BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
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soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
, '' EastEnders'', played by Mark Thrippleton, from 20 April 1989 to 1 March 1990.
Paul, a builder, came to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
with a building firm he worked for, then decided to go it alone. He finds work around the Square — the money is not great but there are benefits — for instance, Julie Cooper ( Louise Plowright) discusses his building estimates while sharing a bed with him. He is a ladies man and a heart-breaker, as sixteen-year-old
Diane Butcher
Diane Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Sophie Lawrence. Diane appeared as a regular character between 1988 and 1991, when Lawrence decided to leave. The character made several brief returns in 19 ...
(
Sophie Lawrence
Sophie Lawrence (born 12 June 1972, Ilford, London) is an English actress and singer. She played the role of Diane Butcher in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' as a regular cast member from 1988 to 1991, making subsequent guest appearances ...
) discovers. When their relationship grows too serious, he flees and a devastated Diane runs away from home shortly afterwards.
Storylines
Originally from
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
, Paul came to London with a building firm he worked for. He arrives in Walford in April 1989 in search of a place to stay and soon begins lodging with the Butchers at
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria (more often referred to as The Queen Vic or The Vic) is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders''. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.
Appearance and developmen ...
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
.
Paul has quite an impact on the ladies of Walford, particularly the school girl
Diane Butcher
Diane Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Sophie Lawrence. Diane appeared as a regular character between 1988 and 1991, when Lawrence decided to leave. The character made several brief returns in 19 ...
(
Sophie Lawrence
Sophie Lawrence (born 12 June 1972, Ilford, London) is an English actress and singer. She played the role of Diane Butcher in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' as a regular cast member from 1988 to 1991, making subsequent guest appearances ...
), who is instantly attracted to him. Her father
Frank
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curr ...
( Mike Reid) becomes extremely worried about all the attention she gives Paul. His fears are mistakenly realised when Paul takes Diane to a
Deacon Blue
Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut albu ...
concert
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...
and they are both assaulted on their way home by a
gang
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...
of violent thugs. As the gang team up on Paul, Diane is struck while attempting to fend them off. She runs home to the Vic to get help, however Frank immediately assumes that Paul is the one who has struck her. When Paul escapes the thugs and returns to the Vic, he is greeted by a furious Frank, who knocks him to the floor with a
punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
. Only after Paul has fled in fear does a hysterical Diane manage to explain what had really occurred. Frank is forced to apologise for his overreaction and as Paul is relatively laid back, he does not bear him any grudges. Paul and Diane begin dating, although spending time alone together is almost impossible with Frank watching their every move, not to mention
Mo Butcher
Mo Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Edna Doré between 1988 and 1990. She is introduced as the matriarch figure of the Butcher family, Frank Butcher's ( Mike Reid) elderly mother. She is portraye ...
(
Edna Doré
Edna Lillian Doré (née Gorring; 31 May 1921 – 11 April 2014) was a British actress. She was known for her bit-part roles in sitcoms and for playing the character of Mo Butcher in '' EastEnders'' from 1988 to 1990.
Career
Doré began her c ...
) — who takes to standing guard outside their bedrooms at night to stop any secret liaisons. While Diane quickly falls in love with Paul, it is not nearly as serious for him.
In June 1989 Paul's friend Trevor Short ( Phil McDermott) comes to Walford in search of him. He and Trevor had shared a room together briefly at a
youth hostel
A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ...
. Trevor is a dim-witted, needy individual who idolises Paul. Paul is not exactly thrilled to see Trevor initially, but soon comes round to the idea of having him around. When Paul decides to take on some freelance work, he employs Trevor as a builder's aid, although he is more of a liability than a labourer and makes many disastrous mistakes. Paul finds a fair bit of work around Walford, his first big job being the conversion of Julie Cooper's ( Louise Plowright) salon. Julie takes a shine to Paul and while Diane is waiting for Paul to take her on a romantic date, Julie seduces him and they have sex. Paul continues to mess Diane around, standing her up on several occasions to be with Julie. Diane is devastated by his sudden rejection, but she places the blame entirely on Julie. Meanwhile, Paul soon begins to feel that Julie is merely using him in order to get a cheap deal for his labour and he begins to take against her flirtatious behaviour towards other men. He dumps her and refuses to finish the salon conversion. Julie, who only saw their fling as a bit of fun, is not particularly bothered about the end of their affair, but refuses to pay him for his prior work unless he finishes the salon, so Paul is forced to continue. Immediately after finishing with Julie, Paul returns to Diane and she willingly takes him back. She will not forgive Julie however, and plays various vengeful tricks on her as payback.''Scene, Channel 2 and 17 (1990)'' p. 17
Paul finds work redecorating
Ashraf Karim
The Karims are a fictional family that appear in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' between July 1987 and June 1990.
Creation and development
The Muslim Karim family are introduced as the owners of the soap's grocery store, the First til Last, f ...
's ( Aftab Sachak) property, which is hindered somewhat by the ineptitude of Trevor, who causes the property's ceiling to collapse. Paul and Diane's relationship continues, but it soon becomes obvious to everyone that Paul is losing interest in her. Oblivious to this, Diane's feelings only strengthen and she even invites him away for a weekend alone together, indicating that sex will be on the agenda. Paul, who still has Frank watching his every move, declines the offer, but Diane is not perturbed and by the end of the year she has got it into her head that Paul wants to marry her. Actually the relationship has grown far too serious for Paul's liking. He begins to tire of living in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and longs for his old life and the people back up north. After finishing the Karim's property he breaks the news that he is leaving to Trevor and hints that it is unlikely he will return. Meanwhile, Diane is adamant that Paul is about to propose and even instructs Trevor to show Paul the engagement ring she wants. Trevor tries to convince Paul to tell Diane that he is leaving, but Paul cannot pluck up the courage to do it and says his goodbyes to everyone but her. Eventually Trevor informs Diane that Paul is leaving and she reacts with anger and disbelief. She goes in search of him and sees him waiting at a bus stop. She calls out to him, but Paul merely glances at her before getting on a bus and leaving.
Diane is devastated to lose Paul and in January 1990 (on her sixteenth birthday) she runs away from home without trace. Frank blames Paul for her disappearance and goes to Leeds to track him down, thinking that Diane is with him, but his search is fruitless. He is told that Paul has not been there recently and no one knows where he is. Frank becomes so desperate to find Paul that he hires a private detective, and is in the process of being conned by him when Paul coincidentally turns up in Walford. He reveals that he had spent some time in America, and knows nothing of Diane's whereabouts. He feels guilty about the way he'd treated Diane and has come back to put things right. After some heavy interrogation from Frank, Paul reveals that he spoke to Diane on the day she ran away. She had asked to come to Leeds to see him, but Paul had refused and promised to come to Walford when he had more time. Frank eventually accepts that Paul is telling the truth.
Trevor is overjoyed to see Paul again, but his happiness is fleeting as Paul soon announces that he is leaving once again, and this time for good. Seeing how upset Trevor is about this, Paul asks him to join him in his home town of
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
. Trevor gratefully accepts and leaves with Paul in March 1990.
Character creation and development
1989 was a year of big change for ''EastEnders'', both behind the cameras and in front of them. Original production designer, Keith Harris, left the show, and co-creators,
Tony Holland
Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter, best known as a writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''.
Early life
Holland was the oldest of three children born to ...
and Julia Smith, both decided that the time had come to move on too; their final contribution coinciding with the exit of one of ''EastEnders'' most successful characters,
Den Watts
Dennis "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den".
Den was the original landlord of The Queen Victoria public house fr ...
Mike Gibbon
John Michael Gibbon (born 27 January 1942) is an English television producer and director.
He directed and produced the BBC televised soap opera, ''EastEnders''. He began directing the programme in 1985 and began producing the programme in 1988 ...
, was given the arduous task of taking over the show and he enlisted the most experienced writers to take over the storylining of the programme, including Charlie Humphreys, Jane Hollowood and Tony McHale.
The departure of two of the soap's most popular characters, Den and
Angie Watts
Angie Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Anita Dobson from the first episode of the series until 1988, when Dobson decided to leave, and the character was written out.
Angie is well known for her ...
(
Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949) is an English stage, film and television actress, and singer. She is best known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 1986, she reached number four in the UK Si ...
), had left a massive void in the programme, which needed to be filled. In addition several other long running characters left the show that year including two original cast members, Sue and
Ali Osman
Ali Osman is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nejdet Salih. He was a member of the original ''EastEnders'' cast, appearing in the first episode on 19 February 1985. He remained with the show for nearly fi ...
(
Sandy Ratcliff
Alexandra Ratcliff (2 October 1948 – 7 April 2019) was an English actress, model and counsellor. She made an impression as a model and film actress in the 1970s, but she became known for being one of the original cast members of the BBC soap o ...
Matilda Ziegler
Matilda Ziegler (born 23 July 1964) is an English actress, best known for her roles as Donna Ludlow in ''EastEnders'', Irma Gobb in '' Mr. Bean'', and Pearl Pratt in ''Lark Rise to Candleford''.
Television and film career
Ziegler's first screen ...
Judith Jacob
Judith Jacob (born 13 December 1961) is a British actress best known for her role as the health visitor Carmel Roberts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role she played from 1986 to 1989.Colin Russell (
Michael Cashman
Michael Maurice Cashman, Baron Cashman (born 17 December 1950), is a British actor, politician, and LGBT rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands from 1999 to 2014. ...
). So, it was decided that 1989 was to be a year of change in Walford. ''EastEnders'' script-writer,
Colin Brake
Colin Brake (born 1962) is an English television writer and script editor best known for his work for the BBC on programmes such as '' Bugs'' and '' EastEnders''. He has also written spin-offs from the BBC series '' Doctor Who''. He lives and w ...
, has suggested that "it was almost as if Walford itself was making a fresh start".
At the time the programme had come under criticism in the British media for being too depressing; arguably a reputation that it has never been able to shake. The programme makers were determined to change this. In 1989 there was a deliberate attempt to increase the lighter, more comic aspects of life in
Albert Square
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location ...
. This led to the introduction of some characters who were deliberately conceived as comic or light-hearted. Such characters included Paul Priestly, a northern heartbreaker, and his
sidekick
A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany.
Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
hairdresser
A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be re ...
;
Marge Green
Marge Green (credited as Brown Owl in her first appearance) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Pat Coombs.
— a batty older lady played by veteran comedy actress
Pat Coombs
Patricia Doreen Coombs (27 August 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an English actress. She specialised in the portrayal of the eternal downtrodden female, comically under the thumb of stronger personalities. She was known for many roles on radio, ...
Pete Beale
Pete Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Peter Dean (actor), Peter Dean. He makes his first appearance in the programme's first episode, on 19 February 1985. The character was introduced by Tony Holl ...
's ( Peter Dean) sparring partner.
Paul Priestly was a cheeky, carefree romeo, whose principal purpose was to become
Walford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location work ...
's latest teen heartthrob. Since 1985 this role had been occupied by the hugely popular
Simon Wicks
Simon "Wicksy" Wicks is a fictional character from the British BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'', played by Nick Berry between 1985 and 1990. Wicksy was introduced to take on some of the more adult storylines that had been scripted for another chara ...
(
Nick Berry
Nicholas Berry (born 16 April 1963) is a retired English actor and pop singer. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in ''EastEnders'' from 1985 to 1990, and as PC Nick Rowan in '' Heartbeat'' from 1992 to 1998. He sang UK chart sin ...
), but as the character aged and took on a more mature role, the programme needed a new teen pin-up to appeal to the younger audience. The actor Mark Thrippleton shared many similarities with the character of Paul. Like Paul he came from
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
, had a strong
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
accent, and before taking up acting he was a builder. As he also looked the part Thrippleton was given the role.
Humour was an important element in the storylines during 1989, with a greater amount of slapstick and light comedy than ever before. The character of Paul was regularly used for comic effect in conjunction with his dim-witted sidekick Trevor Short, who Paul compassionately employed as a labourer. Emphasis was placed on the obvious differences between the two friends, as well as Trevor's tendency to idolise Paul and fail at every task he was given. Paul would despair over Trevor's ineptitude, but although Trevor was more of a liability than a labourer, Paul remained his loyal defender and persisted in helping him out and taking responsibility for his errors.
1989's changes were a brave experiment and while some found this period of ''EastEnders'' entertaining, many other viewers felt that the comedy stretched the programme's credibility somewhat. Although the programme still covered many issues in 1989, such as domestic violence, drugs,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
and
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
, the new emphasis on a more balanced mix between "light and heavy storylines" gave the illusion that the show had lost a "certain edge".
By the end of the year ''EastEnders'' had acquired a new executive producer, Michael Ferguson, who had previously been a successful producer on ITV's ''
The Bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983.
The programme focused o ...
''. Ultimately, Ferguson was responsible for bringing in a new sense of vitality, and creating a programme that was more in touch with the real world than it had been over the last year. A new era began in 1990 with the introduction of the Mitchell brothers, Phil ( Steve McFadden) and
Grant
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
* Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
* Grant, Inyo County, ...
(
Ross Kemp
Ross James Kemp (born 21 July 1964) is an English actor, author, and television presenter. He rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He is also known for his other roles as Graham Lodsworth in ' ...
), two hugely successful characters, who would go on to dominate the soap thereafter. As the new production machine cleared the way for new characters and a new direction, a number of characters were axed from the show at the start of the year. Among them was Paul, as well as every other "comedic" character that had been introduced to the show in 1989. By March 1990 they had all gone. Several of the actors were upset to be leaving the programme so soon, but with the show's new direction there was no place for characters "whose prime function was to be comic relief".