EastEnders schedule shake up after furious fans ‘missed an episode’ when soap was pulled off air
A BRAND new episode of EastEnders will air tonight after Tuesday’s was pulled from the schedule.
The unusual Friday episode follows the BBC’s decision to air Sports Personality of the Year on Tuesday, taking EastEnders‘ usual time slot.
The BBC soap typically airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One at 7:30pm and is available to stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
Tonight EastEnders will air at 7:30pm, but it is also available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
Viewers will see the aftermath of Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) accidentally setting a house fire.
She knocked over a candle after passing out from taking strong pills that Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) gave her for her pain.
Cindy was wary to give her the pills due to her pregnancy, but Lauren blackmailed her into giving them by threatening to expose that she was involved with Kojo’s (Dayo Koleosho) fall.
As the room goes up in flames, can Lauren and her son Louie escape in time?
And is this the wake up call Lauren needs to seek help for the painkiller addiction?
Meanwhile, Denise Fox’s (Diane Parish) paranoia over Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) coming for her gets too much for her.
Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) if forced to intervene and help her, but is confused
Will see tell Ravi the truth about last Christmas and being the reason Nish ended up nearly dead?
In hospital, Martin finds himself in a love triangle again as he has rekindled his connections with both Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton).
Zack Hudson (James Farrar) encourages his friend to go with the person that feels the most right. Who will he choose?
Elsewhere in the square, Anna Knight (Molly Rainford) and Freddie Slater (Bobby Brazier) are listening to the bird calls on Freddie’s voice recorder.
But who will overhear Cindy’s confession that she is sleeping with her stepson Junior Knight (Micah Balfour)?
Biggest soap stunts
Soaps are no stranger to dramatic stunts in the storylines. Not only do these moments create a spectacle for viewers, they also fundamentally change characters’ lives.
Here is a look at some of the biggest soap stunts from over the years.
CORONATION STREET
- Tram crash (2010): The ITV soap marked its 50th anniversary with a intense tram crash – and live episode to boot. Overall, the crash and its effects were broadcast across a week in December 2010. Its resulting chaos saw regular characters Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold) and Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns) die.
- Richard Hillman tries to kill the Platts (2003): Of all the men unlucky-in-love Gail tied the knot with, Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) is probably the one she regrets most in hindsight. In 2003, murderer Richard tried to kill his step-family: first by gassing them with car fumes and then driving Gail (Helen Worth), Sarah (Tina O’Brien), David (Jack P. Shepherd) and Bethany (Amy and Emily Walton) into a canal.
EASTENDERS
- Queen Vic fire (2010): In September 2010, EastEnders bid farewell to matriarch Peggy Mitchell (Barbara Windsor) as a permanent fixture on the soap – she returned as a guest before the character’s death in 2016. In the build-up to her initial exit, Peggy had trapped crack cocaine-addicted son Phil (Steve McFadden) in the Queen Vic. However, he escaped and set the boozer on fire.
- Bus crash (2017): In April 2017, a total of 11 Albert Square residents had their lives at risk in a terrifying bus crash. The stunt saw a double decker bus – the 764 to Barking – lose control and crash through the Albert Square market before hitting a low-level bridge. Notable passengers at the time included Denise Fox (Diane Parish) and Louise Mitchell (Tilly Keeper).
EMMERDALE
- James Barton’s death (2016): Interestingly about James’ (Bill Ward) death was that it came in a spiral of events. After wife Emma (Gillian Kearney) locked James up in a jealous rage, he escaped and they tussled on a bridge over the bypass. Emma pushed him and James fell into traffic, in turn causing a 12-vehicle pile up, As well as James dying, key characters including Ashley Thomas (John Middleton) and Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) were injured.