Him along with Santer did more or less do that in 2007 though. I mean they had barely been on the credits when all the Mad May and Stella stuff kicked off and that was the birth of a great three years for the show.
I think he will surprise people.
I just hope he is given a chance. Poor Newman was just unable to clean up the mess Kirkwood left. I think she has been used as a scapegoat.
Yes this is right. If I recall correctly, Kate Harwood stepped down in December 06, and by May/June 07 EastEnders had gone from rubbish to fantastic in a surprisingly rapid time. The change was noticeable almost immediately.
It was the same when Kathleen Hutchison took over in 2004, she turned the shows fortunes around very quickly.
Theres an interview with DTC on Walford Web back in 2010 after the live episode, shows clearly he has a big passion for the show and a few interesting snippets on his thoughts/opinions of the show in general which makes me think he will take into his new era
In a recent interview with Walford Web, Diederick told us he likes it when the show takes risks. How do you feel about this?
We’ve always got to take risks. If we didn’t, the show would be very dull. And I think we’ve taken risks over the last few years – the Tony/Whitney storyline, Danielle’s death, Billy and Honey’s baby with Down’s syndrome, the Christian/Syed storyline, Stacey’s bipolar disorder, the Stella storyline… Our viewers are so sophisticated nowadays, they can guess where a storyline is generally going. The trick is to surprise the audience but, ultimately, to satisfy them at the same time.
-He also said that Ronnie and Roxy were created as he and Santer felt the Vic needed some new energy and lease of life. Think we can all safely say it needs that now more than ever.
-Goes as far as saying that Zainab is one of his favourite all time characters and was most proud of the Christian/Syed plot. I can defo see him trying to tempt Nina back.
-Loves Shirley, the first character he created at EE and feels she has been underused of late (that was in 2010 so lots of hope Shirley can be used better when he takes charge)
-Says he axed Honey as felt as a character she didnt sit right with the show. I'm worried now about my lovely Poppy, all soaps needs nice,familar characters that we can care about and Poppy is one of them
Theres an interview with DTC on Walford Web back in 2010 after the live episode, shows clearly he has a big passion for the show and a few interesting snippets on his thoughts/opinions of the show in general which makes me think he will take into his new era
In a recent interview with Walford Web, Diederick told us he likes it when the show takes risks. How do you feel about this?
We’ve always got to take risks. If we didn’t, the show would be very dull. And I think we’ve taken risks over the last few years – the Tony/Whitney storyline, Danielle’s death, Billy and Honey’s baby with Down’s syndrome, the Christian/Syed storyline, Stacey’s bipolar disorder, the Stella storyline… Our viewers are so sophisticated nowadays, they can guess where a storyline is generally going. The trick is to surprise the audience but, ultimately, to satisfy them at the same time.
-He also said that Ronnie and Roxy were created as he and Santer felt the Vic needed some new energy and lease of life. Think we can all safely say it needs that now more than ever.
-Goes as far as saying that Zainab is one of his favourite all time characters and was most proud of the Christian/Syed plot. I can defo see him trying to tempt Nina back.
-Loves Shirley, the first character he created at EE and feels she has been underused of late (that was in 2010 so lots of hope Shirley can be used better when he takes charge)
-Says he axed Honey as felt as a character she didnt sit right with the show. I'm worried now about my lovely Poppy, all soaps needs nice,familar characters that we can care about and Poppy is one of them
I think its safe to say all characters brought in under Santer and DTC watch will be fine. Its all characters since that will be at risk.
I wonder what he makes of the Ben situation. DTC spent years building him up as the camp little son of Phil then Kirkwood came in and undid four years of hard work only for the revamped character to flop on his ass and be axed. lol
That's one of the reasons EE is in such a mess.
Kirkwood got things wrong but one of his biggest successes was Ben, under Santer he was an embaressment but the Ben/Phil realtionship under Kirkwood was excellent!
Kirkwood got things wrong but one of his biggest successes was Ben, under Santer he was an embaressment but the Ben/Phil realtionship under Kirkwood was excellent!
I found the recast Ben too much of a departure and for me I found it difficult to watch.
New Lucy and New Peter I have no problems with but I felt Ben was completely wrong for the show when recast.
Kirkwood got things wrong but one of his biggest successes was Ben, under Santer he was an embaressment but the Ben/Phil realtionship under Kirkwood was excellent!
If you say so. Ben is now dead as a character. Which is why they wrote him out. They knew a mistake had been made.
If he is brought back again be assured it will be under a new character with traits of his old personality pre recast.
You can also find many interviews with both DTC and Kate Harwood talking about how happy they were with Ben's character being such a contrast to Phil. He was created to be that way. Yes he had a darker side but it was the other side of him that made Ben interesting.
Kirkwood pissed all over that. He basically made him a mini Phil.
Kirkwood got things wrong but one of his biggest successes was Ben, under Santer he was an embaressment but the Ben/Phil realtionship under Kirkwood was excellent!
Charlie Jones was terrible but his version of Ben was better than NuBen.
To quote Rihanna, which my partner constantly plays, irritating me, but coincidentally fits in well with this thread....What now? I just can't figure it out....
I wonder if we will get the old chestnut slogan "DeadEnders" on the front of the Sun with pictures of Dexter, AJ and Joey and the banners "AXED" or "CHOPPED" over them?
Bring back some bloody exciting storylines. Under Santar we always had something to talk about. Yes, some of the things they did were questionable, and some where downright silly, but as DTC has stated himself; they have to take risks or the show will be boring. You hear that, Lorraine?
Saying that... please keep some character consistency. A big issue for me with Santar was that characters would often act to fit the plot, not the other way around. Tone this down a bit and it'll be fine. Oh, and please, for God's sake, don't bring back the baby obsession that dominated Santar's era. We've only just gotten over that!
But on the whole... I'm excited. For the first time in ages I think EE has a chance of recovering. I doubt it can fully recapture its sparkle from the 80s and 90s. That ship sailed 10 years ago, something Santar helped to disguise until Birkwood came in and royally screwed it all up. However, if it can go back to generating the excitement it did in 2007-10, I think it may just actually regain its rightful place as the number 1 soap.
Janine was awful under Santer and DTC.
I think it will be bad for her.
Agreed:)
Kirkwood seemed to Understand Janine far better and actually I preferred Phil under kirkwood too.
I am not actually excited at this news and infact a bit annoyed.
I would rather someone new as EP and not someone that worked on the show before and left. I can see EastEnders being a re-hash of 2007-2010 the storylines I can see being pretty much the same.
DTC was hardly fantastic in his old role. I mean some of the ideas was pathetic.
I do hope (seeing as he will be Ep) he comes to the show Fresh as if he's never worked there before but knowing how the show works.
If not...This time next year we will be looking for a replacement.
If you say so. Ben is now dead as a character. Which is why they wrote him out. They knew a mistake had been made.
If he is brought back again be assured it will be under a new character with traits of his old personality pre recast.
You can also find many interviews with both DTC and Kate Harwood talking about how happy they were with Ben's character being such a contrast to Phil. He was created to be that way. Yes he had a darker side but it was the other side of him that made Ben interesting.
Kirkwood pissed all over that. He basically made him a mini Phil.
Ben had to go cos of the actors personal issues, they had no choice but to axe him, it had nothing to do with failure of the character or his storylines,
I personally would like to see the brand new Executive Producer of EastEnders Dominic Treadwill-Collins address the following:
1. Appoint a very strong, creative and innovative Story Producer that really understands the show and what it stands for, this is where EE has been lacking in the most
2. Appoint a great team of writers that understand the history of the show and are original and creative and consistent.
3. Axe the following characters: Joey, Sam, Ava, Fatboy, Poppy, AJ, Tamwar, Masood
4. Bring The Mitchells back to the forefront of the show with exciting and dynamic storylines.
5. Bring The Queen Vic back to the heart of the show and central point once again, to do this remove Alfie from it, and introduce a brand new landlady who is strong, feisty and real titan.... someone to rival the likes of Angie and Peggy. With her she could have a couple of children and maybe even a partner.
6. Either axe Sharon Rickman or completely give her a turnaround and bring her back to her former glory... way before her disastrous 2012 comeback. Sharon is supposed to be the queen of the show... not some lost loser without any real direction.
7. Tell gritty, shocking, explosive, entertaining blockbuster storylines that are thought provoking and push the boundaries.... what EE should always be!!
8. Underused characters such as Shirley, Denise, Jay need nurturing and need to be given some real direction and a chance to shine.
I personally would like to see the brand new Executive Producer of EastEnders Dominic Treadwill-Collins address the following:
1. Appoint a very strong, creative and innovative Story Producer that really understands the show and what it stands for, this is where EE has been lacking in the most
2. Appoint a great team of writers that understand the history of the show and are original and creative and consistent.
3. Axe the following characters: Joey, Sam, Ava, Fatboy, Poppy, AJ, Tamwar, Masood
4. Bring The Mitchells back to the forefront of the show with exciting and dynamic storylines.
5. Bring The Queen Vic back to the heart of the show and central point once again, to do this remove Alfie from it, and introduce a brand new landlady who is strong, feisty and real titan.... someone to rival the likes of Angie and Peggy. With her she could have a couple of children and maybe even a partner.
6. Either axe Sharon Rickman or completely give her a turnaround and bring her back to her former glory... way before her disastrous 2012 comeback. Sharon is supposed to be the queen of the show... not some lost loser without any real direction.
7. Tell gritty, shocking, explosive, entertaining blockbuster storylines that are thought provoking and push the boundaries.... what EE should always be!!
8. Underused characters such as Shirley, Denise, Jay need nurturing and need to be given some real direction and a chance to shine.
I think Sharon should be axed. Letitia Dean was given a storyline with the pill "addiction" and it was really badly acted.
I would like to see the return of some issues based story lines.
The issues stories were some of Santer's (and DCT) greatest achievements. Even some of the more sensational story lines were issues based.
Look at Mad May - which really was about the strain of IVF and how infertility can cause problems for families and individuals. Then there was Stella's storyline which was built around abuse. Even Syed's sexuality storyline is an example of how great this era was.
Contrast the two 'special' story lines with Bianca's children. The Whitney one was harrowing and wonderfully acted (and I was really glad that it was brought up again this week). Meanwhile the Liam story felt that it had very little substance. It was poorly drawn and realised.
Don't even get me started on Tanya's cancer storyline, which bordered on offensive in its simplicity.
So what I would like to see is stories that have real consequences for the characters. We need to feel invested in them once again. We need to see history influencing character decisions.
I really think that Alfie needs to be axed - for good. That could give a good story to Roxy and Kat, how would they move on? Who would run the Vic?
Killing Alfie would be an unexpected move with far reaching consequences across the Square. It would be even better if a few other stale characters were removed too.
Take the focus off of the Brannings (though I wouldn't axe Joey) and give the Beales/Foxes a chance to step into the spotlight.
I would like to see some characters (like Sam) being brought in for a fixed term or storyline - like Tony was in the Santer era.
EE needs strong male characters. There is an abundance of strong female characters (dot, kat, Janine, bianca, Ronnie, roxy, Sharon, Shirley, Denise, carol) but hardly any men (apart from Phil, Ian and David wicks). I'm not talking about pretty poster boys either but characters with depth and a story to tell. Think den watts, grant and frank....
EE needs strong male characters. There is an abundance of strong female characters (dot, kat, Janine, bianca, Ronnie, roxy, Sharon, Shirley, Denise, carol) but hardly any men (apart from Phil, Ian and David wicks). I'm not talking about pretty poster boys either but characters with depth and a story to tell. Think den watts, grant and frank....
You have a point there. The likes of Fatboy, AJ, Tamwar, Billy and Tyler are all weak characters. There needs to be some more strong and successful men in EE.
Comments
Yes this is right. If I recall correctly, Kate Harwood stepped down in December 06, and by May/June 07 EastEnders had gone from rubbish to fantastic in a surprisingly rapid time. The change was noticeable almost immediately.
It was the same when Kathleen Hutchison took over in 2004, she turned the shows fortunes around very quickly.
Whatabout the Beale's?
In a recent interview with Walford Web, Diederick told us he likes it when the show takes risks. How do you feel about this?
We’ve always got to take risks. If we didn’t, the show would be very dull. And I think we’ve taken risks over the last few years – the Tony/Whitney storyline, Danielle’s death, Billy and Honey’s baby with Down’s syndrome, the Christian/Syed storyline, Stacey’s bipolar disorder, the Stella storyline… Our viewers are so sophisticated nowadays, they can guess where a storyline is generally going. The trick is to surprise the audience but, ultimately, to satisfy them at the same time.
-He also said that Ronnie and Roxy were created as he and Santer felt the Vic needed some new energy and lease of life. Think we can all safely say it needs that now more than ever.
-Goes as far as saying that Zainab is one of his favourite all time characters and was most proud of the Christian/Syed plot. I can defo see him trying to tempt Nina back.
-Loves Shirley, the first character he created at EE and feels she has been underused of late (that was in 2010 so lots of hope Shirley can be used better when he takes charge)
-Says he axed Honey as felt as a character she didnt sit right with the show. I'm worried now about my lovely Poppy, all soaps needs nice,familar characters that we can care about and Poppy is one of them
Interesting times ahead im sure!
Keep Poppy but axe Kim and I'd be happy
Kirkwood got things wrong but one of his biggest successes was Ben, under Santer he was an embaressment but the Ben/Phil realtionship under Kirkwood was excellent!
I found the recast Ben too much of a departure and for me I found it difficult to watch.
New Lucy and New Peter I have no problems with but I felt Ben was completely wrong for the show when recast.
If you say so. Ben is now dead as a character. Which is why they wrote him out. They knew a mistake had been made.
If he is brought back again be assured it will be under a new character with traits of his old personality pre recast.
You can also find many interviews with both DTC and Kate Harwood talking about how happy they were with Ben's character being such a contrast to Phil. He was created to be that way. Yes he had a darker side but it was the other side of him that made Ben interesting.
Kirkwood pissed all over that. He basically made him a mini Phil.
Charlie Jones was terrible but his version of Ben was better than NuBen.
To quote Rihanna, which my partner constantly plays, irritating me, but coincidentally fits in well with this thread....What now? I just can't figure it out....
Second step: she stops calling him 'Denny'. :mad:
I so agree. Please will someone cut his hair! :eek:
Saying that... please keep some character consistency. A big issue for me with Santar was that characters would often act to fit the plot, not the other way around. Tone this down a bit and it'll be fine. Oh, and please, for God's sake, don't bring back the baby obsession that dominated Santar's era. We've only just gotten over that!
But on the whole... I'm excited. For the first time in ages I think EE has a chance of recovering. I doubt it can fully recapture its sparkle from the 80s and 90s. That ship sailed 10 years ago, something Santar helped to disguise until Birkwood came in and royally screwed it all up. However, if it can go back to generating the excitement it did in 2007-10, I think it may just actually regain its rightful place as the number 1 soap.
About time, too.
Kirkwood seemed to Understand Janine far better and actually I preferred Phil under kirkwood too.
I am not actually excited at this news and infact a bit annoyed.
I would rather someone new as EP and not someone that worked on the show before and left. I can see EastEnders being a re-hash of 2007-2010 the storylines I can see being pretty much the same.
DTC was hardly fantastic in his old role. I mean some of the ideas was pathetic.
I do hope (seeing as he will be Ep) he comes to the show Fresh as if he's never worked there before but knowing how the show works.
If not...This time next year we will be looking for a replacement.
1. Appoint a very strong, creative and innovative Story Producer that really understands the show and what it stands for, this is where EE has been lacking in the most
2. Appoint a great team of writers that understand the history of the show and are original and creative and consistent.
3. Axe the following characters: Joey, Sam, Ava, Fatboy, Poppy, AJ, Tamwar, Masood
4. Bring The Mitchells back to the forefront of the show with exciting and dynamic storylines.
5. Bring The Queen Vic back to the heart of the show and central point once again, to do this remove Alfie from it, and introduce a brand new landlady who is strong, feisty and real titan.... someone to rival the likes of Angie and Peggy. With her she could have a couple of children and maybe even a partner.
6. Either axe Sharon Rickman or completely give her a turnaround and bring her back to her former glory... way before her disastrous 2012 comeback. Sharon is supposed to be the queen of the show... not some lost loser without any real direction.
7. Tell gritty, shocking, explosive, entertaining blockbuster storylines that are thought provoking and push the boundaries.... what EE should always be!!
8. Underused characters such as Shirley, Denise, Jay need nurturing and need to be given some real direction and a chance to shine.
I think Sharon should be axed. Letitia Dean was given a storyline with the pill "addiction" and it was really badly acted.
The issues stories were some of Santer's (and DCT) greatest achievements. Even some of the more sensational story lines were issues based.
Look at Mad May - which really was about the strain of IVF and how infertility can cause problems for families and individuals. Then there was Stella's storyline which was built around abuse. Even Syed's sexuality storyline is an example of how great this era was.
Contrast the two 'special' story lines with Bianca's children. The Whitney one was harrowing and wonderfully acted (and I was really glad that it was brought up again this week). Meanwhile the Liam story felt that it had very little substance. It was poorly drawn and realised.
Don't even get me started on Tanya's cancer storyline, which bordered on offensive in its simplicity.
So what I would like to see is stories that have real consequences for the characters. We need to feel invested in them once again. We need to see history influencing character decisions.
I really think that Alfie needs to be axed - for good. That could give a good story to Roxy and Kat, how would they move on? Who would run the Vic?
Killing Alfie would be an unexpected move with far reaching consequences across the Square. It would be even better if a few other stale characters were removed too.
Take the focus off of the Brannings (though I wouldn't axe Joey) and give the Beales/Foxes a chance to step into the spotlight.
I would like to see some characters (like Sam) being brought in for a fixed term or storyline - like Tony was in the Santer era.
You have a point there. The likes of Fatboy, AJ, Tamwar, Billy and Tyler are all weak characters. There needs to be some more strong and successful men in EE.