What is "eastenders"

EastEnders is a British soap opera; the first episode was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End of London. The series primarily centres on the residents of Albert Square, a Victorian square of terraced houses, and its neighbouring streets, namely Bridge Street, Turpin Road and George Street. The area encompasses a pub, street market, night club, community centre, funeral parlour, café, wine bar, various other small businesses, a park and allotments.

The series was initially screened as two half-hour instalments per week. Since 2001, episodes are broadcast each weekday, apart from Wednesday, on BBC One. A same-day repeat was shown on BBC Three, from 2004 until 15 February 2016, after which W took over the showing. An omnibus edition was broadcast on a Sunday, from 1985 until its discontinuation, in 2015, but, as with the repeat screening, this was picked up by W in 2016.

It is one of the UK's highest-rated programmes, often appearing near or at the top of the week's BARB ratings. Within eight months of its launch, it reached the number-one spot in the ratings, and has consistently remained among the top-rated TV programmes in Britain. In 2013, the average audience share for an episode was around 30 per cent. Created by producer Julia Smith and script editor Tony Holland, EastEnders has remained a significant programme in terms of the BBC's success and audience share, and also in the history of British television drama, tackling many controversial and taboo issues in British culture and social life previously unseen on United Kingdom mainstream television.

, EastEnders has won nine BAFTA Awards and the Inside Soap Award for Best Soap for 14 years running (from 1997 to 2012), as well as twelve National Television Awards for Most Popular Serial Drama and 11 awards for Best Soap at the British Soap Awards. It has also won 13 TV Quick and TV Choice Awards for Best Soap, six TRIC Awards for Soap of The Year, four Royal Television Society Awards for Best Continuing Drama and has been inducted into the Rose d'Or Hall of Fame.