EastEnders’ 35th anniversary episodes will be "dark, complicated and heart-wrenching", but also include a lot of comedy.
That’s according to director David Kester, who helmed the epic eps, which will play out from tonight (17.02.20), and he revealed the first three episodes will be the same story told through the eyes of different characters.
He said: "Like every great episode of ‘EastEnders’, they’re dark, complicated but also heart-wrenching in parts as well.
"There are also some hilarious moments as well, there’s a lot of comedy in there.
"Every story that features next week is a big one, because there has been so much build-up to these episodes. All of the different elements come together really well.
"The first three episodes are the same story, told through the eyes of a different set of characters.
"That brought a whole raft of continuity issues for us to think about, so we worked very hard to make sure it all tied together. You see bits and pieces as the week goes along, then it all reaches a massive crescendo on the Friday."
The main drama will take place on the River Thames when the Carters host a boat party, and David revealed some of the underwater scenes had to be shot in a tank – but the crew had to film those segments in two different weather conditions because they didn’t know what the elements would be like on the Thames.
He added to Digital Spy: "We were out on the Thames at night for quite a long time, filming the on-location scenes. There was also an element of underwater filming, which involved shooting separately in a tank.
"We didn’t know what the weather was going to be like on the Thames, so we had to film two versions of everything in the tank so we could match it to the conditions we found on the river."
‘EastEnders’ star Kellie Bright – who plays Linda Carter on the soap – recently teased the 35th anniversary celebration episodes are the "most epic" she has ever been involved in.
She said: "It’s the most epic episode I’ve ever been involved with.
"I’m really excited to see it … that says a lot.
"It centres around a party on a boat, on the Thames, and I get wet."
It’s known one of the characters will meet their maker this week.
When it was suggested it could be Linda who dies, she replied: "It might be."
EastEnders’ 35th anniversary episode to be ‘dark and heart-wrenching’
