Aberystwyth University Professor Jamie Medhurst has marked the 40th anniversary of TV soap, ‘Eastenders’.

The Film and Television Studies lecturer has written an article on the history of the show, which can be read in full on The Conversation at https://theconversation.com/eastenders-at-40-how-a-public-service-soap-became-a-national-institution-247060.

Jamie told the ‘Cambrian News’ about the article, titled ‘EastEnders at 40: how a ‘public service soap’ became a national institution’, which looks back to when it all began, on 19 February, 1985.

Jamie writes: “The first character to speak on ‘EastEnders’ was Dirty Den, as he came to be known, played by Leslie Grantham.

“Breaking into a dingy flat with fellow characters Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) and Ali Osman (Nejdet Salih), Den uttered the words “Stinks in ‘ere, dunnit?”, before discovering the elderly Reg Cox (Johnnie Clayton) close to death.”

Jamie added: “Up until this point, the BBC had not had much luck with the continuing serial drama, or soap opera, format. Its first serial, The Grove Family, ran for only three years between 1954 and 1957, for instance. Although The Archers had been running since 1951 on Radio 4, and the Welsh-language soap opera, Pobol y Cwm, began in 1974 (and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary), the BBC lacked anything comparable to ITV’s Coronation Street.”

The BBC must feel very lucky indeed to be celebrating four decades of ‘Eastenders’, and fans of the show will be relishing the dramatic storylines on offer to mark 40 years of the show.

Although fictional, the team behind ‘Eastenders’ - including the numerous scriptwriters, actors, directors, camera operators, sound, lighting, hair, make-up, costume and more - have worked hard to bring Albert Square and the Queen Vic pub to life, and the now famous dum, dum, dum, dum at the end of each show has become iconic too.

Read more from Jamie on The Conversation.