"The Good In Goodbye" - Cerys Matthews, 2003

I didn't think I was going to mention this today, but I just can't help myself.

There was an hour-long episode of "EastEnders" on BBC 1 last night. It's the 20th birthday of the television show...a "soap", or as is more politically correct in the States these days, a "continuing drama". In order to celebrate the milestone and in a valiant attempt to boost flagging ratings, "Dirty Den" Watts was killed off for a second time. I believe the last time he allegedly died was back in 1989.

So why is he really dying again? Well, it supposedly has something to do with the actor Leslie Grantham's "activities" with his webcam, in his dressing room on the "EE" set...but we won't go into the sordid details here.

Many of us in Britain eagerly awaited last night's episode. John and I certainly did, and we made a point to watch. (The "EE" set at BBC Elstree isn't far from John's house, by the way!)

But not everyone was quite so lucky.

I understand that the royal family -- well, at least the senior members, the Queen and Prince Phillip -- are fans of "EastEnders" also.

But last night, there was a very important dinner at the Palace for members of the visiting Olympic location selection committee. For those of you who aren't aware of the story, London is making an aggressive bid for the Olympic Games in 2012. (Not everybody is enthusiastic about that idea, though...see this.)

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one pondering if the Queen and Phillip were at least mildly distracted last night, during the smoked salmon and Meursault and small talk, wondering just how Den Watts was going to bite the dust this time. Poor things. I wonder if they even know how to program a video recorder? Hey...maybe they have TiVo!

Janet




PS After originally posting this item, I've discovered that John's local newspaper's online edition has published an interesting article called "20 Years of Walford", about the EastEnders set. Funny that they just happen to mention the show having fans from as far away as Houston, Texas! Now isn't that an interesting coincidence!