Guest Article: The Return of EastEnders

This week's guest article comes from Saul Trattles who looks at EastEnders' return to our screens following the break in 2020:

Since EastEnders came off of its lockdown hiatus and made a welcome return to our goggleboxes, the comings and goings of E20 have been turbulent to say the very least.

The Queen Vic has had 2 different owners, Kush has been brutally murdered, and Sharon's 'sweetheart' Ian Beale is nowhere to be seen.... Alongside all that, Karen and Mitch's beloved child Bailey has been lost and found, hidden by her classmate in her shed for half a week and eventually found by Denise.

BBC

Plenty of storylines to chew on in the last 6 months, and these have all been squeezed into 20-25 minute slots, as I'm sure you all know. I'm sure you'll all agree that EastEnders has been a welcome escape out of the seemingly relentless grip of Covid.

It's like an emotions-running-high trip into another life as a fly on the Walford walls for 20 minutes, and I wouldn't change that for anything.

BBC

Over the last 6 months, EastEnders has broken new ground in the soap world, dealing with lots of sensitive subjects, such as FGM, child sex abuse and disability discrimination, all of which the soap can be praised for dealing with in an appropriate and proper manner, and educating the public about about such emotional issues.

This is particularly brilliant because young people who watch the soap are educated about the real world and adult life. Well done to the excellent writers, actors and producers at the BBC who make our daily Walford fix possible.

BBC

There are plenty of lessons to learn from EastEnders. It teaches us, even adults, not to view the world through rose-tinted glasses all the time, and that people are rarely what they seem on the surface.

It teaches us that actions have consequences. It teaches us that some people never learn. On the contrary, it teaches us that some things will turn out fine in the end, and teaches us of the value of family and friends.

You are never too old to learn, and I believe that to be a good thing.

A huge thank you to Saul for that article, you can follow them on twitter: @EffNoyn. If you would like to have your own article read by EastEnders fans around the world, click here.

EastEnders airs weeknights on BBC One.