EastEnders 1988-1990. Years of change down in Walford.

[Emmerdalefan]

Over the course from January 1988 to December 1990 there was many changes in Easties such as the departure of central characters such as Den and Angie Watts, Lou Beale, Mary the punk, Colin and Barry, Lofty Holloway, Wicksy and Ali and Sue Osman. In May 1988 Angie left for a new life in Majorca I think and Den left the following February which put and end to the Den and Angie years as they dominated the show. In 1988 we lost Colin and Barry, Angie, Mary, Lofty and Lou. 1989 Ali and Sue Osman both left as well.

1990 was the year the transition was prevalent and in January 1990 it was now clear to the viewers that Den and Angie, Ali, Sue, Colin Barry, Mary, Lou, Lofty etc were well and truly in EastEnders history and would not be coming back. By the start of 1990 we had the Butcher and Karim family as the new blood while still retaining Pete, Pauline, Arthur, Dot and Ian. Frank and Pat were the new Den and Angie in many ways. And in February 1990 we saw the arrival of a new beginning for the show when Phil and Grant Mitchell arrived. Then iN December 1990 Simon Wicks left.

Offscreen the two creators, Tony Holland And Julia Smith left in 1988 and 1989 to do other TV projects. Jan 1988 to Dec 1990 were truly years of change for the show.

[bhvictory]

It's like I always say, the only "real" difference in a soap from 1985, 1995, 2005 or whatever is that is focusses on different characters, people come and go, but it's still the same show. This also applies to Emmerdale and Coronation Street and all the others too.

[JWGucciEnvy]

I found the 2nd half of 1987 to be a chore. The exodus of mid-1988 (Lofty, Angie, Mary, Lou) helped evolve the show.