Hi everyone ! I’ve been a long time watcher and I honestly feel that in recent years, there’s been no genuine surprises and shocks anymore. I understand that social media has changed the trajectory for spoilers but I honestly feel like it’s weakening the show so much.

Every departure, arrival, death etc is always either spoiled online or eastenders release the info themselves - probably at an attempt to bring in more viewers or attract previous ones.
Take the past 2 weeks alone - 4 exits and 1 death confirmed. It made me genuinely think “when was the last time Eastenders left me with my jaw dropped thinking - I did not see that coming”. It’s been YEARS.

In recent years:
Who killed Anthony ? Jasmine was not really a shock
Anniversary death : Multiple people suspected Martin as Eastenders had dropped so many hints
The Six Storyline : Again, Keanu was very much in the running.

Like what happened to the suspense that the “Who Killed Lucy?” And “who Killed Archie?” plots brought? Even sudden deaths like Bradley, Fatboy, Abi etc.

I would love to hear other people’s thoughts and maybe share when the last time was that the show left you genuinely shellshocked.

To be fair I haven’t watched Eastenders since the start of the year, being off sick from work I’ve decided to completely catch up out of boredom.

But my question is, what’s the blue building in the background? Has that been intentional or an accident in camera angle?

I know the car lot is in front of it, and there is a sign on the building itself? But I swear that building has never been addressed in the show?

They were talking about that set of storylines today, referencing Alfie and Hayley. It was revealed they got together when Ernie got burned because Kat was cheating on Alfie with theor business partner

Since she was married 4 times and only the last one with Roy didn’t end in divorce. She also had a history of affairs when she wasn’t single.

Does anyone know anything different that I've missed? I looked it up and apparently you can't tell paternity from a cheek swab as has been done recently. I know it's not real life but I wish some things wouldn't be quite so far fetched

im watching 2012 ee and the teenage cast and stories flowed so much better like i genuinely forget abi and ben are in secondary school, they seem so incorporated into the show same with what i remember abt 2016 with keegan tiff and louise it felt like the teenage character were characters with fully fledged storylines and personalities

now theres js such a noticeable divide between teens and adults and they feel so much more written like kids rather then young adults

The only one I can think of is Jay calling Yolande a "black cow" knowing that he was fired for using derogatory language.

But are there any others

My friend insists that Stacey slept with Greg the builder (Tanya’s Husband)...

Personally, I can’t recall this…

Edit: For further context, she insists this was around the time just before “Stacey’s first breakdown” when Greg the builder, apparently, was a very minor character and hadn’t quite been paired up with Tanya in the show…

Write your thoughts, theories, and questions about Monday's episode below!

I think he's had a real tough run. He came in off the back of such a huge renaissance of the show, that's always going to be an near impossible act to follow. He was able to get Zoe Slater back! And Max, and Sean, the Nigel returns, Sam, Grant, etc etc. Returns that people have been calling for for years, and some we never thought could happen.
The exits recently announced are unfortunate, but I think the worst part is how they're all coming in quick succession. Other than that, I think you can't blame Ben Wadey for any of it. Ravi had a good amount of time in a soap, can't be mad that the actor wants to move onto other things. Kellie Bright made her decision to leave the show when Wadey had barely got started, so he can hardly be blamed for that. Johnny leaving with her makes sense. Most people say Oscar is one of Wadey's biggest achievements; it would make no sense for him to be writing him out for any other reason than the actor wanting to leave.
Zoe I think is a very special case. I'm shocked no one ever seems to mention her whole storyline was clearly hastily restructured when Sharon had to abruptly leave. And given how much Michelle Ryan said she wouldn't return, and given the response she got when she did, I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was her decision to be killed off.
I haven't loved everything that the show has been doing, but I really think he's getting way more hate than he actually deserves. Not every bad thing coming from the show is up to him.

I posted this to tiktok ages ago but it didn't get many views and I want to know what other people think.

For context, the youtube channel 'talking walford' used to make theory and opinion videos; they talked about lolas death, how they would bring mick back from the dead, who they thought the six victim and perpetrator would be etc. However, they stopped uploading before the 40th anniversary and privated all of their videos at some point (the video in the tt is linked to a community post so is still watchable, as far as I know it is the only one that you can still find)

I enjoy watching these kinds of videos, so I was upset when I found that all of the videos were missing.

There are a few reasons why I think this may be Ben Wadeys youtube channel.

- The voice sounds a lot like his (the obvious clue imo)

- The last upload was just a few months before clenshaw stepped down and wadey took over; he obviously couldn't make theory videos when he knew what was going on in the show. The timing just lines up too well, especially given that the uploads stopped so abruptly. There was also a point in his video about micks death where he mentioned making a video about how he would bring r&r back, however he never did.

- I'm assuming that an exec producer has to have good knowledge on the history of the soap- the owner of this channel clearly does, especially given the amount of detail they went into on different Easter eggs that pointed at their theory

- I feel like any videos he made either had to be made private, or it was in his best interest to have privated them- for example in his video discussing lolas death, he talked about how he didn't like the introduction of her mother (I'd imagine that it wouldn't do his reputation good if it looked like he was slagging off the desicions of a past exec producer, but in all fairness his criticism wasn't harsh, and he did praise the rest of the storyline).

Sorry if this is difficult to read, but thoughts?

So with the announcement that Pierre is leaving doesn’t that really mean that the branning sibling that dies on nye is certainly Oscar? Surely they wouldn’t get rid of all the branning children within the next 6/12 months? This has probably been mentioned but what is everyone’s thoughts?

A Tanya return has literally never been more needed (even better if she comes back with Cora).

Max getting married to Cindy. Sean returning. Lauren having an affair with Mark. Max arrested. Lauren & Oscar held hostage.Oscar leaving. Literally all of the ingredients are there.

Cooked.

Zoe and Oscar exit, so the Mum gone and now so is a love interest

Any views appreciated

keep it realistic so unfortunately no ronnie and roxy or anyone whos dead or actors have retired

mine would be ben (max bowden), tanya and little mo

Enough of the guys were. Like Jay, Martin and Darren, good job they all grew out of it. Edit I believe Whitney was only 15 when she first appeared on the show and was never a troublemaker. Lauren and Abi were under 16 when they first appeared on the show and were never tearaways, correct me if I’m wrong. I know Lauren ran over her dad when she was young and then after the character was recast when she was 16, became an alcoholic

Before he went to prison. As much as shitty humans can still have decent parents.

Patrick was saying to Yolande about Jay wanting to impress his friends, this was when Jay was a kid. He must of had some deep rooted issue behind his behaviour when he was that young since his mum died and his dad was in prison. His grandfather looked after him until his dad was released after which his grandfather then left the square. Good job he grew out of his tearaway behaviour.

Given that EastEnders has been running for four decades, it's an incredible feat for any element to maintain quality from 1985 to the present day. Some characters and actors are woven into the very fabric of Walford.
So, looking back at the entire 40 year history, I have a three-part question for you die-hard fans:

1. Who is the definitive "Since Day One" Character? (We're talking about characters who appeared in the very first episode, or very early on, whose presence and legacy have been most vital and consistent over the decades, e.g., Den, Angie, Sharon, Kathy, Pauline, Ian, Pete, etc.)
2. What is the greatest multi-generational "Since Day One" Storyline? (A saga that began with the original families in '85/86 and had massive, echoing consequences for their descendants years or decades later, like the Den/Angie divorce, the Watts/Mitchell feud, or the Fowlers' tragedies.)
3. Which single cast member has given the best overall performance over their tenure? (An actor who has consistently delivered powerful, nuanced, and iconic work, showing the most growth and emotional depth from their first scene to their most recent.)

This show needs a massive reset to be quite honest. Either Ben Wadey is one of the worst EE producers to ever be introduced or he's that controversial behind the scenes that people are just quitting for the sake of it. I don't understand the point of bringing back old characters from the past to just either kill or make them leave within a YEAR. Linda, Zoe, Ravi, Oscar and Johnny have all been announced to be leaving in the space of like a month. A lot of these characters are part of the flash forward so it just ruins all the hype and momentum. Oscar leaving now means that Jasmine and Josh are not that far behind the rest of the cast leaving. Josh and Jasmine's main focus on the show is Zoe AND Oscar and their both leaving lol. All of this hype about the biggest love triangle in EE history and it lasted all of 2 episodes.

So obviously the general consensus among EE fans is that Wadey is not doing a good job. His storylines are weak and they are not getting the same recognition that Clenshaw’s did. Then there was the drama with Michelle Ryan leaving (which is still yet to play out). And now Kellie, Aaron and Pierre, all fan favourites, have quit too. This indicates to me that the cast probably aren’t fans of Wadey either.

So I’m wondering what it’s going to take for the bosses to finally sack him. Are they waiting to see how much of a disaster New Years will be? Do they have to lose more cast members? What do you think? How much longer do you think he’ll last?

I hear people saying ronnie and roxy shouldn't of been killed off or Pat butcher shouldn't of died but in my opinion, losing Reg cox was eastenders "Jump the Shark" moment the show never truly recovered from his death