7 ways new EastEnders boss helped bring sinking soap back from the brink – from brutal decisions to shock storylines
EASTENDERS has made a stunning turnaround, 18 months after it seemed on the brink of being axed.
On Saturday, it bagged Best Soap at the British Soap Awards for the first time since 2015.
The long-running BBC series had been in an awards drought and ratings plunged to just two million in 2021 – a far cry from the 30million in its mid-Eighties heyday.
To top that off, two of its biggest names quit – Adam Woodyatt, who played Ian Beale, and the show’s highest-paid star, Danny Dyer, Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter.
But that all changed after former Holby City producer Chris Clenshaw took over the reins from boss Jon Sen in January last year.
So what’s his secret? Here we reveal how he has turned the show’s fortunes around.
Fresh families
SOME of Clenshaw’s best work has been building up the Panesar family, originally created and introduced by Sen in January 2020.
They had a quiet start, but since introducing Suki Panesar’s manipulative, mentally abusive husband Nish, and his secret lovechild Ravi, the hard-hitting storylines have come thick and fast, with murder cover-ups and a lesbian affair.
And the Knight family, new owners of the Queen Vic, have made a big impression on fans.
Colin Salmon and Harriet Thorpe play George Knight and Elaine Peacock, with Molly Rainford and Francesca Henry as George’s daughters Anna and Gina.
Righting wrongs
SEN made some unpopular choices including breaking Honey Mitchell dumping husband Billy and later dating Jay Brown, who is 18 years her junior.
Fans moaned there was “no chemistry” and pointed out Jay was basically Billy’s adopted son.
So Clenshaw didn’t take long to split them, reuniting Honey with Billy, and Jay with Lola – which nicely paved the way for their heartbreaking brain tumour storyline.
Clenshaw also binned the idea Rocky Cotton might be Dotty’s father, rather than Nick Cotton – something Dotty’s mum had told her in 2021.
The idea was swept under the carpet in a single scene, when Rocky dismissed it as a lie.
Christmas crackers
EASTENDERS’ Christmas Day episode is a staple part of the festive period, with fans dying to know what bombs will be dropped over the turkey dinner.
But in 2021 it failed to impress, with some disappointed viewers calling it the “worst ever” when serial killer Gray Atkins wasn’t exposed after two years.
But in 2022 it was explosive, to say the least, with Mick dying in the sea after a car chase between him, Janine Butcher and Linda Carter.
And Christmas Day this year has already been teased with a flash-forward episode showing someone is killed in the Queen Vic by at least one of six of the show’s matriarchs – setting up a classic soap whodunnit.
Hard-hitting storylines
BEFORE Clenshaw came on the scene, fans moaned EastEnders’ storylines had become bland and increasingly woke.
Tiffany Butcher’s cosmetic surgery addiction, Nancy Carter secretly ordering CBD oil and Bailey Baker trying to get her dad’s partner to go vegan were widely panned by critics.
But Clenshaw has introduced more hard-hitting plots, including Lola Pearce’s recent tragic battle with a terminal brain tumour – which brought viewers to tears last week – 12-year-old Lily Slater being pregnant and Zack Hudson’s HIV diagnosis.
The HIV storyline added more layers to Zack’s character and had real-world impact.
Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, reported a 75 per cent rise in website traffic after the episode featuring Zack’s diagnosis aired.
Nourishing new talent
IT WAS Sen who first found Lillia Turner, 13, to take over as Stacey Slater’s daughter in 2020.
But Clenshaw challenged her to take on Lily’s teenage pregnancy storyline – which won her Best Young Performer at Saturday’s British Soap Awards.
Despite Clenshaw’s decision to axe Lola proving controversial at first, Danielle Harold’s exit storyline has finally given her the chance to show off her acting chops.
The 31-year-old deservedly won the awards’ Best Leading Performer gong.
One of the first characters Clenshaw introduced was Ravi Gulati, played by Aaron Thiara – and he has been a huge hit, winning Villain of the Year for the show for the first time since 2010.
This is largely thanks to Aaron’s amazing acting, plus plots such as him killing his dad and letting his half-brother Kheerat Panesar go down for it.
Big names returning
CLEARLY, EastEnders alumni have been impressed with Clenshaw, as some of its biggest names have agreed to return.
Shane Richie (Alfie Moon) and Kim Medcalf (Sam Mitchell) are back in Albert Square – and Lucy Benjamin, who played Lisa Fowler, is heading back this summer.
And Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) was reunited with former toyboy Keanu Taylor, played by Danny Walters, in December.
Stars have even been convinced to return from the dead.
Rita Simons – whose character Roxy Mitchell supposedly drowned in a swimming pool on New Year’s Day in 2017 – recently made a cameo reappearance.
And Cindy Beale actress Michelle Connor – declared dead off camera in 1998 – will make a shock return alongside on-screen ex-husband Adam Woodyatt.
Wielding the axe
AS all producers tend to do when they arrive, Clenshaw swung the axed.
Four characters got the chop in quick succession: Peter Beale (Dayle Hudson), Jada Lennox (Kelsey Calladine-Smith) Dana Monroe (Barbara Smith) and Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ).
Clenshaw also revealed he would be killing off Lola, but kept viewers on tenter hooks as to how.
While Peter, Jada and Dana hadn’t had many big storylines prior to the announcement, viewers were shocked by the decision to get rid of Stuart as he had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and male postnatal depression.
At the time, an insider said “there’s always going to be big changes” when a new boss comes in, insisting Clenshaw was “working hard” behind the scenes and “planning to shake things up”.