User:AnemoneProjectors/EastEnders: The Podcast

EastEnders: The Podcast
Audio drama
SeriesEastEnders
GenreDrama
FormatAudio podcast
Running time20–23 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
PublisherBBC Sounds
Starring
Written byKim Revill
Lauren Klee
Rob Gittins
Produced byAndy Goddard
Executive producer(s)Julia McKenzie
John Yorke
MusicÓðinn Örn Hilmarsson
Running time20 minutes
Original release28 November 2018 (2018-11-28) – present
No. of series1
No. of episodes4
Websitewww.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06sp2cr

EastEnders: The Podcast is an audio drama spin-off of the BBC soap opera EastEnders that launched on 28 November 2018. It features three episodes.

Background edit

EastEnders: The Podcast was announced on 23 November 2018, when it was reported that the series would feature "breakout audio dramas that are closely linked to ongoing stories in the show", involving several of the existing characters. A teaser trailer was also released that day on the BBC Sounds website.[1] It was later reported that the series would comprise four standalone episodes.[2]

The first episode, "Kat's Indecent Propsal", was released on 28 Novemeber 2018. It is set in Spain and looks at the history of characters Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace), Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) and Hayley Slater (Katie Jarvis). In the episode, Kat is living with a Russian man called Dimitri (Andrew Byron), who is described as "possessive and controlling". Sophie Dainty from Digital Spy said the episode "clears up any questions we may have had up until this point".[2] Ritchie said of the episode and the series, "We talk about the history of where Kat and Alfie have been in Spain – giving some of the back story, I think it's the first time it's been done. It's interesting, because me and Jessie were the first one to do the Back to Ours thing, and now me and Jessie are doing the first podcast. I think it's the future now, television seems to be doing the radio side of it a lot now, it'll be interesting."[3]

The second episode, "Mel Meets Her Maker", was relesed on 28 December 2018. It is set in Portugal in 2003 and and reveals the history between the characters Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite) and Ray Kelly (Sean Mahon), revealing how they met. It also features Mel's best friend, Lisa Fowler, played by Lucy Benjamin.[4] Benjamin was last seen in EastEnders in August 2017 and was not in EastEnders when the podcast episode was released, but Benjamin reprised the role because in 2003, Mel and Lisa were both off-screen and were said to be living together in Portugal.[5] The episode was released to tie in with the EastEnders storyline in which Mel and Ray are due to marry, though Mel has discovered that Ray already has multiple wives and is planning revenge.[6][7]

after ep2
ep3

Cast edit

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

Episodes edit

No.TitleWritten byRelease date
1"Kat's Indecent Proposal"Kim Revill28 November 2018 (2018-11-28)
In March 2018 in Málaga, Kat is in a relationship with Dimitri, who proposes to her. Kat finds out from Sofia that Dimitri will not take a rejection and that he invested in Kat and Alfie's bar so that he could run it into the ground and eliminate his competition. Kat wants to see the contract Alfie and Dimitri signed, which makes Alfie think she wants a divorce and he decides to close down the bar. Dimitri harms Sofia so that she will make sure Kat marries him. Hayley flirts with Alfie, but he rejects her, saying when they had sex, it was a mistake. Kat decides to take her children, Tommy, Bert and Ernie, back to England with Alfie, and leaves Alfie a voicemail saying this. Dimitri finds Kat, while Alfie deletes the voicemail without listening to it. Kat and Dimitri go to to bar but Hayley says Alfie will not be back until the next day. Kat sends Hayley away. The next morning, Dimitri does not allow Kat to leave the bed to make breakfast for the children. Tommy decides to make breakfast and Hayley arrives to witness Tommy dropping the kettle on Ernie, who is scalded. Kat sees this and screams.
2"Mel Meets Her Match"Lauren Klee27 December 2018 (2018-12-27)
In 2003 in Portugal, Mel struggles to bond with her baby, Hunter Owen, following the death of her husband, Steve Owen. She nearly takes an overdose so her friend, Lisa, gets her to attend therapy at a residential centre. There, she meets Ray, an undercover police officer who killed someone in the line of duty. Mel and Ray start to bond and he invites her for a drink and they kiss. Mel returns home a month later and tells Lisa she had a fling. Mel and Ray continue to date, but Ray suddenly leaves a restaurant and suffers a panic attack; Ray tells Mel he thought he saw the man he killed and that he was going to die. Lisa and Ray meet while Mel is out and he sees a photograph of her daughter, Louise Mitchell, assuming she has died; Lisa gets upset and says her father, Phil Mitchell, is a thug. A few weeks later, Ray and Hunter have bonded and Lisa thinks Ray can help to get Louise back, and Mel says she is falling in love with Ray. Ray sees a man following him; he says he is a private detective hired by Ray's wife, Nicola Kelly, who suspected he was having an affair. Ray offers him a bribe; Mel then arrives and the man leaves. Later, Ray tracks down the man and throws him off his balcony. Mel meets Ray, who says a tourist jumped off his balcony, and then proposes marriage; Mel accepts.
3"I Won't Back Down"Rob Gittins27 February 2019 (2019-02-27)

Reception edit

The Guardian made the podcast one of their two "picks of the week" in their 30 November 2018 edition of their regular podcast reviews.[8]

References edit

  1. ^ Dainty, Sophie (23 November 2018). "EastEnders is getting a special podcast which will explore Kat and Alfie's secrets". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b Dainty, Sophie (28 November 2018). "EastEnders reveals heartbreaking Kat and Alfie twist in new podcast debut". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  3. ^ Lindsay, Duncan (23 November 2018). "EastEnders spoilers: Kat and Alfie Moon for special podcast episode". Metro. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  4. ^ Dainty, Sophie (21 December 2018). "EastEnders brings back Lisa Fowler for tense Mel reunion in latest podcast". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  5. ^ Brown, David (22 December 2018). "Lisa reunited with Mel in surprise EastEnders return". Radio Times. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  6. ^ Baillie, Katie (21 December 2018). "EastEnders spoilers: Lucy Benjamin returns for new Lisa Fowler scenes". Metro. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  7. ^ Tutton, Charlotte (21 December 2018). "EastEnders spoilers: Lisa Fowler returning to soap for special podcast about Mel Owen and Ray Kelly as Lucy Benjamin reprises role". OK!. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  8. ^ Verdier, Hannah (30 November 2018). "Breaking technology's hold on teenagers – podcasts of the week". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2018.

External links edit

Podcast, The Category:2018 podcast debuts Category:Audio podcasts Category:Scripted podcasts