EastEnders’ first ever episodes will be broadcast on TV again in August.
UKTV’s Drama channel will house the popular BBC One soap’s first episode, which was initially broadcast on 19 February 1985, which will see Leslie Grantham return to the small screen as ‘Dirty’ Den Watts, just days after he passed away aged 71.
A UKTV spokesperson told BANG Showbiz: "This summer on Drama, viewers can re-live early episodes of the soap, including the very first one, and remember characters like Den and Angie Watts, Pauline and Arthur Fowler, Ian Beale and of course, Ethel Skinner and her dog, Willy."
The re-runs of the goings on in Albert Square will be titled ‘Classic EastEnders’ and broadcast from midday on Drama.
But fans who miss out on the episodes will be able to catch up afterwards on UKTV Play.
‘EastEnders’ – which is set in the fictional Albert Square in the East End of London – has aired more than 5,700 episodes since first airing in February 1985.
The soap initially showed just two 30-minute episodes per week, but there are now four 30-minute eps, with the soap airing on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
The programme’s first episode attracted 17 million viewers, but the soap went on to achieve much higher viewing figures.
‘EastEnders’ was famously watched by more than 30 million people – over half of the British population – on Christmas Day in 1986 when fans tuned in to see the momentous moment ‘Dirty’ Den Watts delivered divorce papers to his wife Angie Watts (Anita Dobson).
Ian – played by Adam Woodyatt – is the longest serving character in ‘EastEnders’, and the only cast member to have appeared continuously on the soap since the first ep.
This comes after ITV3 started airing classic episodes of ‘Coronation Street’ in October last year.
EastEnders’ first episode to air on Drama
