CivvyStreet

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"CivvyStreet"
EastEnders episode
Title card
Directed byJulia Smith
Written byTony Holland
Produced byJulia Smith
Editing byDenis Wyatt
Production codeLDLK992L[1]
Original air date26 December 1988 (1988-12-26)
Running time60 minutes
Episode chronology
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"CivvyStreet" (sometimes written as "Civvy Street") is a spin-off episode of the

BBC1 on 26 December 1988. The episode is a flashback to World War II
and is set at Christmas 1942. The episode was watched by 7 million viewers.

Plot

William Skinner
(Ian Brimble).

Cast and characters

Main article: List of EastEnders spin-off characters § CivvyStreet

Production

The episode was written by

Albert Square.[3]

Described as "nostalgic" by the BBC,

Dot's Story", which shows her being evacuated to the countryside during World War II.[6][7]

Actress Karen Meagher was cast as a young Lou Beale, who struggles to raise her children, after her husband Albert (played by Gary Olsen) is called up.[3] Meagher researched her role by talking to her parents about their wartime experiences.

Alison Bettles plays Lou's "flirty" friend Ethel, who an

Fowlers' sideboard. I don't get a penny for it."[8]

According to the Musicians' Union in September 2017, they received royalties for the theme music used in "CivvyStreet" but could not distribute them as the performers were not known to them.[9] As of May 2018 the performers have been located.[10]

Reception

Official ratings from the

Brookside (6.2 million).[11][12]

In 1999, Steve Pratt of the

Northern Echo said of the episode: "EastEnders went back to Albert Square during the Blitz in a programme called Civvy Street. Young actors took over familiar characters, such as Lou Beale and Ethel, in their younger days during the Second World War. The Queen Vic was just a spit-and-sawdust local, with Ray Sewell and his wife Lil behind the bar. The idea was not a success."[13]

In 2017, Michael Hogan from The Daily Telegraph called "CivvyStreet" an "over-ambitious wartime flashback".[14] Tom Eames from Digital Spy named it one of the "TV origin stories you've probably forgotten even existed".[7]

Release

In December 2016, "CivvyStreet" was released on BBC Store part of the "EastEnders Christmas Classics 2" set but also available individually,[15][16][17] and was available until the BBC Store closed on 1 November 2017.

See also

References

  1. ^ "EASTENDERS - CIVVYSTREET". Getty Images. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Ballard, Allan (15 December 1988). "Walford at War". Radio Times (3394): 15.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Great moments in soap – EastEnders 26 December 1988". Inside Soap. No. 169. 23 December 2000 – 5 January 2001. p. 65.
  4. ^ "Off Air: Seasonal stuffing on the box". Broadcast: 22. 23 December 1988 – via ProQuest. Instead of an EastEnders Christmas special this year, there's Civvy Street, a "nostalgic" (the BBC's own word) look at Albert Square in 1942 written by Tony Holland and featuring the early romances of Ethel and Lou.
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-563-37057-2
    .
  6. ^ "This Week's Poll: Which Soap Would You Like To See A Spin-Off From". ATV Today. 6 March 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  7. ^ a b Eames, Tom (10 March 2017). "6 TV origin stories you've probably forgotten even existed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  8. ^ Wright, Matthew (21 November 1996). "Matthew Wright". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  9. The Musicians' Union. Archived from the original
    on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  10. The Musicians' Union
    . Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  11. ^ a b "BRITISH TOP 100 - week ending 1 January 1989". Broadcast: 40. 20 January 1989 – via ProQuest.
  12. ^ "BRITISH TOP 100 week ending 1 January 1989" (pdf). Broadcast: 40. 20 January 1989. Retrieved 15 February 2017 – via ProQuest.
  13. Northern Echo. 24 December 1999. p. 13. Retrieved 20 January 2017 – via ProQuest
    .
  14. ^ Hogan, Michael (18 May 2017). "12 EastEnders spin-offs we'd like to see more than Kat and Alfie: Redwaterq". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  15. ^ Babbage, Rachel (8 December 2016). "New EastEnders classic Christmas episodes released: Relive the festive slaps, brawls and rows". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  16. ^ "EastEnders Christmas Classics 2". BBC Store. Retrieved 15 February 2017.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "EastEnders: CivvyStreet". BBC Store. Retrieved 15 February 2017.[permanent dead link]

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CivvyStreet&oldid=1220355631"