There have been lots of instances where the show has been filming on location recently:

Carters at the Seaside
Kathy and Gavin at the station
Kathy and Gavin at the airport
Cora roaming the streets
Jane at the graveyard
Charlie, Ronnie and Roxy

It's good that the characters are getting out and about again, I wonder if there's any reason for it as they don't tend to leave the studios that often.

Love it when Enders film on location

To account for the lack of filming during the annual 2 weeks Christmas break, EE always tries to do location work to make up for lost time during the other 50 weeks of the year - crew and actors on location simultaneous to crew and actors in the studios. In recent years, it's included the youth summer camping (2013) and Ronnie killing Carl/meeting up with the Whites (2014) plus many other instances like weddings/funerals or like this year going to Jade's foster home or Sharon going to her biological mothers wake

I'd love another week in Spain or somewhere, I loved that block of episodes back in the day

In case anyone's interested.....

(EastEnders on Wikipedia, Production section)

EastEnders is often filmed on location, away from the studios in Borehamwood. Sometimes an entire quartet is filmed on location, which has a practical function and are the result of EastEnders making a "double bank", when an extra week's worth of episodes are recorded at the same time as the regular schedule, enabling the production of the programme to stop for a two-week break at Christmas. These episodes often air in late June or early July and again in late October or early November.[49] The first time this happened was in December 1985 when Pauline (Wendy Richard) and Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) travelled to the Southend-on-Sea to find their son Mark, who had run away from home.[49][56] In 1986, EastEnders filmed overseas for the first time, in Venice, and this was also the first time it was not filmed on videotape, as a union rule at the time prevented producers taking a video crew abroad and a film crew had to be used instead.[49]

If scenes during a normal week are to be filmed on location, this is done during the normal recording week.[44] Off-set locations that have been used for filming include Clacton (1989), Devon (September 1990), Hertfordshire (used for scenes set in Gretna Green in July 1991), Portsmouth (November 1991),[49] Milan (1997), Ireland (1997),[57] Amsterdam (December 1999),[58] Brighton (2001) and Portugal (2003).[59] In 2003, filming took place at Loch Fyne Hotel and Leisure Club in Inveraray, The Arkinglass Estate in Cairndow and Grims Dyke Hotel, Harrow Weald, North London, for a week of episodes set in Scotland.[59] 9 April 2007 episode featured scenes filmed at St Giles Church and The Blacksmiths Arms public house in Wormshill, the Ringlestone Inn, two miles away and Court Lodge Farm in Stansted, Kent.[60] Other locations have included the court house, a disused office block, Evershed House,[61][62] and St Peter's Church,[63] all in St Albans, an abandoned mental facility in Worthing,[64] Carnaby Street in London,[65] and a wedding dress shop in Muswell Hill, North London.[66] A week of episodes in 2011 saw filming take place on a beach in Thorpe Bay[67][68] and a pier in Southend-on-Sea—during which a stuntman was injured when a gust of wind threw him off balance and he fell onto rocks—[69][70][71] with other scenes filmed on the Essex coast.[72] In 2012, filming took place in Keynsham, Somerset.[73] In January 2013, on-location filming at Grahame Park in Colindale, North London, was interrupted by at least seven youths who threw a firework at the set and threatened to cut members of the crew.[74] In October 2013, scenes were filmed on a road near London Southend Airport in Essex.[75]

The two-handers (when only two actors appear in an episode) were originally done for speed; while a two-hander is being filmed, the rest of the cast can be making another episode.[citation needed]

Sadly not enough money to do abroad episodes nowadays.

They'll end up in Westeros next

I'd like a week where Shazza, Phil and Ian go to see a CGI Chelle Fowler in Vegas.

Interesting thread.
Ta writer composer, I didn't know about the simultaneous filming. I think this year the Carters go to Southend with Stan's ashes?

The Carter thing must air this month .

Phil Mitchell V Robert Baratheon would be interesting

Failing that they can go visit Grant in Portugal and throw in cameos off Peggy and Sal for good measure. They'd one even need to leave England like last year

It must be week 33 as there is no indication about in in the spoilers for week 32 and it was filmed before the Kathy scenes which also seem to be airing in week 33. I imagine we won't see much of the square over that week.

Oh yes! They can get that bloke who played Terry to double for Ross if he's off looking for crack dealers in the slums of Guatemala!

If the threatened budget cuts happen we'll end up with a week of mobile phone camera footage of Tina and Sonia in Bognor Regis.

I can just picture Sonia explaining the difference between "small" and "far away" while they are in their caravan.

Hasn't Ross finished saving the world yet? He's a busy chap.

I know they filmed in Broadstairs recently. I think it was the Carters.

Yeah that sucks, they use to do them quite a bit in the 90s, I think the last one was 2002 when Peggy went to spain.

I do like the seaside ones though, the one from South end in 2011 was good.

Too bad they couldn't get extra budget for episodes.

Opps just saw the post above looks like it was 2003 when Phil went abroad for Lisa.

Looking forward to it

Then when they're totally skint we could just have a pitch black monologue about Sonia's fabulous tits!

I presume Ross is enjoying seeing the world too much and doesn't need the money.

They will probably pretend it's Margate on screen due to the fac that's where they used to have their holidays. Wonder if Babes secret will come to light, it's a bit of a coincidence that this all happens when Coras back.

I reckon it will get to a point where thinks he is getting too old for it. He must be in his fifties now.

Yep Southend, visiting Jade, Sharon and biological family scenes, both funerals, Gavin/Kathy - all of that should make up for the two weeks of filming they miss at Christmas.


That would be awesome!

Who wouldn't want to see Sal and Peggy on the beach in their bikinis?

Lol I can see it already, sexiest female nominations for Babs and Anna