A show I never miss (Eastenders)

Member Name: thehonesttruth

Product:	Eastenders
Date:	09/11/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

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One of my guilty pleasures is relaxing in front of Eastenders on weeknights - and I can't be the only one, since the soap has been running for a little under 25 years so far, and has won a number of different soap and television awards for its gripping and dramatic storylines .

Eastenders is set in Walford, a fictional London borough, and centres on the lives of the various people who work and live there, particular in Albert Square . Walford is unexceptional - like many areas of Londons East-End, it has a couple of restaurants, a community centre, a laundrette, a convenience store, a tube station a small market and a pub that seems to be the centre of the community .

There are a wide range of characters, which each having their own place in the community . These characters have changed over the years, with many characters departing the show in a dramatic fashion . The characters vary in age, sex, and race, and generally provide a good range of topics and issues across the board. There is often a strong focus on family and relationships, with many affairs and one night stands to be had.

The storylines are always fast paced, and occasionally controversial. Recent storylines have included the sexual relationship between teenage Whitney and her ex-jailbird stepfather Tony, a will-they-won't-they get back together story between Bianca and Ricky, and the Gay love affair between Christian and Said , a storyline that became more complicated given that not only was Said engaged to be married, but also that homosexuality was considered a huge sin in his Muslim faith .

I can't say that I have a favourite character, but there are a few that I really enjoy seeing at the centre of storylines .

I have a great fondness for Heather Trott - a rather overweight woman , obsessed with George Michael ,with a habit of falling for men who don't return her feelings, notably Gary and later Minty , with whom she staged a wedding after winning a competition in a magazine . The couples relationship remained unconsumated, and was later annuled . Heather had a rather large storyline this year when she became pregnant and refused to reveal the father . There was plenty of speculation on the Square about who the father could be, and when little George Michael Trott was born, it was a huge shock to me to find out the father was Darren Miller.

I also love Shirley Carter, a hard drinking woman with a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp . She's blunt, brash, hard as nails, and completely irresponsible yet often displays a softer more vulnerable side, especially in storylines involving her unrequited love for Phill Mitchell, or with her best friend Heather .

There are so many amazing characters in this soap, and some really great storylines . I do often wonder why the people living in the square don't go completely bonkers with so much happening at once , and it's certainly no wonder poor Stacey went a bit loopy and ended up being carted off to a psychiatric hospital to recover. Lets look at what this one character alone has been through in the five years she's been in the soap - as far as I can recall, her goes .

- Her father carked it
- Her mum has constantly had Bi Polar problems and is forever getting into manic highs and depressed lows .
- She provided false alibis for her cousin Zoe and for Chrissie Watts for the murder of Den Watts
- She's had her drink spiked
- An abortion
- On again off again relationship with Bradley, which got a little complicated when she boinked his dad - and the affair was revealed in full glory on a charming DVD
- Drug abuse
- Brother went violent and loopy, after discovering the child he thought he'd fathered with Roxy wasn't his, then vanished.
- Her best friend karked it .
- Getting Bi Polar disorder herself .

It's a terribly hard life for a young girl, and Stacey has gotten off lightly in comparison to some of the other members of the Albert Square set.

I love Eastenders - there is always something going on - usually something dark and awful, but it does occasionally have it's happier and more heartfelt moments too . But generally, it works on the rule that anything that can go wrong will - and it makes compelling and exciting viewing simply because you never know whats going to happen next .

Eastenders is on mon-fri , except for wednesdays , on BBC1 . I love it, and I certainly recommend it, although not everyone will enjoy the mostly quite grim plot.

5 stars!

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