The BBC already had a full schedule while Eastenders was still only an idea. However, BBC One needed a popular bi-weekly drama series which would attract mass audiences like ITV’s Coronation Street. The success of Coronation Street spurred off BBC’s Eastenders, which was initially just an idea, into a popular British drama.
David Reid, head of series and serials at the time, turned to Julia Smith and Tony Holland, a well established producer/script editor team, where they would have to work around Reid’s outline of two episodes a week, 52 weeks a year. The team, being both Londoners, researched Victoria Square and found a real Eastend spirit – an inward looking quality, a distrust of strangers and authority figures, a sense of territory and community. The impression of the setting already reflected ideas on what sort of storylines could be expected – family issues, secrets and rumors (because of the closeness of the community).
Julia Smith and Tony Holland had 11 months in which the write, cast and shoot the series. After deciding to film in Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, Smith and Holland created 24 characters in 14 days. A meeting with the BBC confirmed that the programme was to be tough, violent on occasion, funny and sharp – and start with a bang. Simon May (music) and Alan Jeapes (visuals) created the title sequence, and it remains as one of the strongest title clips in television.
After a delayed start of one month, the press was invited to see Elstree and meet the cast. Stories circulated that there was rivalry with Coronation Street. The first transmissions on 19 February 1985 viewing figures were confirmed high at 17 million with favourable reviews. By Christmas 1985 the tabloids were all about the show. ‘Exclusives’ about Eastenders storylines became a staple of tabloid buyers’ daily reading.
After a delayed start of one month, the press was invited to see Elstree and meet the cast. Stories circulated that there was rivalry with Coronation Street. The first transmissions on 19 February 1985 viewing figures were confirmed high at 17 million with favourable reviews. By Christmas 1985 the tabloids were all about the show. ‘Exclusives’ about Eastenders storylines became a staple of tabloid buyers’ daily reading.
