Misplaced Pages

Episode 7037/7038

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
2024 EastEnders episodes

Episode of EastEnders
Episode 7037/7038
EastEnders episodes
Episode nos.Episodes 7037 and 7038
Directed byKarl Nielson
Written bySimon Ashdown
Editing byRob Platt
Original air date25 December 2024 (2024-12-25)
Running time28 minutes (both)
Episode chronology
← Previous
Episode 7036 		Next →
Episode 7039

Episodes 7037 and 7038 of the British television soap opera EastEnders were originally broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2024, Christmas Day. They were both directed by Karl Nielson, written by Simon Ashdown, edited by Rob Platt, and executive produced by Chris Clenshaw. The episodes primarily depict Lauren Branning's (Jacqueline Jossa) decision to reveal of the affair between characters Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) and her former stepson Junior Knight (Micah Balfour), resulting in their respective exclusion and Cindy's eventual attack. The episodes further develop the storylines of Phil Mitchell's (Steve McFadden) struggles with loneliness, Stacey Slater's (Lacey Turner) desire to restart her romance with her ex-husband Martin Fowler (James Bye), the continuation of Denise Fox (Diane Parish) and Ravi Gulati's (Aaron Thiara) relationship, and the return of Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley).

The specials were written to pay homage to iconic past episodes, as a way of celebrating the show's upcoming 40th anniversary. Filmed in October and November 2024, the episodes marked the first time since 2008 that two half-hour episodes aired on Christmas Day, rather than a one-hour special. Production faced challenges, including a leaked script that revealed plot points surrounding an unnamed character's death, which were later returned to the BBC after receiving media coverage. The episodes received high ratings, both being watched by over 4 million, and received generally positive critical reception.

Plot

Episode 7037

On Christmas Day 2024 in Walford, Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) frantically searches for a missing USB stick containing a recording that exposes her affair with Junior Knight (Micah Balfour), the son of her ex-husband George (Colin Salmon). Cindy fears the recording will be played to her fiancé, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) reveals to Cindy that she has listened to the recording and plans to expose it as revenge for Cindy's prior attempts to get her addicted to painkillers while pregnant. Despite Cindy's desperate pleas and bribes, Lauren resolves to send the USB to Ian as part of the Beale and Knight families' Secret Santa. At the Mitchell household, Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) and Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) announce their plans to marry in February 2025. Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) abruptly leaves the Mitchell family Christmas dinner after witnessing Teddy Mitchell (Roland Manookian) kiss his ex-wife Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean). While outside, Phil encounters his old friend Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), who is struggling with poverty and estrangement from his family. Phil offers Nigel a place to stay for the night.

At the Slater house, Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) tries to reconcile with her ex-husband Martin Fowler (James Bye), paranoid of his growing chemistry with Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton). However, when she finally gets an opportunity to speak to him, Martin falls asleep before she can confess her desire to rekindle their relationship. Elsewhere, Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) and Denise Fox (Diane Parish) rekindle their romance, sharing a kiss in the snow. During a karaoke night at The Queen Victoria pub, Ian receives the USB stick and plays it on the speakers. Lauren watches in delight as the recording plays, publicly exposing Cindy's affair with Junior, lingering feelings for George, and discontent with Ian to the crowded pub, leaving Ian and the onlookers shocked.

Episode 7038

After the recording is played, a furious Ian attacks Junior. The pub's attendees are sent home as Ian retreats to another room to finish listening to the recording, while Cindy attempts to justify her actions to the Knights. Cindy's son and Lauren's partner Peter Beale (Thomas Law) chastises Lauren for causing a public scene. During the heated exchanges, it is revealed that Cindy and Junior manipulated George's autistic brother, Kojo (Dayo Koleosho), into keeping their affair secret after he witnessed them kissing. Cindy further reveals that Elaine knew about the recording and had used it to blackmail Cindy into emigrating to France with Ian, fearing Cindy's lingering feelings for George. George is appalled by Junior's actions and disowns him. When George accidentally refers to Cindy as his wife, he enrages Elaine, who kicks him out in response. Kojo apologizes for keeping the secret, but George reassures him that he is not to blame. Cindy faces a barrage of rejection from her children, Peter, Gina (Francesca Henry), and Anna (Molly Rainford), who disown her out of disgust.

In a private moment, Ian reveals to Cindy that he recently suffered an angina attack but chose not to tell her, fearing she would see him as weak. Cindy pleads for forgiveness, declaring her love and a desire to start anew, but Ian coldly dismisses her apologies. He concludes that she won't change and never truly loved him before forcing her to leave. Alone and shunned by her loved ones, Cindy finds herself standing in the cold of Albert Square. As she orders a taxi to leave Walford, she is violently struck down by an unseen figure with a snow shovel.

Cast and characters

Production

Michelle Collins, (pictured) portrayer of Cindy, likened the Christmas special to a "classic Christmas".

In July 2024, EastEnders executive producer Chris Clenshaw confirmed that development for the soap's upcoming Christmas special had begun, with the episodes set to lend focus on the Mitchell family. In comparison to previous offerings, little plot information about the episodes was revealed to the press throughout the year, but they were billed as being "tragic and sad" by Alfie Moon actor Shane Richie. Set to focus on several ongoing storylines, Clenshaw compared preparing the them to a tapestry, where "everything has to fit together". The first storyline confirmed to be at the forefront of Christmas was Phil Mitchell's (Steve McFadden) loneliness plot, with the character set be "in despair" and "face a very difficult festive period" after being isolated from his family. Clenshaw explained that although Phil was with his family at Christmas, he struggled with his mental health regardless, leading to the isolation.

It was later confirmed that the episodes would see the reaveal of Cindy Beale's (Michelle Collins) affair with her former stepson Junior Knight (Micah Balfour). On the revelation of the affair, the episode was teased to feature "secrets and lies ... throw a wrecking ball into the Beale family festivities", and leave Cindy "nowhere to hide" as she faced fury from the Beale and Knight families. Later teasers also indicated that the former romance between Martin Fowler (James Bye) and Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) would be explored, with Stacey wanting to resume their relationship. Throughout promotion for the episodes, it was frequently teased that it would feature "ghosts of Christmas past". On Christmas Eve, the return of former character Nigel Bates, played by Paul Bradley was aired. Speaking of his character's return, Bradley said he was "thrilled and honoured" to return as Nigel, a role he noted he still received recognition from. Clenshaw added: "There's a lot of mystery about Nigel's situation and why he's here alone, which will be revealed in the coming weeks". Clenshaw later confirmed to Digital Spy that Nigel's return stint would be long-running.

As EastEnders Christmas specials are known for their plot importance and dreary storylines, in an interview with Radio Times, actress Collins voiced her appreciation to be at the centre of "one of the most anticipated events", the Christmas special, billing is as being like "classic Christmas episode". When asked to describe it in three words: "dramatic, powerful and moving". Turner echoed Collins' scentiment, opining that "it's always lovely to be involved in the Christmas storyline". The show announced on 3 December 2024 that there would be two episodes to air on Christmas Day. The announcement marked the first time the soap had aired two half-hour episodes on Christmas since 2008, as all episodes had been hour-long specials since then. The first would air at 7:30pm and the second at 10:35pm, with neither being released early on BBC iPlayer like the show's other episodes.

Written by Simon Ashdown and directed by Karl Nielson, the episodes were filmed throughout October and November. A biodegradable false snow was used to dress the setting, which took over two days to apply. Clenshaw explained that the episode was written as a tribute to previous Christmas specials, intentionally incorporating homages to celebrate the show's upcoming 40th anniversary. He cited an example of being a scene where Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) smashes up a living room, in reference to a scene where Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) did the same on Christmas Day 1986. Clenshaw explained he wanted the scene to "have echoes of Arthur's breakdown", intentionally choreographing the scenes similarly. The show confirmed in a Behind the Scenes video that the scene where the affair was revealed referenced both the "Sharongate" storyline, with the recording being played in a crowded pub, and the show's 2007 Christmas Day broadcast, as the character Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) was responsible. Collins admitted she found it "tough" to film the scene where the affair is revealed, as she felt it meant having to deeply immerse into the moment. To film Cindy's attack, Collins was replaced with a stunt double who stood in place as another stunt man pretended to hit them with a real shovel. Collins then filmed Cindy's collapse.

On 11 November 2024, it was reported to media outlets that a script from the episodes was accidentally left on a train by one of the show's actresses. The scripts were found by a passenger on a Thameslink train at Elstree & Borehamwood railway station on 31 October. It was alledged that the scripts contained details about a "key character" being killed off. Shortly after being found, the individual tried returning them to the unnamed actress, but received no response after reaching out. After four days, the scripts were handed into The Sun newspaper before being returned to the BBC.

Reception

The episodes performed well in the ratings, both securing places in the top ten most-viewed Christmas Day broadcasts. Episode 7037 was watched by 4 million and episode 7038 was watched by 4.4 million, beating out rival soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale. The viewership figure increased by 800,000 viewers compared to 2023's special.

Helen Daly of Radio Times wrote that the episodes had successfully provided drama in "bucket loads", and expressed sympathy for Cindy by calling Lauren's revenge "cruel" and Cindy's attack "horrific". Daly further praised Elaine's decision to kick George out, calling it "powerful". Colleague Lewis Knight called the affair reveal "explosive". A BBC Media Centre writer deemed the scene "sensational". Erin Zammitt of Digital Spy found that, despite initial concern about the show's decision to dedicate Christmas to Cindy and Junior's affair, that the soap had "produced a brilliantly entertaining Christmas instalment", which appealed well to all. Zammitt enthused about the parallels to previous Christmas instalments in the episode, namely Lauren exposing an affair via a recording, like she did in 2007 with her father Max Branning (Jake Wood) and Stacey. Despite the praise, she criticised the subplots in the episode for " by the wayside" and Cindy's eventual attack for being too predictable. Zammitt predicted that Cindy's fate was "likely to divide viewers", but ultimately defended the decision as it gave the story an "exciting climax". She concluded that the episode was fun for those who wanted to watch "Christmas Day drama" and fans of the show, with "powerhouse showdowns" between characters. Simon Duke of the Evening Chronicle commented that the episodes "had ... viewers on the edge of their seats" and Cindy's attack left viewers "fearing the worst".

References

Notes
  1. French appears in a voiceover cameo.
Citations
  1. ^ Denby, Laura (10 December 2024). "EastEnders' Michelle Collins teases 'classic Christmas episode' as Cindy's affair is revealed". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  2. ^ Warner, Sam (3 July 2024). "EastEnders boss reveals first hints at Christmas storylines". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 24 August 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  3. ^ Zammitt, Erin (25 October 2024). "What will EastEnders' big Christmas story be?". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  4. ^ Mensah, Katelyn (22 October 2024). "Shane Richie teases EastEnders Christmas special: 'It's tragic and sad'". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  5. Anderton, Joe (23 October 2024). "EastEnders star teases "tragic" Christmas storyline". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  6. Cormack, Morgan (18 November 2024). "EastEnders' Phil Mitchell set for devastating new Christmas storyline amid loneliness". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 19 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  7. Knight, Lewis (24 December 2024). "EastEnders boss confirms long stint for Nigel Bates in Phil storyline after mysterious Christmas return". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  8. Knight, Lewis (25 November 2024). "EastEnders 2024 Christmas preview: Cindy Beale and Junior Knight affair exposed on Christmas Day". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  9. ^ Zammitt, Erin (26 November 2024). "EastEnders confirms explosive Cindy reveal in Christmas Day episode". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  10. Daly, Helen (11 December 2024). "EastEnders Christmas 2024 trailer shows Cindy Beale secrets exposed in explosive scenes". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  11. ^ "EastEnders cast tease "classic" Christmas drama with an exposed affair, past lovers attempting to reunite and a wedding at risk from a revenge plot". BBC Media Centre. 25 December 2024. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  12. Knight, Lewis (24 December 2024). "EastEnders airs surprise Christmas Eve return for classic character in early BBC iPlayer release". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  13. ^ Lapham, Jake (24 December 2024). "Nigel Bates makes Christmas return to EastEnders". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  14. Chase, Stephanie (24 December 2024). "EastEnders star reacts to surprise return after 26 years". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  15. ^ Muir, Ellie (11 November 2024). "EastEnders: Huge Christmas spoiler 'revealed' after star leaves script on train". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  16. Craig, David (3 December 2024). "EastEnders confirms timings for Christmas Day 2024 episodes with double cliffhangers". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  17. Zammitt, Erin (3 December 2024). "EastEnders confirms two Christmas Day episodes amid major Cindy reveal". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  18. Hibbs, James; Knight, Lewis (22 December 2024). "EastEnders confirms which Christmas and New Year episodes will not air early on BBC iPlayer this year". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  19. Zammitt, Erin (21 December 2024). "EastEnders stars explain major Cindy and Elaine Christmas twist". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  20. ^ Who Hit Cindy? BTS | Behind The Square | EastEnders (Video). Official EastEnders YouTube channel. 26 December 2024. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ Knight, Lewis (25 December 2024). "EastEnders boss highlights link to iconic 1986 outing in thrilling Christmas episode". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  22. Lewis, George (11 November 2024). "EastEnders script leak teases major Christmas death". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  23. "Christmas Day Ratings 2024: BBC Dominates with Gavin & Stacey, Wallace & Gromit, Doctor Who and EastEnders". TV Zone. 26 December 2024. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  24. Knight, Lewis (27 December 2024). "EastEnders' Cindy Beale chaos beats Coronation Street and Emmerdale in Christmas Day 2024 ratings". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  25. Gecsoyler, Sammy (26 December 2024). "Gavin and Stacey finale tops Christmas television ratings". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  26. Daly, Helen (25 December 2024). "Is Cindy Beale dead after EastEnders airs horrific attack on Christmas Day 2024?". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  27. Daly, Helen (25 December 2024). "EastEnders' Elaine Knight is all 'about survival' after brutal Cindy Beale attack". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  28. "EastEnders Cindy's Christmas Day attacker to be revealed as part of 40th anniversary". BBC Media Centre. 26 December 2024. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  29. ^ Zammitt, Erin (25 December 2024). "Why EastEnders' Christmas Cindy twist simply had to happen". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  30. Duke, Simon (26 December 2024). "Does Cindy die in EastEnders? BBC soap legend attacked at Christmas in huge cliff-hanger". Chronicle Live. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.

External links

EastEnders
Characters
Locations
Storylines
Episodes
Specials
Families
Spin-offs
Music
Categories: