Editing EastEnders (section)

== Storylines ==
<!-- Note that this section is for types of storylines featured in EastEnders in general, not for details on individual storylines -->''EastEnders'' programme makers took the decision that the show was to be about "everyday life" in the inner city "today" and regarded it as a "slice of life".<ref name="Geraghty page 32">{{Harvnb|Geraghty|1991|p=32}}</ref> Creator/producer [[Julia Smith (producer)|Julia Smith]] declared that "We don't make life, we reflect it".<ref name="Geraghty page 32" /> She also said, "We decided to go for a realistic, fairly outspoken type of drama which could encompass stories about homosexuality, rape, unemployment, [[racial prejudice]], etc., in a believable context. Above all, we wanted [[Realism (arts)|realism]]".<ref name="Geraghty page 16">{{Harvnb|Geraghty|1991|p=16}}</ref> In 2011, the head of BBC drama, [[John Yorke (producer)|John Yorke]], said that the real East End had changed significantly since ''EastEnders'' started, and the show no longer truly reflected real life, but that it had an "emotional truthfulness" and was partly "true to the original vision" and partly "adapt[ing] to a changing world", adding that "If it was a show where every house cost a fortune and everyone drove a Lexus, it wouldn't be ''EastEnders''. You have to show shades of that change, but certain things are immutable, I would argue, like The Vic and the market."<ref name="Not realistic">{{cite news|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/news/a318721/eastenders-walford-not-realistic-says-bbc-boss/|title='EastEnders' Walford not realistic, says BBC boss|last=Kilkelly|first=Daniel|date=10 May 2011|work=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=12 April 2017}}</ref>

In the 1980s, ''EastEnders'' featured "gritty" storylines involving drugs and crime, representing the issues faced by working-class Britain under [[Thatcherism]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Barker|1997|p=79}}</ref> Storylines included the cot death of 14-month-old [[Hassan Osman]], [[Nick Cotton]]'s ([[John Altman (actor)|John Altman]]) [[homophobia]], racism and murder of [[Reg Cox]] (Johnnie Clayton),<ref name="issues">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/haveyoursay/yourquestions/yourq_content/yourq_issues.shtml |title= Which issues have been highlighted by ''EastEnders''? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223225130/http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/haveyoursay/yourquestions/yourq_content/yourq_issues.shtml |archive-date=23 February 2007|publisher=BBC}}</ref> [[Arthur Fowler]]'s ([[Bill Treacher]]) unemployment reflecting the recession of the 1980s, the rape of [[Kathy Beale]] ([[Gillian Taylforth]]) in 1988 by [[James Willmott-Brown]] ([[William Boyde]])<ref name="issues" /> and [[Michelle Fowler]]'s ([[Susan Tully]]) teenage pregnancy. The show also dealt with prostitution, mixed-race relationships, shoplifting, sexism, divorce, domestic violence and mugging. In 1989, the programme came under criticism in the British media for being too depressing, and according to writer [[Colin Brake]], the programme makers were determined to change this.<ref name="First10Years p70" /> In 1989, there was a deliberate attempt to increase the lighter, more comic aspects of life in Albert Square. This led to the introduction of some characters who were deliberately conceived as comic or light-hearted.<ref name="First10Years p70" /> Brake suggested that humour was an important element in ''EastEnders''{{'}} storylines during 1989, with a greater amount of slapstick and light comedy than before. He classed 1989's changes as a brave experiment, and suggested that while some found this period of ''EastEnders'' entertaining, many other viewers felt that the comedy stretched the programme's credibility.<ref name="First10Years p70" /> Although the programme still covered many issues in 1989, such as domestic violence, drugs, rape and racism, Brake reflected that the new emphasis on a more balanced mix between "light and heavy storylines" gave the illusion that the show had lost a "certain edge".<ref name="First10Years p70" />

As the show progressed into the 1990s, ''EastEnders'' still featured hard-hitting issues such as [[Mark Fowler]] ([[Todd Carty]]) revealing he was [[HIV]] positive<ref name="issues" /> in 1991, the death of his wife [[Gill Fowler|Gill]] (Susanna Dawson) from an AIDS-related illness in 1992, murder, [[adoption]], [[abortion]], [[Peggy Mitchell]]'s ([[Barbara Windsor]]) battle with [[breast cancer]],<ref name="issues" /> and [[Phil Mitchell]]'s ([[Steve McFadden]]) alcoholism and violence towards wife Kathy. [[Mental health issues]] were confronted in 1996 when 16-year-old [[Joe Wicks (EastEnders)|Joe Wicks]] developed [[schizophrenia]] following the off-screen death of his sister in a car crash. The long-running storyline of Mark Fowler's HIV was so successful in raising awareness that in 1999, a survey by the National Aids Trust found teenagers got most of their information about HIV from the soap, though one campaigner noted that in some ways the storyline was not reflective of what was happening at the time as the condition was more common among the [[gay community]]. Still, heterosexual Mark struggled with various issues connected to his HIV status, including public fears of contamination, a marriage breakdown connected to his inability to have children and the side effects of combination therapies.<ref name="ko">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2580435.stm|title=EastEnders' Mark to be killed off|publisher=BBC|date=16 December 2002|access-date=16 June 2011}}</ref>

In the early 2000s, ''EastEnders'' covered the issue of [[euthanasia]] with [[Ethel Skinner]]'s ([[Gretchen Franklin]]) death in a pact with her friend [[Dot Cotton]] ([[June Brown]]), the unveiling of [[Kat Slater]]'s ([[Jessie Wallace]]) [[Child sexual abuse|sexual abuse]] by her uncle [[Harry Slater (EastEnders)|Harry]] ([[Michael Elphick]]) as a child (which led to the birth of her daughter [[Zoe Slater|Zoe]] ([[Michelle Ryan]]), who had been brought up to believe that Kat was her sister), the [[domestic abuse]] of [[Little Mo Morgan]] ([[Kacey Ainsworth]]) by husband [[Trevor Morgan (EastEnders)|Trevor]] ([[Alex Ferns]]) (which involved [[marital rape]] and culminated in Trevor's death after he tried to kill Little Mo in a fire),<ref name="issues" /> [[Sonia Jackson]] ([[Natalie Cassidy]]) giving birth at the age of 15 and then putting her baby up for adoption, and [[Janine Butcher]]'s ([[Charlie Brooks]]) [[prostitution]], [[agoraphobia]] and [[drug addiction]]. The soap also tackled the issue of mental illness and carers of people who have mental conditions, illustrated with mother and daughter [[Jean Slater|Jean]] ([[Gillian Wright]]) and [[Stacey Slater]] ([[Lacey Turner]]); Jean has [[bipolar disorder]], and teenage daughter Stacey was her carer (this storyline won a Mental Health Media Award in September 2006<ref name="mental">"[https://web.archive.org/web/20070207053634/http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/news/news_content/news_20060905_n1.shtml Mental Health Media Awards 2006]" BBC. Retrieved 28 February 2008.</ref>). Stacey went on to struggle with the disorder herself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tv.sky.com/eastenders-spoiler-staceys-struggle |title='Enders Spoiler: Stace's Struggle |publisher=BSkyB |date=14 May 2009 |access-date=4 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517090001/http://tv.sky.com/eastenders-spoiler-staceys-struggle |archive-date= 17 May 2009}}</ref> The issue of [[illiteracy]] was highlighted by the characters of middle-aged [[Keith Miller (EastEnders)|Keith]] ([[David Spinx]]) and his young son [[Darren Miller|Darren]] ([[Charlie G. Hawkins]]).<ref name="issues" /> ''EastEnders'' has also covered the issue of [[Down syndrome]], as [[Billy Mitchell (EastEnders)|Billy]] ([[Perry Fenwick]]) and [[Honey Mitchell]]'s ([[Emma Barton]]) baby, [[Janet Mitchell (EastEnders)|Janet Mitchell]] (Grace), was born with the condition in 2006.<ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/5448067/Disabled-actor-to-star-in-EastEnders.html|title = Disabled actor to star in EastEnders |work = Daily Telegraph|date = 5 June 2009 }}</ref> ''EastEnders'' covered [[child abuse]] with its storyline involving [[Phil Mitchell]]'s ([[Steve McFadden]]) 11-year-old son [[Ben Mitchell (EastEnders)|Ben]] (Charlie Jones) and lawyer girlfriend [[Stella Crawford]] ([[Sophie Thompson]]),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/03/05/eastenders-to-tackle-child-abuse-129115/|title=EastEnders to tackle child abuse|newspaper=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]|date=5 March 2007|access-date=6 March 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.politics.co.uk/press-releases/domestic-policy/children/child-abuse/nspcc-research-reveals-childcare-professional%E2%80%99s-concerns-over-rise-in-emotional-abuse-$468374.htm |title=NSPCC research reveals childcare professional's concerns over rise in emotional abuse |publisher=politics.co.uk |date=14 March 2007 |access-date=14 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317001743/http://www.politics.co.uk/press-releases/domestic-policy/children/child-abuse/nspcc-research-reveals-childcare-professional%E2%80%99s-concerns-over-rise-in-emotional-abuse-%24468374.htm |archive-date=17 March 2007 }}</ref> and [[child grooming]] involving the characters [[Tony King (EastEnders)|Tony King]] ([[Chris Coghill]]) as the perpetrator and [[Whitney Dean]] ([[Shona McGarty]]) as the victim.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/soaps/eastenders/2019-09-15/eastenders-who-was-tony-king-all-you-need-to-know-about-leos-dad-and-whitneys-abuse|title=Who was EastEnders' Tony King? All you need to know about Leo's dad and Whitney's abuser|journal=[[Radio Times]]|first=Johnathon|last=Hughes|access-date=6 April 2020|date=15 September 2019}}</ref>

Aside from this, soap opera staples of youthful romance, jealousy, domestic rivalry, gossip and extramarital affairs are regularly featured, with high-profile storylines occurring several times a year. [[Whodunit]]s also feature regularly, including the "[[Who Shot Phil?]]" story arc in 2001 that attracted over 19 million viewers and was one of the biggest successes in British soap television; the "[[Who Killed Archie?]]" storyline, which was revealed in a special live episode of the show that drew a peak of 17 million viewers; and the "[[Who Killed Lucy Beale?]]" saga. The most recent whodunit happened at Christmas 2023, where The Six storyline saw Keanu Taylor ([[Danny Walters (actor)|Danny Walters]]) be murdered by [[Linda Carter]] ([[Kellie Bright]]), and covered up by five other residents present that night.