Editing EastEnders (section)

==== Initial character creation and casting ====

After they decided on the filming location of [[BBC Elstree Centre]] in south [[Hertfordshire]], Smith and Holland set about creating the 23 characters needed, in just 14 days.<ref name="Insidestory p164">{{Harvnb|Smith|Holland|1987|p=164}}</ref> They took a holiday in Playa de los Pocillos, [[Lanzarote]], and started to devise the characters.<ref name="Insidestory p48">{{Harvnb|Smith|Holland|1987|p=48}}</ref><ref name="Made" /> Holland created the [[Beale family|Beale and Fowler family]], drawing on his own background. His mother, Ethel Holland, was one of four sisters raised in Walthamstow. Her eldest sister, Lou, had married a man named Albert Beale and had two children, named Peter and Pauline.<ref name="Insidestory p49">{{Harvnb|Smith|Holland|1987|p=49}}</ref> These family members were the basis for [[Lou Beale]], [[Pete Beale]] and [[Pauline Fowler]]. Holland also created Pauline's unemployed husband [[Arthur Fowler]], their children [[Mark Fowler|Mark]] and [[Michelle Fowler|Michelle]], Pete's wife [[Kathy Beale|Kathy]] and their son [[Ian Beale|Ian]].<ref name="Insidestory p51-56" /> Smith used her personal memories of East End residents she met when researching Victorian squares.<ref name="Insidestory p15">{{Harvnb|Smith|Holland|1987|p=15}}</ref> [[Ethel Skinner]] was based on an old woman she met in a pub, with ill-fitting false teeth, and a "face to rival a neon sign", holding a [[Yorkshire Terrier]] in one hand and a pint of [[Guinness]] in the other.<ref name="Insidestory p52">{{Harvnb|Smith|Holland|1987|p=52}}</ref>

Other characters created included Jewish doctor [[Harold Legg]], the Anglo-Cypriot Osman family ([[Ali Osman|Ali]], [[Sue Osman|Sue]] and baby [[Hassan Osman|Hassan]]), black father and son [[Tony Carpenter|Tony]] and [[Kelvin Carpenter]], single mother [[Mary Smith (EastEnders)|Mary Smith]] and Bangladeshi couple [[Saeed Jeffery|Saeed]] and [[Naima Jeffery]]. Jack, Pearl and Tracey Watts were created to bring "flash, trash, and melodrama" to the Square (they were later renamed [[Den Watts|Den]], [[Angie Watts|Angie]] and [[Sharon Watts|Sharon]]). The characters of [[Andy O'Brien (EastEnders)|Andy O'Brien]] and [[Debbie Wilkins]] were created to show a modern couple with outwardly mobile pretensions, and [[Lofty Holloway]] to show an outsider; someone who did not fit in with other residents. It was decided that he would be a former soldier, as Holland's personal experiences of ex-soldiers were that they had trouble fitting into society after being in the army. When they compared the characters they had created, Smith and Holland realised they had created a cross-section of East End residents. The Beale and Fowler family represented the old families of the East End, who had always been there. The Osmans, Jefferys and Carpenters represented the more modern diverse ethnic community of the East End. Debbie, Andy and Mary represented more modern-day individuals.<ref name="20years" />

Once they had decided on their 23 characters, they returned to London for a meeting with the BBC. Everyone agreed that ''EastEnders'' would be tough, violent on occasion, funny and sharp—set in [[Margaret Thatcher]]'s Britain—and it would start with a bang (namely the death of [[Reg Cox]]). They decided that none of their existing characters were wicked enough to have killed Reg, so a 24th character, [[Nick Cotton]] was added to the line-up. He was a racist thug, who often tried to lead other young characters astray.<ref name="20years p20">{{Harvnb|Smith|2005|p=20}}</ref> When all the characters had been created, Smith and Holland set about casting the actors, which also involved the input of lead director [[Matthew Robinson (producer)|Matthew Robinson]], who supervised auditions with the other directors at the outset, Vivienne Cozens and Peter Edwards.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.whattowatch.com/eastenders-main/eastenders-news/eastenders-adam-woodyatt-as-long-as-im-still-enjoying-it-ill-stay-for-another-30-73442 | title= EastEnders' Adam Woodyatt: 'As long as I'm still enjoying it I'll stay for another 30 years' | work=[[What's on TV]] | first=Alison | last=Gardner | date= 10 February 2015 | access-date=6 July 2020}}</ref>