Eastenders references England’s Euro heartbreak in a last-minute added scene

Virgin Radio

13 Jul 2021, 11:50

The whole of England has been gripped by football fever over the past month, and apparently that extends to the residents of the fictional East London borough of Walford.

Fans of the long-running BBC soap were impressed that its producers were able to give a mention to England’s Euro 2020 heartbreaking final defeat against Italy in Monday night’s show (12th July).

Although the episode was recorded weeks ago, the show’s producers managed to quickly film a new opening scene. It shows Billy, Kim and Bobby in Albert Square, talking about the previous night’s penalty shootout loss to Italy.

Billy, draped in a St George flag, trudges through the Square and says to Bobby, “You know, I was seven when we won the World Cup. I just hope I am about long enough to see us win something else.”

Kim then adds to the conversation, saying, “We should have brought on another attacker and killed them off when we were at 1-0. 

“I had to put on Love Island in the end. It got too much. It was too emotional.

“I am glad that I did because to see Saka crying live on TV would have broken my heart.”

In reference to Italy, Kim then joked, “It is going to be a long time until I have spaghetti bolognese or chicken arrabbiata, I can tell you that!”

Of the added scene, Eastenders' Executive Producer Jon Sen, said, “Although it’s only a small scene, with England’s performance in the Euro’s capturing the hearts of the nation over the past month it’s only right that the residents of Walford would be talking about last night’s historical match.”

In the short scene, character Billy also makes reference to the fact that, somewhat bizarrely, football manager and pundit Harry Redknapp turned up in Albert Square last week. “I thought that was a sign. Like it is fate," he said.

The added scene at the start of Monday’s show following England’s defeat received a positive response from fans on Twitter.

One commenter said, “I'm glad #EastEnders spoke about a current event & I'm so glad sympathy was shown towards Bukayo Saka. Big respect for this!”

Another added, “I'm not a football fan but I love it when EastEnders weave a current event into their episodes. Absolutely brilliant.”

A third commenter said, “That’s a super quick turnaround well done Eastenders.” 

Elsewhere, someone said, “love that #eastenders have shown their support for Saka and the England team.”

You can check out Monday's episode on BBC iPlayer.