EastEnders is a long-running British soap opera that has aired on BBC One since 19 February 1985. Since its inception, several spin-offs have been produced, including books, television documentaries, videos, music singles and an album. During the run up to the first episode of EastEnders, interest with the public was already high, something which continued afterwards. EastEnders proved as successful as was hoped for by the BBC in its first years, so they capitalised on it with a number of products.
Books Many novels relating to EastEnders have been produced. Between 1985 and 1988, Hugh Miller wrote a series of 12 books focusing on several characters in the show. The books told the characters' backstories from before the show's inception in February 1985. Miller also wrote a series of four books called Teen EastEnders. Similar to the original 12 books, they focused on teenage characters in the show.
Four more novels were written by Kate Lock between 1998 and 2001. Two of these explored the backstories of the characters Grant Mitchell and Steve Owen, with the other two being "secret diaries" of characters Bianca Jackson and Tiffany Mitchell, giving an insight into the characters lives during storylines that were airing at the time.
Several non-fiction books have been produced, including EastEnders: The Inside Story in 1987, which was written by the show's creators, Tony Holland and Julia Smith.
Non-fiction books Title Author Year Publisher ISBN EastEnders Special (1987 Annual) Barraclough, John 1986 Grandreams and Holland, Tony 1987 BBC Books Public Secrets: EastEnders and its Audience Buckingham, David 1987 Albert Square Miller, Hugh and Harris, Keith 1987 David & Charles EastEnders Special (1988 Annual) Barraclough, John 1987 Grandreams EastEnders Special (1989 Annual) Lynch, Tony and Bain, Morag 1988 Grandreams How to Speak EastEnders : A Brief Glossary of Cockney Expressions 1988 Lionheart Television Daniels, Therese and Gerson, Jane (eds.) 1989 Kingsley, Hilary 1991 BBC Books Dawson, Susanna 1993 Red Fox Books Monroe, Josephine 1994 Virgin Publishing An update version of this book was released 2 November 1995, in a paperback format, . Brake, Colin 1994 BBC Books EastEnders: Real Soap Sinotok, Karen 1999 Generation Publications Who's Who in EastEnders Lock, Kate 2000 BBC Books Essential "Eastenders" Scripts: Models for Writing (Student Book) Gould, Mike 2003 Folens Publishers UK Essential "Eastenders" Scripts: Models for Writing (Teacher Book) Midghall, Diane 2003 Folens Publishers UK EastEnders: 20 years in Albert Square Smith, Rupert 2005 BBC Books EastEnders Annual 2009 Randall, Tim 2008 BBC Books Albert Square & Me: The Actors of EastEnders Jaffee, Larry (ed.) 2009 iUniverse 1001 Reasons Why Eastenders is Pony! Bushell, Garry 2009 Pennant Books Celebrating 25 Years of EastEnders Mirror Series 2010 The Mirror The Ultimate Unofficial EastEnders Quiz Book Cobham, Ed 2010 Summersdale Publishers Walford State of Mind: EastEnders as Reported by the Walford Gazette Jaffee, Larry 2011 East End Company
Novels Title Author Year Publisher Central character(s) ISBN 1986 Inner Circle Books Miller, Hugh 1986 Inner Circle Books Beale family Miller, Hugh 1986 Inner Circle Books and Andy O'Brien Miller, Hugh 1986 Inner Circle Books Miller, Hugh 1986 Inner Circle Books and Angie Watts Miller, Hugh 1986 Inner Circle Books Teen EastEnders – Solid Ground Miller, Hugh 1986 André Deutsch Teen EastEnders – Growing Pains Miller Hugh 1986 André Deutsch Miller, Hugh 1987 Inner Circle Books Miller, Hugh 1987 Inner Circle Books Miller, Hugh 1987 Inner Circle Books Miller, Hugh 1987 Inner Circle Books Miller, Hugh 1987 Inner Circle Books Miller, Hugh 1988 Inner Circle Books Teen EastEnders – Heroes Miller, Hugh 1988 Lions Teen EastEnders – An Eye for Business Miller, Hugh 1988 Lions EastEnders – Blood Ties: The Life and Loves of Grant Mitchell Lock, Kate 1998 BBC Books EastEnders – Tiffany's Secret Diary Lock, Kate 1998 BBC Books EastEnders – Bianca's Secret Diary Lock, Kate 1999 BBC Books EastEnders – Steve Owen: Still Waters Lock, Kate 2001 BBC Books
Television
Several EastEnders spin-off episodes have been produced, which look at the history of some of the characters using flashbacks. They are also often used as a lead up for a character's return to the show or follow characters who have departed from the show in another setting outside the usual location of Albert Square. The first of these was CivvyStreet, which aired in December 1988. It was set in Albert Square during World War II and featured younger versions of some of the soap's characters. Other episodes include Dot's Story, Perfectly Frank, Ricky & Bianca, Pat and Mo, and Return of Nick Cotton.
Documentaries have also been produced, particularly for the 10th, 15th and 20th anniversaries of the show looking back since show's inception, its characters and storylines. A behind-the-scenes documentary, EastEnders Revealed, aired regularly on BBC Choice and continued on BBC Three after the closure of BBC Choice. The first episode was in October 1999 and the show continued regularly until October 2005, with a few episodes still being made after this. A series of documentary shows, similar to EastEnders Revealed, aired from 2006. EastEnders Xtra was an interactive series available between February and May 2005 via BBCi.
The soap has also produced a number of charity specials for Children in Need. Some notable episodes include: Dimensions in Time, a crossover with the science fiction series Doctor Who; "Pudding Lane", which relocates the characters to 1666 during the Great Fire of London; and "East Street", a crossover with the ITV soap Coronation Street). The charity specials are not considered canon.
On 4 April 2015, EastEnders bosses announced plans of a new six-part BBC drama series featuring iconic couple Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie). The series, Redwater, follows the characters as they move to Ireland. Speaking at the time, executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins commented: "In the next few weeks on EastEnders, viewers will witness several huge twists for Kat and Alfie Moon that will change their lives forever. Now is the perfect time to take two of EastEnders''' most beloved and enduring characters out of their comfort zone as they head to Ireland to search for answers to some very big questions... My team here are very excited about creating a whole new drama that stands apart from EastEnders while taking our style of storytelling to a place of stories, myth, secrets and immeasurable beauty."
Internet and BBC Red ButtonEastEnders official website is located on the BBC Programmes website at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m86d and is part of BBC Online, the official website of the BBC. It was previously located at www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders. The website formerly contained information on the cast and characters, games, news and interviews but only the character information and interviews are now available, but are no longer updated and are in the "archive" section of the site. The website was redesigned in 2007, with the new version going live on 20 April 2007. Another updated website went live in December 2009, to tie in with the show's 25th anniversary in February 2010. The site contained new features and was based on feedback from users of the website. Occasionally, a character in the show sets up their own website and these are sometimes created in reality, such as godlypodly.co.uk.
In October 2009, a spin-off series entitled EastEnders: E20 was announced. Conceived by executive producer Diederick Santer, it was developed "as a way of nurturing new, young talent, both on- and off-screen, and exploring the stories of the soaps' anonymous bystanders." EastEnders: E20 characters are a group of sixth form students and it targets the "Hollyoaks demographic". It was written by a team of young writers and was shown on the EastEnders website in January 2010. A second series was commissioned for later in 2010, and a third series for 2011.
An internet mini-series, Lauren's Diaries, began in 2010, featuring Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) and giving an insight into her thoughts and feelings. A second series started in April 2011. The episodes feature on the EastEnders website. Another mini-series on the internet, called The B&B, started in 2012. The four-episode spin-off takes on the style of a fly-on-the-wall documentary, featuring Kim Fox (Tameka Empson), working at her bed and breakfast. Tamwar Tales – The Life of an Assistant Market Inspector is a four-episode spin-off starting in 2013, featuring the character of Tamwar Masood (Himesh Patel). Various other mini-episodes have appeared online and on the Red Button, showing extra scenes. These have included the two-part "Amira's Secret" from 2011, 2012's "Phil on Remand" and "Billy's Olympic Nightmare". Poppy Meadow (Rachel Bright) and Fatboy (Ricky Norwood) were also at the centre of a Red Button episode, showing how they spent their Christmas together, entitled "All I Want for Christmas".EastEnders first audio drama, EastEnders: The Podcast, started on 28 November 2018, consisting of four episodes.
On 17 May 2024, BBC released a six-part spin-off miniseries titled The Point of Mo Return via TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X, starring Laila Morse as Mo Harris and Bobby Brazier as Freddie Slater ahead of their permanent return to EastEnders. The miniseries sees Mo and Freddie living away from Walford in Mo's caravan, and focuses on their relationship and Freddie's ADHD diagnosis.
Videos and DVDs The first EastEnders video, released on 22 September 1986, was EastEnders – The Queen Vic, which looked at the major events in the lives of Angie Watts, Den Watts, Jan Hammond and Michelle Fowler, such as the birth of Michelle's baby, Vicki. The next video EastEnders – The Den and Angie Years, released in 1994. It included all of Den and Angie's moments such as their second honeymoon. In 1998, EastEnders – The Mitchells – Naked Truths was released, which was put together by writers such as Simon Ashdown, Tony Jordan and Christopher Reason. This video looked back at some of the most memorable storylines of Phil, Grant and Peggy Mitchell. This was essentially a two-hander between Phil and Grant, set in The Queen Victoria public house, intercut with flashbacks.
A 40-minute VHS was released in 1993, titled The Gill and Mark Story. The VHS was only available to education institutions and followed the story of Gill and Mark's HIV storyline.
To celebrate 15 years of EastEnders, a special video, 15 Years of EastEnders, was released. The video included some of the highlights of the show, including Den serving Angie with divorce papers, Grant discovering his wife Sharon and his brother Phil's affair, Tiffany Mitchell's death and funeral, and Carol Jackson confronting her daughter Bianca over her relationship with Dan Sullivan.
The first EastEnders DVD was Slaters in Detention, released in November 2003 and also available on VHS. It contained a special comedic episode of EastEnders starring the Slater family. It was written by Tony Jordan, who helped devise the characters. It began with the female members of the Slater family dressed up in school uniform for a local disco, and they end up in a police cell where they reflect on the events of their lives, such as Kat revealing that Zoe was her daughter and Little Mo's marriage to Trevor Morgan. It also includes outtakes and an alternative ending to Little Mo's trial.
An interactive DVD game was released in October 2005, titled An A-Z Tour of Albert Square, exclusively available through BBC's Reading and Writing (RaW) campaign on BBC Online. The DVD is hosted by Adam Woodyatt as he challenges viewers to answer questions to unlock classic clips from the show's history.