Let’s just admit it, EastEnders is one of the best things on TV right now

I used to beg to stay up until 7.30pm to watch EastEnders when I was in primary school. Sandwiched between two episodes of Coronation Street, it was the highlight of TV guide evenings. At uni, we watched the soap with our heads turned— something that was on in the background while we cooked our pesto pasta. For the last four years, I’ve seen maybe twenty minute chunks of episodes while on the treadmill at the gym.

But over the past few months, EastEnders has demanded our full attention again. The drama, chaos and bloodshed has returned to levels we’ve not seen since Ian Beale’s “I’ve got nothing left” or Ben Mitchell’s “you need slapping down.” Plus the BBC are putting eps on iPlayer to stream early, with loads of young people admitting on Twitter they’re watching the show first thing in the morning. We can’t get enough.

Chris Clenshaw took over as executive producer of the show in 2022— the show’s biggest streaming year to date. And tbh, he just gets the telenovela-esque theatrical yet gritty family drama we’re all here for. He knows how much we loved it when Janine pushed Barry off that cliff. And so, there’s been a return to the glory days.

Last week, when Stacey Slater’s rapist and stalker Theo Hawthorne met his demise when her son Freddie (Bobby Brazier) beat his head in with an iron, it was clear we were back to early ’00s levels of blockbuster narratives. This year’s Christmas episode is going to slap so hard.

So, yeah, Britain might be crumbling and a lot of young people could be feeling hopeless. But that’s not the reason we’ve gotten back into EastEnders. The plot lines are popping, the performances are the perfect blend of camp and high-art and the Twitter discourse has never been more active. Long live Albert Square x

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Meet the York student who wrote her dissertation on EastEnders 

• Yes, these 22 vintage but crazy moments really did happen on EastEnders

• Take this quiz to find out which Ben Mitchell you truly are 

Featured image credit via BBC