Mirror said "It was a good way to go." However, Shelley's colleague Polly Hudson said Peggy's exit was a "non event", as "Peggy just left, nonsensically and at complete odds with everything we've learnt about her character over
21201-415: The flames, but is forced out by her friends and family. Stacey, unaware of the events, heads upstairs to Lily and becomes trapped. She uses the crowbar to smash a boarded-up window and hands Lily over to Ryan, who has climbed a ladder. Peggy realises Phil is still inside and returns to the building with Billy. They find him trapped beneath a wooden beam, and are able to drag him out to safety. Ryan goes back up
21392-651: The flat he is living in. They bring him back to The Queen Vic, locking him in the living room upstairs, where the windows have been boarded up to stop him from escaping. Stacey Branning ( Lacey Turner ) reveals to Dot Branning ( June Brown ) that her deceased husband Bradley ( Charlie Clements ) is not the father of her baby Lily . Stacey explains to Dot that Bradley knew he was not Lily's father. Dot informs Bradley's father Max ( Jake Wood ), who tells her he already knows. Concerned by Stacey telling people her secrets, he wonders if she has ceased taking medication for her bipolar disorder . He tells her that she needs to keep
21583-414: The flat. However, it is Glenda's and Carol tries to call Connor to ask him to move back in. Carol's daughter Bianca Butcher ( Patsy Palmer ) still does not trust Connor however, and accuses him of manipulating her mother. Carol defends Connor, but then finds out that he is in possession of stolen jewellery, and throws him out again. Connor is handling the jewellery for Phil, and returns to Walford to pay for
21774-495: The following year. The Daytime Emmy Awards , which honor soap operas and other daytime shows, moved from prime time network television to smaller cable channels in 2012, then failed to get any TV broadcast at all in 2014, 2016, and 2017. Several of the U.S.'s most established soaps ended between 2009 and 2012. The longest-running drama in television and radio history, Guiding Light , barely reached 2.1 million daily viewers in 2009 and ended on September 18 of that year, after
21965-743: The funeral. She tells him she hopes one day he loses a child so he will know how she feels. Connor, Mitch and the rest of the gang arrive for Billie's funeral but Carol bans all of them. As the hearse passes, they remove their hoods and masks as a mark of respect. After the funeral, Connor goes to Carol's, angry that she banned him. However, he realises she is about to attempt suicide and tells her it will not work. They both break down about Billie and comfort each other, which leads to them having sex. However, they are interrupted and Connor leaves. At Kylie's sentencing, Connor sees Carol and compliments her on her new hair, and asks if she would come back to his. However, Jack interrupts and tells Connor to watch out as he has
22156-724: The gamut of soap operas, from EastEnders to Dallas . In many soap operas, in particular daytime serials in the US, the characters are frequently attractive, seductive, glamorous and wealthy. Soap operas from the United Kingdom and Australia tend to focus on more everyday characters and situations, and are frequently set in working-class environments. Many of the soaps produced in those two countries explore social realist storylines such as family discord, marriage breakdown or financial problems. Both UK and Australian soap operas feature comedic elements, often affectionate comic stereotypes such as
22347-413: The gossip or the grumpy old man, presented as a comic foil to the emotional turmoil that surrounds them. This diverges from US soap operas where such comedy is rare. UK soap operas frequently make a claim to presenting "reality" or purport to have a "realistic" style. UK soap operas also frequently foreground their geographic location as a key defining feature of the show while depicting and capitalising on
22538-495: The gun. Kylie and Connor turn up at a grime night at The Queen Victoria public house where Kylie gets Whitney drunk, insults Peggy Mitchell ( Barbara Windsor ) and throws drink over her. Outside, Connor sprays graffiti on a bench and then Kylie and Connor run off, leaving Whitney and Billie to suffer the consequences. Kylie, Connor and Mitch return a few weeks later and take Billie for drinks where they are told to leave by Phil Mitchell ( Steve McFadden ). The gang decide to rob
22729-487: The hope Grace will think it is real, but she does not fall for it. However, she praises Fatboy for his eventual honesty and displays the plate with her others. However, when she discovers Mercy has been serving drinks in Alfie Moon 's ( Shane Richie ) illegal den, she berates her granddaughter and says Fatboy has corrupted her. Grace overhears Dot Branning ( June Brown ) planning to collect jumble for her church. Grace collects
22920-409: The hospital, shocked with her confession, refuses to acknowledge his daughter, and goes on his honeymoon with Janine. Peggy goes into the pub and looks around as she remembers events from her time there. She then tells Billy she wants to take Phil away to make a fresh start and to protect him. Her niece Ronnie ( Samantha Womack ) tells Peggy she is five months pregnant and asks Peggy not to leave as she
23111-433: The house and she tells him that she felt that she had married the wrong brother. Shabnam then walks in on them kissing and leaves in shock. Fatima is then outraged to discover that Masood had slept with Carmel, and leaves angrily, telling her nephew, Masood's son Tamwar ( Himesh Patel ), that Masood is just as bad as Inzamam. She returns on the eve of Shabnam and Kush's wedding and helps Shabnam, Carmel, Stacey and Denise with
23302-399: The jumble instead, leaving Dot upset. They quote bible passages to each other to try to show who is in the right, but Grace later admits that she is lonely and just wanted to meet new people. The next day, Mercy tries to get Grace and Dot to make up, by suggesting Grace work in the launderette. Grace puts some shirts in a broken washing machine, which annoys Dot, and after Grace gets it open Dot
23493-420: The key to their former home. Fatboy then says he has a plan for somewhere for them to live, and they move into a property on Albert Square . Grace attends a bible class with Mercy, held by Lucas. She apologises for Mercy's behaviour when she continues to ask about false prophets and a passage that states that anyone who questions a priest should be put to death, causing Lucas to leave. Grace makes Mercy write Lucas
23684-474: The ladder and carries an unconscious Stacey out. Stacey regains consciousness and sees that Lily is safe, and tells Ryan that Lily is his daughter. Peggy stares at the pub as it is completely destroyed. The next day, Peggy visits Stacey in hospital and asks her to confess to burning the pub, as a sentence for arson would be less than one for murder, but Stacey refuses. Peggy realises that Stacey needs to look after her daughter so she leaves. Ryan confronts Stacey at
23875-468: The ladder, several layers of cardboard boxes were stacked on the ground for the stunt doubles to fall onto. For filming the final explosion scene, all the actors whose characters were involved were filmed separately for their reactions. The explosion had to be delayed due to a power failure at Elstree Studios, two minutes before the explosion was due to be set off, which also affected a live broadcast of Big Brother . The power cut lasted two hours and filming
24066-413: The ladies, while guys instantly see him as competition in the alpha male stakes." He departed the serial on 18 June 2010 after being axed by the new executive producer Bryan Kirkwood . His storylines revolved around his attempts to steal Roxy's inheritance. Kamil Masood , played by Arian Chikhlia, is the son of Masood Ahmed ( Nitin Ganatra ) and Zainab Masood ( Nina Wadia ) who is born on screen in
24257-518: The last 15 years." In February 2011, the fire was nominated for 'Best Stunt' at the 2011 All About Soap Bubble Awards. In May, it was nominated for 'Spectacular Scene of the Year' at the 2011 British Soap Awards . In 2015, Inside Soap listed the Queen Vic fire as their 9th favourite soap opera stunt of all time, saying it was "just smoke and mirrors—we wanted proper carnage!" The London Fire Brigade used
24448-435: The late 1960s and into the 1970s. Exterior shots were slowly incorporated into the series The Edge of Night and Dark Shadows . Unlike many earlier serials that were set in fictional towns, The Best of Everything and Ryan's Hope were set in a real-world location, New York City. The first exotic location shoot was made by All My Children , to St. Croix in 1978. Many other soap operas planned lavish storylines after
24639-484: The late 1980s, such as Fox and cable television networks, have largely eschewed soap operas in their daytime schedules, instead running syndicated programming and reruns. No cable television outlet has produced its own daytime serial, although DirecTV 's The 101 Network took over existing serial Passions , continuing production for one season; while TBS and CBN Cable Network respectively aired their own soap operas, The Catlins (a primetime soap that utilized
24830-497: The lead part of Joseph in the Walford Nativity play, a part which Shabnam is unsure of. When Zainab decides to get remarried she sends for Kamil; Tamwar and his girlfriend Nancy Carter ( Maddy Hill ) accompany him on the flight to Pakistan before continuing in their travels around the world. Sandy Gibson , played by Caroline Pegg made her first appearance on 16 February 2010 and departed on 23 February 2010 . In August 2021, it
25021-591: The lead track on the album The Simon May Collection and was also released as an EP available to download immediately after the episode. He revealed: "All the actors and crew had made a really special couple of shows. My main purpose was to bring something to the table, and I didn't think it would be a single. [...] But when everybody heard the track they said 'you've got to release that as the single because it's something special'." A number of trailers were released to television in August 2010 to promote Peggy's departure from
25212-535: The long-established Mitchell family , Glenda Mitchell , played by Glynis Barber , and her son Danny ( Liam Bergin ). February saw the show's first birth of 2010, with Kamil Masood , the fourth child of the established Zainab Masood ( Nina Wadia ) and Masood Ahmed ( Nitin Ganatra ). The same month, Sandy Gibson (Caroline Pegg/ Martha Cope ), the mother of Dotty Cotton ( Molly Conlin / Milly Zero ) appeared. The character of Harvey Freeman , played by Martin Jarvis ,
25403-459: The loving mother the Masood kids never had!" Zsa Zsa Carter is played by Emer Kenny and made her first appearance on 5 January 2010 before appearing in the Internet spin-off EastEnders: E20 . She is one of four characters created for the spin-off who also appear in the main show. Kenny's casting was announced on 25 November 2009. She was cast while writing the second episode of E20 . Zsa Zsa
25594-449: The loyalty of the soap opera fan base and the expansion of several half-hour series into hour-long broadcasts in order to maximise advertising revenues. The article explained that at that time, many prime time series lost money, while daytime serials earned profits several times more than their production costs. The issue's cover notably featured its first daytime soap stars, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives ,
25785-525: The matriarch of The Guiding Light , Bert Bauer, developed uterine cancer (as the actress, Charita Bauer , had been diagnosed with the same illness in real life). The storyline encouraged many women to get pap smears and the CBS mailroom in New York City received a then-record amount of fan mail wishing Bauer (both Bert and Charita) well. Nixon would go on to tell many socially relevant storylines on her soaps One Life to Live and All My Children in
25976-439: The most popular storylines, often involved a romance of the sort presented in paperback romance novels . Soap opera storylines weave intricate, convoluted and sometimes confusing tales of characters who have affairs, meet mysterious strangers and fall in love, and who commit adultery, all of which keeps audiences hooked on the unfolding story. Crimes such as kidnapping, assault (sometimes sexual), and even murder may go unpunished if
26167-421: The original theme tune composer, Simon May , who was reportedly thrilled to write the theme tune for Windsor. He added more piano to the theme and gave it a "more melancholy feel". May composed the theme not knowing what would happen on screen, but when Kirkwood brought a rough edit of the episode, May noted that the music fitted perfectly first time, saying it was "remarkable and very moving." The theme features as
26358-421: The perpetrator is to be retained in the ongoing story. Australian and UK soap operas also feature a significant proportion of romance storylines. In Russia, most popular serials explore the "romantic quality" of criminal and/or oligarch life. In soap opera storylines, previously unknown children, siblings and twins (including the evil variety ) of established characters often emerge to upset and reinvigorate
26549-460: The police about Stacey. They argue, with Phil accusing Peggy of loving the pub more than she loves him and throwing a match to the alcohol-soaked floor to start a fire. It spreads quickly, causing an explosion. The customers flee the pub, Syed Masood ( Marc Elliott ) is knocked to the ground and trampled in the process but is rescued by his father Masood Ahmed ( Nitin Ganatra ) and brother Tamwar ( Himesh Patel ). Peggy tries in vain to extinguish
26740-411: The programs ran out of new episodes to broadcast; Days of Our Lives , which produces its episodes roughly eight months ahead of their initial broadcast, did not resort to airing older episodes during this time as it had a larger first-run episode backlog.) Early episodes of Dark Shadows were rerun on PBS member stations in the early 1970s after the show's cancellation, and the entire series (except for
26931-601: The prosperous Brooks family with four daughters, and the working-class Foster family of a single working mother with three children. Its storylines explored realistic problems including cancer, mental illness, poverty, and infidelity. In contrast, Dark Shadows (1966–1971), Port Charles (1997–2003) and Passions (1999–2008) featured supernatural characters and dealt with fantasy and horror storylines. Their characters included vampires, witches, ghosts, goblins, and angels. The American soap opera Guiding Light (originally titled The Guiding Light until 1975) started as
27122-438: The pub and walks out of Walford . "I'll be so sad to leave Peggy behind. EastEnders has been wonderful to me and it's no secret that it changed my life all of those years ago." —Barbara Windsor on leaving EastEnders In October 2009, actress Barbara Windsor's decision to leave EastEnders after sixteen years of portraying the character Peggy Mitchell was announced. The show's executive producer, Bryan Kirkwood, said it
27313-532: The pub using a fake gun, and they get away with the money. Billie then realises the real gun that he hid has gone missing after Kylie found it earlier. Kylie tells Billie he must choose between the gang or Whitney. Billie chooses Whitney, so Kylie takes revenge by trying to shoot him during a family party. However, Jack Branning ( Scott Maslen ) is the one who is shot, and Kylie is tackled by a club employee. The next day, Connor arrives looking for Billie, and reveals that Kylie has been arrested. Several months later, she
27504-404: The reality TV genre was docu-soap . A precursor to reality TV, the televised 1994–95 O. J. Simpson murder case , both preempted and competed with an entire season of soaps, transforming viewing habits and leaving soap operas with 10 percent fewer viewers after the trial ended. List of EastEnders characters (2010)#Richard Monroe The following are characters who first appeared in
27695-443: The rest of the gang attack her. They later arrive in Albert Square and apologise to Whitney, and Billie insists he has disposed of the gun they wanted back. Kylie and Connor turn up at a grime night at The Queen Victoria public house where Connor steals a bottle of tequila. Outside, he sprays graffiti on a bench and then Kylie and Connor run off, leaving Whitney and Billie to suffer the consequences. Kylie, Connor and Mitch return
27886-448: The role, and was nominated Most Popular Newcomer at the 2010 Inside Soap Awards . She departed on 6 October 2011. Jodie Gold , played by Kylie Babbington , is Vanessa Gold 's ( Zöe Lucker ) daughter. The character was announced on 10 May 2010 and first appeared on screen on 7 June 2010 when she arrived in the show's setting of Albert Square in Walford looking for her mother. She is
28077-455: The scene which saw Peggy standing in the destroyed Queen Vic and appearing completely devastated." Gareth McLean from The Guardian said the use of "Peggy's Theme" was a "suitably sentimental sendoff" for the character, but said that "in hindsight, Peggy should have left Walford three or four years ago, her character trapped in a cycle of increasingly samey stories that reduced her to a parody of her former self", describing her efforts to put out
28268-430: The scratches. They go to Jade's flat where she tells Denise that she prayed with Lucas and he baptised her, though initially she tried to resist and scratched Lucas. She says she will get help for her alcohol dependence and get her daughter back, who was taken away from her. Jade was originally scripted as a prostitute who Lucas picks up and forces to pray for forgiveness before apparently strangling her. However, following
28459-549: The serial on 24 December 2015. Glenda Mitchell is played by Glynis Barber and first appears on 7 January 2010. Jill Gascoine was originally cast as Glenda, but she withdrew during her first day on set and the part was quickly recast to Barber. Glenda has been described as "complex", "vulnerable", "demure, dynamic and assured". She is the former wife of Archie Mitchell ( Larry Lamb ), and mother to Ronnie ( Samantha Womack ), Roxy ( Rita Simons ) and Danny Mitchell ( Liam Bergin ). She departed on 8 March 2011. Glenda made
28650-515: The series, and a section on the official EastEnders website was dedicated to the character, allowing fans to "heart Peggy". The 10 September episode was followed by a twenty-minute episode of documentary programme EastEnders Revealed titled "Peggy Mitchell: Queen of the Vic". Narrated by Shane Richie , the documentary looked at ten moments from Peggy's time in the show that made her a British icon. According to overnight figures, it received ratings of 4.49 million viewers. Official ratings raised
28841-453: The set could be completely refurbished. It was reported that the fire could tie in with the departure of Peggy or one of the several other characters whose departure had previously been announced. Director Lee Salisbury said the fire, as well as Peggy's departure, would have a huge effect on several characters, especially the Mitchell family , of which Peggy is the matriarch. Kirkwood said the fire
29032-426: The set of relationships examined by the series. Unexpected calamities disrupt weddings, childbirths, and other major life events with unusual frequency. As in comic books – another popular form of linear storytelling pioneered in the US during the 20th century – a character's death is not guaranteed to be permanent . On The Bold and the Beautiful , Taylor Hayes ( Hunter Tylo ) was shown to flatline and have
29223-425: The show was later renewed through September 2021. In 2022, NBC announced that Days of Our Lives would be moved exclusively to its streaming service, Peacock , making NBC the first of the big three networks not to air any daytime soap operas. In March 2024, CBS Studios , NAACP Venture , in partnership with P&G Studios announced that a new soap opera for CBS titled The Gates is in development and will be
29414-1535: The show's debut in January 1970 until it ended its network television run on ABC on September 23, 2011. Erika Slezak played Victoria Lord #3 on One Life to Live from 1971 until the show ended its network television run on ABC on January 13, 2012, and resumed the role in its short-lived online revival on April 29, 2013. Other actors have played several characters on different shows. Millette Alexander , Bernard Barrow , Doris Belack , David Canary , Judith Chapman , Keith Charles , Jordan Charney , Joan Copeland , Nicolas Coster , Jacqueline Courtney , Augusta Dabney , Louis Edmonds , Don Hastings , Larry Haines , Vincent Irizarry , Lenore Kasdorf , Teri Keane , Lois Kibbee , John Loprieno , Lori March , Maeve McGuire , Robert Mili , James Mitchell , Lee Patterson , Christopher Pennock , Antony Ponzini , William Prince , Rosemary Prinz , Louise Shaffer , Mary Stuart , Richard Thomas , Diana van der Vlis , Mary K. Wells , Lesley Woods and Michael Zaslow , among many others, have all played multiple soap roles. For several decades, most daytime soap operas concentrated on family and marital discord, legal drama and romance. The action rarely left interior settings, and many shows were set in fictional, medium-sized Midwestern towns. Social issue storylines were typically verboten when soaps were starting, due to heavy network-imposed censorship at that time, but writer and producer Agnes Nixon introduced these storylines slowly but surely, first in 1962 when
29605-835: The show's second birth of the year, that of Lily Branning , the daughter of Stacey Branning ( Lacey Turner ) and Ryan Malloy ( Neil McDermott ). In September, Richard Mitchell became the third birth of the year, born to Sam Mitchell ( Danniella Westbrook / Kim Medcalf ) and Jack Branning ( Scott Maslen ). Three characters arrived in October: Greg Jessop ( Stefan Booth ), Tanya Branning 's ( Jo Joyner ) fiancé; Michael Moon ( Steve John Shepherd ), Alfie Moon 's ( Shane Richie ) cousin; and Julie Perkins ( Cathy Murphy ), an old friend of Billy Mitchell ( Perry Fenwick ). In November, Kirkwood introduced Zainab's ex-husband, Yusef Khan ( Ace Bhatti ). Two more babies were born in December, James Branning and Tommy Moon , which triggered
29796-493: The shows were aimed at – and consumed by – a predominantly female audience. Clara, Lu, 'n Em would become the first network radio serial of the type when it aired on the NBC Blue Network at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time on January 27, 1931. Although it did not make the move until February 15, 1932, Clara, Lu 'n Em would become the first network serial of the type to move to a weekday daily timeslot, and so also became
29987-429: The start of a new yearly broadcast. Evening soap operas and those that air at a rate of one episode per week are more likely to feature the entire cast in each episode and present all storylines. Evening soap operas and serials that run for only part of the year tend to bring things to a dramatic end-of-season cliffhanger. In 1976, Time magazine described American daytime television as "TV's richest market", noting
30178-471: The stories are similar to what happened to them in real life, or two, thank goodness that isn't me. Many long-running US soap operas established particular environments for their stories. The Doctors and General Hospital , in the beginning, told stories almost exclusively from inside the confines of a hospital. As the World Turns dealt heavily with Chris Hughes' law practice and the travails of his wife Nancy who, tired of being "the loyal housewife" in
30369-410: The studio. Controlled gas pipes were used to shoot jets of flames and a header was specially built to collapse on Phil. Salisbury had to ensure that the fire for the interior scenes matched that of the already-filmed exterior scenes. In 2016, Windsor said that the Queen Vic fire was her favourite stunt to film since joining the cast in 1994. She called it her " Joan of Arc moment" and revealed that when
30560-526: The success of the All My Children shoot. Soap operas Another World and Guiding Light both went to St. Croix in 1980, the former show culminating a long-running storyline between popular characters Mac, Rachel and Janice, and the latter to serve as an exotic setting for Alan Spaulding and Rita Bauer 's torrid affair. Search for Tomorrow taped for two weeks in Hong Kong in 1981. Later that year, some of
30751-678: The supernatural soap opera, Dark Shadows , which did receive an essentially complete release on both VHS and DVD; the single lost episode #1219 is reconstructed by means of an off-the-air audio recording, still images, and recap material from adjacent episodes). Soap opera performers in the United States are typically divided into two main groups: primary characters (sometimes referred to as "contract players" – as their portrayers signed contracts of employment – or leading characters) and secondary characters (sometimes referred to as recurring characters). These two groups of characters make up
30942-443: The theatre. She says she cannot make it so Harvey invites Pat who agrees. Peggy later says she can come but Harvey says he has given the tickets to someone else. Peggy buys tickets of her own and Pat and Peggy both turn up at the theatre together, and Harvey's face drops when he sees them both. He explains that they are at fault for not telling each other they were seeing him. Pat and Peggy begin to argue so Harvey leaves and escapes onto
31133-584: The time. With the resultant budget cuts, soap operas were no longer able to go on expensive location shoots overseas as they were able to do in the 1980s. During that decade, soap operas increasingly focused on younger characters and social issues , such as Erica Kane 's drug addiction on All My Children , the re-emergence of Viki Lord 's dissociative identity disorder on One Life to Live , and Stuart Chandler dealing with his wife Cindy dying of AIDS on All My Children . Other social issues included cancer , rape , abortion and racism . Several shows during
31324-518: The truth about Lily's father and the fact that she killed Peggy's husband Archie ( Larry Lamb ) several months previously to herself (see Who Killed Archie? ). Phil tries to convince various people to let him out as he is suffering withdrawal symptoms, but nobody will. Janine awakens in Richard's flat and gets dressed, though they did not have sex. She returns home and tells Pat that she feels guilty, and Pat tells her not to inform Ryan. Janine fears that she
31515-520: The ultimate EastEnders matriarch. The fire storyline was created for her exit, and to facilitate a refurbishment of The Queen Victoria set for the transition to high-definition television broadcasting. The episodes were filmed over seventeen days, more than twice the series' typical filming duration, with the interior set rebuilt on the George Lucas Stage in Elstree for the fire. A special version of
31706-505: The upcoming council elections in which she is running. He later interviews Pat for the same reason, but Peggy plies them with free drinks and Pat gets drunk. Peggy tells Harvey that Pat cheated on her husband with Peggy's husband, and that anything she has said about the Mitchell family is a lie. After Pat pours a drink on Peggy's head, Harvey announces that he has more candidates to interview and leaves, after wiping Peggy's face. After hearing that Pat and Peggy have both chosen to withdraw from
31897-420: The vast majority of the people who appear on any given soap. There are also characters who appear only for a short time as dictated by a specific storyline, and even characters who may only get a first name and no fleshed-out character history with little dialogue (these are sometimes referred to as "under-5s" since they receive under five lines of dialogue in each episode). Due to the longevity of these shows, it
32088-428: The way he is and offering to help him get off the drugs. He says she needs him more than he needs her and that she suffocates him. Realising that he is right, Peggy asks the rest of her family to look after him, saying emotional goodbyes. Though Phil claims not to have meant what he said, Peggy says she has to leave for his sake. As she leaves the house, Phil begins to follow her, but she sends him back inside. She looks at
32279-413: The wedding preparations. She is also present at the wedding ceremony the next day where she meets her new nephew, Masood's youngest son Kamil (Arian Chikhlia), whose mother Zainab Masood ( Nina Wadia ) has flown out from Pakistan for the occasion. Laura-Jane Tyler from Inside Soap praised the character, saying "how sweet is Shabnam's Auntie Fatima? Supportive, understanding, calm and reasoned, she's
32470-498: The world from being frozen, brought a mobster down by finding his black book in a left-handed boy statue, and helped a princess find her Aztec treasure in Mexico . Other soap operas attempted similar adventure storylines, often featuring footage shot on location – frequently in exotic locales. During the 1990s, the mob, action and adventure stories fell out of favor with producers, due to generally declining ratings for daytime soap operas at
32661-411: The writer [Ashdown] and myself also wanted it to be an episode where things kept happening and the audience would keep thinking, 'Wow, that must have been the explosion' or 'That must have been the stunt'. But more things keep happening and happening, and I think that's what people will find really shocking." The production team had several production meetings for the weeks' worth of episodes, whereas there
32852-534: The writers had not researched Balham properly. An EastEnders spokesperson responded, saying "Although some of Billie's friends or associates are from Balham we have never implied the area had a problem with gangs". The Balham People writer feared that viewers who do not know the area would make "subconscious erroneous judgements almost by osmosis." A number of viewers complained about Connor's comment—"Do I look like that skinny white boy?"—made in 13 December 2010 episode about Peter Beale ( Thomas Law ), feeling that it
33043-520: Was Luke Spencer and Laura Webber on General Hospital . Luke and Laura helped to attract both male and female fans. Even actress Elizabeth Taylor was a fan and at her own request was given a guest role in Luke and Laura's wedding episode. Luke and Laura's popularity led to other soap producers striving to reproduce this success by attempting to create supercouples of their own. With increasingly bizarre action storylines coming into vogue, Luke and Laura saved
33234-399: Was "one of the most spectacular stunts that EastEnders has ever seen, and it's very exciting." All four episodes were directed by Lee Salisbury, who learned three weeks before filming that he would be working on the episodes, and said he was "a bit dumbstruck" to discover he would be directing the fire episodes and Windsor's departure, but that he was proud to do so. He said his main aim for
33425-463: Was a child and he was left in charge of his alcoholic father. He also practices boxing. He was axed in May 2010 by new executive producer Bryan Kirkwood . His storylines revolve around his relationships with Zsa Zsa Carter ( Emer Kenny ) and Lucy Beale ( Melissa Suffield ). The character's last appearance was on 30 September 2010. Arthur "Fatboy" Chubb is played by Ricky Norwood and made his first appearance on 5 January 2010 before appearing in
33616-400: Was a massive honour for him to be responsible for the character's exit, but explained that as she has become the "quintessential matriarch of the show", they had to get the exit storyline right, which he said would be "both epic and poignant". In June 2010, it was announced that The Queen Victoria would be destroyed in a fire to tie in with EastEnders ' transition to high definition so
33807-406: Was announced Sandy would be returning to EastEnders with Martha Cope taking over the role. On joining the serial, Cope said: "I have watched EastEnders since it began and I'm beyond excited to join such an iconic show and having a great time playing Sandy." Executive producer Jon Sen added: "Martha is a brilliant addition to our cast – we're excited to welcome her to Walford. To say Sandy has
33998-477: Was before Vanessa moved it when she came home. He comes to Walford several weeks later, looking for Max. He asks Liam Butcher (James Forde) and his younger half-brother, Morgan (Devon Higgs) if he knows Max. Liam tells him where he lives, and Harry gives them some money. However, he mistakes Darren Miller ( Charlie G. Hawkins ) for him and knees him in the groin, telling him to keep off his property, leaving Darren in immense pain as he has just returned from having
34189-408: Was briefly discussed that all ABC shows might do telenovela arcs, but this was rejected. Though U.S. daytime soap operas are not generally rerun by their networks, occasionally they are rebroadcast elsewhere; CBS and ABC have made exceptions to this, airing older episodes (either those aired earlier in the current season or those aired years prior) on major holidays when special event programming
34380-487: Was created by Simon Ashdown . Lucker's initial contract was for seven episodes, but this was extended and Vanessa became a regular character. She is the mother of Jodie ( Kylie Babbington ) and wife of Harry ( Linal Haft ). It was announced in April 2011 that Lucker was to depart from the series and would have an "explosive" departure. Vanessa was introduced as a love-interest for local car salesman Max, intended to facilitate
34571-412: Was done with four television cameras, a steadicam and a dolly . The exterior fire scenes were filmed first, in five night shoots lasting until 4 a.m., and the real exterior set was burnt. Safety was the top priority for the fire scenes, and fire safety advisors ensured all cast and crew were protected. Stunt doubles wore flame-proof gel on their faces and for the scene where Ryan and Stacey fall from
34762-411: Was frequently a key player in their storylines. Days of Our Lives initially focused on Dr. Tom Horton and his steadfast wife Alice. The show later branched out to focus more on their five children. The Edge of Night featured as its central character Mike Karr, a police detective (later an attorney), and largely dealt with organized crime. The Young and the Restless first focused on two families,
34953-470: Was further delayed due to rain. Despite the delay, the scenes were completed on schedule. Salisbury noted that the demise of such an iconic set as The Queen Victoria left several cast members in tears. The interior set of The Queen Victoria pub was taken apart and rebuilt exactly to scale on the George Lucas Stage, a fire stage at Elstree Film Studios, for interior scenes, filmed over four days. The interior set took seven weeks to build and two weeks to get into
35144-461: Was impossible. Though all serials have long switched to being taped, extensive post-production work and multiple takes, while possible, are not feasible due to the tight taping schedules and low budgets. The first daytime TV soap opera in the United States was These Are My Children in 1949, though earlier melodramas had aired in the evenings as once-a-week programs. Soap operas quickly became
35335-414: Was introduced in April, and the fourth main character from EastEnders: E20 , Mercy Olubunmi ( Bunmi Mojekwu ), joined EastEnders in May. Kirkwood's first major casting was Zöe Lucker in the role of Vanessa Gold and later cast her daughter Jodie ( Kylie Babbington ) and husband Harry ( Linal Haft ), as well as Mercy's grandmother Grace ( Ellen Thomas ), all of whom appeared in June. June also saw
35526-561: Was nominated for two awards at the Screen Nation Awards, which celebrate the best British Black talent. He was nominated for the Favourite Male TV Star and the Emerging Talent award. Harvey Freeman is a freelance journalist, played by Martin Jarvis . He appears between 15 April and 3 June 2010. He is described as a mysterious 60-something and a perfect gent who arrives to report on local elections for Walford Gazette , and
35717-466: Was on 30 September 2010. Leon Small is played by Sam Attwater and makes his first appearance on 5 January 2010 before appearing in the Internet spin-off EastEnders: E20 . He is one of four characters created for the spin-off who also appear in the main show. Attwater's casting was announced on 25 November 2009. Leon is described as "Sexy and effortlessly cool [with] a short fuse and a lack of respect for those in authority." His mother died when he
35908-645: Was possessed by the devil, and in 1998, Guiding Light featured a cloning storyline involving legacy character Reva Shayne . Modern U.S. daytime soap operas largely stay true to the original soap opera format. The duration and format of storylines and the visual grammar employed by U.S. daytime serials set them apart from soap operas in other countries and from evening soap operas. Stylistically, UK and Australian soap operas, which are usually produced for early evening timeslots, fall somewhere in between U.S. daytime and evening soap operas. Similar to U.S. daytime soap operas, UK and Australian serials are shot on videotape, and
36099-493: Was posthumously found guilty of the murder. Stacey then confesses that she killed Archie. Peggy demands that Stacey leave the pub and Stacey pleads with her not to call the police for Lily's sake. She attempts to tell Ryan that he is Lily's father, but is interrupted by Pat, who thinks Stacey is trying to seduce him and slaps her. Phil smashes through the door using a crowbar that was left in the room. He starts taking cash and drinking alcohol, and interrupts Peggy before she can call
36290-494: Was racist. The BBC responded, saying "[It] was simply a description—and an accurate one at that—of Peter Beale. It was not intended to be a racist insult in any way." Kene revealed in January 2011 that his role in the soap has meant he is recognised by fans on a daily basis. In February 2011, Kene was nominated for Best Newcomer at the All About Soap Bubble Awards for his portrayal of Connor. In October 2011, Kene
36481-583: Was subsequently announced on 24 January 2010 that she would feature in EastEnders due to positive reaction to the character. Executive producer Diederick Santer said that once he had seen the completed episodes of EastEnders: E20 , he wanted Mercy in the main show as well. She is described as "funny, warm, sensitive and rather mysterious." She has always been a good girl but she feels abandoned when her parents move back to Nigeria, leaving her with her grandmother, Grace ( Ellen Thomas ). She first appears in EastEnders on 31 May. Her storylines include suffering
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