In February 1983, two years before Eastenders had hit the screens it was nothing but just an idea in mind as BBC One needed a popular bi-weekly drama series that would attract the kind of mass audiences ITV was getting with Coronation Street. When the idea came around, there was anxiety at first as concerns were raised that the viewing public would not accept a new soap set in the South of England.
Julia Smith and Tony Holland are a well established producer/script editor team who had first worked together on Z-cars. David Reid who originally came about with the idea had presented a vague; two episodes a week, 52 weeks a year. They are both Londoners; Holland had come from a big East-End family but when researching where to locate the soap, Victoria Square had become a possibility, however they found massive changes to a area they thought they knew well. Although when delving further into the East-End area, they found a place with real East-End spirit; an inward looking quality, a distrust of strangers and authority figures, a sense of territory and community that both Holland and Smith summed up as 'Hurt one of us and you hurt us all'.
The chosen location had various aspects which made everything so significant in the soap, Albert Square itself was a significant figure as it had its own self contained community. Even bench's and parks were notable figures as they allowed characters to meet outside their home. It is also very important as it was soon dedicated to Arthur which also allows the soap to keep initial characters and new ones are introduced. Families within the soap run the market outside the Queen Vic Pub which creates a sense of realism:
The target launch date was January 1985 as the BBC was planning a revamp in its schedules. Both Holland and Smith had just 11 months to write, cast and shoot the whole thing.
After a shooting location was finalised, Smith and Holland then had to create 24 original characters which was needed in just 14 days and so Holland had created characters based on people in his own family and their own experiences in the East End; Lou, Pauline and Pete.
Julia Smith and Tony Holland are a well established producer/script editor team who had first worked together on Z-cars. David Reid who originally came about with the idea had presented a vague; two episodes a week, 52 weeks a year. They are both Londoners; Holland had come from a big East-End family but when researching where to locate the soap, Victoria Square had become a possibility, however they found massive changes to a area they thought they knew well. Although when delving further into the East-End area, they found a place with real East-End spirit; an inward looking quality, a distrust of strangers and authority figures, a sense of territory and community that both Holland and Smith summed up as 'Hurt one of us and you hurt us all'.
The chosen location had various aspects which made everything so significant in the soap, Albert Square itself was a significant figure as it had its own self contained community. Even bench's and parks were notable figures as they allowed characters to meet outside their home. It is also very important as it was soon dedicated to Arthur which also allows the soap to keep initial characters and new ones are introduced. Families within the soap run the market outside the Queen Vic Pub which creates a sense of realism:
- Fruit and Veg Stall - Pete Beale
- Arthur - Gardens
And over the years has only gotten bigger and new stalls have been added:
- Stacey - Clothes Stall
- The Masoods - Food Stall
As well as having a self contained market within the square, they had everything within the one location they were in;
- Laundrette
- Minute Mart
- Pub
Everything was real, real streets and real locations which created a sense of familiarity within the audience.
The target launch date was January 1985 as the BBC was planning a revamp in its schedules. Both Holland and Smith had just 11 months to write, cast and shoot the whole thing.
After a shooting location was finalised, Smith and Holland then had to create 24 original characters which was needed in just 14 days and so Holland had created characters based on people in his own family and their own experiences in the East End; Lou, Pauline and Pete.
No comments:
Post a Comment