EastEnders

The old set: proudly captured, in full, before demolition. Enjoy!

BOREHAMWOOD, HERTFORDSHIRE
PHOTOGRAPHED IN 2017 & 2022

The EastEnders set was, and still is, based at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood. Upon purchasing the former Neptune Studios from ATV (later, Central) in 1983, the BBC demolished ITV’s Auf Wiedersehen, Pet [series one] set and replaced it with Albert Square (and Bridge Street) in 1984, making EastEnders the first BBC serial to be given its own permanent backlot. Londonist provides an excellent account of the set’s conception.

Check out the full set of construction images in the BBC Photo Library.

During the 1990s, the lot was extended to include George Street, Turpin Road shops, Walford East tube station, and Walford Community Centre, with studio filming moving into the newly created Stage 1. The early 2000s also saw some additions to the set, including a backlot production gallery, Walford Police Station and Victoria Square, and a new street using commercial façades at the rear of 18-20 Albert Square (former B&B) and 55 Victoria Road. These two houses were themselves added onto the original Albert Square build in around 1990.

HARDCORE FACT: The set was only ever intended to be used for two years and had become weathered and unsafe some 30 years later, despite ongoing maintenance work and projects such as the 2007 Queen Vic refurbishment. In fact, Martin Kempton reports on his excellent website that the backlot cameras were eventually switched from HD to SD so that crumbling bits of set became harder for viewers to spot!

As a permanent solution, the BBC developed plans to build a ‘Front Lot’ to replace what is now known as the ‘Back Lot’. This project, codenamed E20 after the programme’s fictional postcode, was announced in 2013 with a forecasted completion date of 2018. However, this was pushed back to 2020 in 2015 and it wasn’t until January 2022 that filming finally began on the new Front Lot. Further sets representing wider Walford are planned for the cleared Back Lot, however the future of this is now uncertain.

My first visit to EastEnders was in 2017, before revisiting in 2022 to see the Back Lot in its abandoned state. Wanting to capture everything I possibly could, I stayed for a while before the British weather hit. As I headed for shelter, I spotted some people in the distance looking as if they were heading straight for me (probably not, but the adrenaline kicked in) so I made my way to the nearest door for cover, which happened to have some flashing red lights on it.

Panicked, I ignored the lights and headed inside, only to realise that a scene was underway. I quickly made myself scarce by heading up a small spiral staircase into a viewing gallery, looking out over the indoor sets before making my escape upon hearing “that’s a wrap”.

As I left the studios, about a dozen security guards had flocked around the gates and a police car pulled up outside. To this day, I don’t know if they were there for me although I was reliably informed after the fact that the BBC wasn’t too pleased. If you’re reading this, Aunty Beeb — I’m sorry.

Demolition

As of June 2023, the Back Lot has been demolished in line with the below demolition plan, sourced from an ecological assessment by GS Ecology:

It was announced in January 2024 that the BBC Elstree Centre will be sold to investment managers, AXA IM Alts, in early 2025. The half of the site which houses EastEnders will be leased back to the BBC until at least 2050, with the other half set to be transformed into a new film and television studio complex.

As some of the EastEnders studios are on the half of the site that will not be leased back to the BBC, EastEnders has now taken up residence in Stages 5 & 6 of Elstree Studios across the road. Incidentally, with the last-standing original stages (7, 8 and 9) being demolished due to structural issues and asbestos contamination, Stages 5 & 6 are the only TV-sized stages left at Elstree Studios.

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