Classic Eastenders on the Drama channel

[dingdongdigeridoo]

So, classic Eastenders starts airing on the UKTV Drama channel from tomorrow! Two episodes from noon, and they’ll also be on UKTV catchup.

Use this thread to talk about Den, Angie, Arthur, poodle perms, poor fashion choices and Ethel’s Willy.

Yeah I think he did say to Kathy that his parents had both died.
I don’t know why I can’t really remember him from a few years ago, he mentioned Paul having recently been killed and I remember that storyline with him and Ben really well. I suppose, because I wasn’t born until 1988, that him coming back didn’t mean anything to me at the time as I didn’t know who he was.

Poor little Annie! And poor Mary, but she's the very definition of an unfit mother.

I loved those Smarties tubes with the coloured plastic lids!

I'd forgotten the dodgy workmen doing up the Dagmar. I think the scriptwriters used situations like that to inject a bit of comedy into the general doom-and-gloom storylines.

All the time Wicksy and Sharon were in that hotel room I thought Alex Polizzi would be having a fit in 2019. I'm sure it looked bang up to date in 1988!!!

I know it's just a soap but why would the council house Dot and Ethel in a great big house but Mary and Annie in one room would they allow the swop?

Very true tobee! It's still 1987 isn't it?

I was astounded at Den selling his crappy Rover 3500 (or was it a 2600 Vanden Plas?) for £10,000! Just goes to show why the roads nowadays are so congested - cars are much cheaper than in the olden days! Cars in the Square were always breaking down, which would be much rarer now.

So did Debbie and the policeman get married and disappear from the Square forever? Rather soon after the tragic death of Andy, did the scriptwriters just want to get rid of her?

Since when did the late 1980s become 'the olden days'?

You aren't half making me feel old 😜

I thought the same Limer I know we are going through the months quickly but it's not even a year yet will Naima be going soon too

I was looking at the prices of alcohol in Naimas shop the other day some prices are not dissimilar to today's yet carmel.was complaining a few months ago she couldn't buy a property for less £25,000 which is astounding compared to today's prices even in the North West where I live and compared to London....

I am very old WheresThatCat

x2boys Carmel wastes too much money in the pub and on her toyboy

I hope Naima does go soon, she's really annoying! I hope she doesn't get married off to her shitty cousin though.

Going back to earlier posts about AIDS, I don't remember gay relationships being at all shocking in the 80s. There was a lot of ignorance about AIDS when it was first discovered (because it only appeared in gay men). Hence the national information campaign and the tombstones advert with John Hurt narrating.

Yet to come is the returning Mark (Todd Carty) and his girlfriend who has AIDS (can't remember her name - Jill?). I do remember she lived in Tulse Hill, and on the evening before she died her & Mark went out for a meal with Michelle (& Lofty?) and just had desserts, because she felt too ill to eat anything else. Then there were a few months of not knowing whether Mark had also fallen victim to the virus (he hadn't).

Mark did have Aids it's what he died of

Sorry Hiv and he eventually died of Aids

Didn't the original Mark actor get written out when he had mental health problems and eventually took his own life?

Yes Captain I was reading about it apparently the tabloids really.didn't help.when he was having treatment very sad

It is tragic, the tabloids can be so disgusting.

Ah, my mistake, I don't remember Mark dying so maybe I'd stopped watching by then! I remember him getting together with the lady who ran a market stall selling second-hand stuff (Rachel?) but not much after then. Love Todd Carty though, ever since he was Tucker Jenkins in Grange Hill.

Yes Tucker I think all teenage girls at the time were a little bit in love with Tucker Jenkins!

The workmen are so annoying! I bet some producer said they needed light relief so they came up with the idea of workmen with hilarious banter. But it just doesn’t work in EE.

Eww yeah that hotel room was a state. There are still hotels that have that awful chintzy look. There’s a wedding venue near me that people are always complaining about, and the bridal suite looks quite similar with an awful four poster bed. I thought their posh meal was very retro too. Pate as a starter, not seen that on a menu for a while. Mmmm.

I.got quite upset when Mary's parents took Annie home , I know she's a terrible mother.but it was sad.

I do feel sorry for Mary, she's got very limited chances given that she can't read. But she doesn't think about the welfare of Annie enough (if at all), and her supposedly awful mother has turned out to be a bit of a religious nutcase, but apart from that she's a sensible level-headed woman who only wants the best for her daughter and grand-daughter.

OMG those builders. Genuine jaw-dropping moment at the blatant sexism towards Angie. I guess it was written as an extreme stereotype, but plenty of that went on.

Funny seeing Den trying to keep track of his harem - I think in today's episodes he tried it on with Mags, Jan and Angie! What a slime ball!

How much would rent have been in London thirty odd years for Ethel/Pats flat £4 sounds very low so does £10?

I think Ethel's "flat" is more like 2 rooms. Main room with sink, fridge and cooker, and a separate bedroom? Probably shares a bathroom with the other rooms in the house? I rented a whole one-bedroom flat in Birmingham in 1987 for £18 per week (with hall, bedroom, living room, kitchen & bathroom), so £10 pw for 2 rooms in a dilapidated house in an unfashionable London suburb is probably representative. Ethel only got away with £4 because she can wind Dr Legge round her little finger!

It's the general election in 1987! Nice stereotyping that Willmott-Brown's a Tory and Colin's a champagne socialist!

Would it not it not have been more because it was London ?

IIRC London was a bit more expensive than the rest of the country, but the gap wasn't as big as it is now.

I’m still loving this, finally solved mystery of how Dot ended up with big house when it was just her. Guess Dot is working so can afford the rent. Big jump from 2 rooms to whole house, but council rent would been cheaper than private.

Dr leg wanted ethal pay £10 week in rent then she wanted to pay £4 with cleaning. But Ian and Gf are being chRged £30 a week for being in a room in friends flat?

The Dagmar looks huge when yeas later it’s supoosed to be a hairdressers.

Looking forward to finding out about Michelle and how she ends up in America years later.

One thing I’m confused about is dens Gf mags turning up? I re watched but feel like one is missing she just seems to appear and move and is just there?