Five going and gone – but who will replace them in the are group? (Picture: BBC/Metro.co.uk)
Sorry men, but there’s no getting away from it – women are the beating heart of the soap genre, with EastEnders legends such as Peggy Mitchell, Pat Butcher and Dot Cotton sealing their places in TV history.
It’s not just matriarchs who are the bread and butter of the show; given the wide demographic of viewer ages who watch, representation of girls, young women, middle-aged and older is vitally important so every fan feels they have someone to relate to.
Which is why it’s becoming a serious concern that the show has all but decimated one of the key core character groups.
With Ash Panesar (Gurlaine Kaur Garcha) and Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) leaving in coming months, and Dotty Cotton (Milly Zero) just recently departing, the quantity of women aged 18-29 will become a grand total of one.
As Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty) has turned 30, Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) is the one remaining oasis in a drought of women in their 20s in the show.
I’m by no means criticising the cast as it stands; the characters we have are incredibly strong. New boss Chris Clenshaw can be credited for turning round what was becoming an ailing show.
Bernie is isolated as she will soon be the only female character left in their 20s (Picture: BBC)
EastEnders is the only soap which has increased its TV ratings year-on-year; no mean feat given the general decline of live viewings.
His new characters such as the rogue-ish Ravi (Aaron Thiara), the loveable nerd Reiss (Jonny Freeman), and engaging youngsters such as Denzel (Jaden Ladega) light up the screen and have brought a great dynamic.
Add in Felix, Finlay, Nish and Nugget and it can’t be argued that Chris is not putting his mark on the show.
But these characters all have one major thing in common, leaving the Square a hotbed of testosterone.
With characters such as Ash and Lola being written out, as well as Dana Monroe (Barbara Smith) and Jada Lennox (Kelsey Calladine-Smith), who both have fantastic potential, there needs to be some castings of young women – and fast.
The show may have some tricks up its sleeve in this area, but they need to come fast to address the imbalance.
Having Bernie isolated with nobody in her age group is jarring and fans are beginning to notice it.
Women are the backbone of soap and have always been central to EastEnders – this has to be true of all generations, or the show risks isolating a key band of its viewership.
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Only one female in the 18-29 age bracket remains as the core group has been decimated. ‘ preload=”none” playsinline>
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This isn’t just because of that valuable representation for fans in that age group. Some of the best characters in the show right now – take Stacey, Whitney, Chelsea, Sharon and Sonia as core examples – were in the show throughout the 18-29 age range.
These characters are so successful and beloved now because we have seen them develop over years; navigating through different generations and becoming the personalities at the centre of the biggest stories right now.
The beauty of soap is the longevity of characters and their story arcs over years and years, something nothing else on TV or streaming can offer viewers.
We need characters we can get to know while they’re young; as they may well be the stars of the future, achieving similar iconic status in the decade and beyond to follow.
Two of the most popular current stars had their characters developed massively through their 20s (Picture: BBC)
Opinions on whether the characters who have been written out could achieve this will differ, but if we are to lose characters who the show deemed won’t work for whatever reason, they need to be replaced at least a little bit, to avoid the gaping void we are now left with.
Along with an also dwindling generation of over 70s, EastEnders is suffering from too much focus on certain groups, while ignoring others.
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It’s a tricky balance to strike, admittedly. When Chris Clenshaw joined the show, its cohort of young and middle-aged men was seriously lacking.
He has addressed that perfectly, as well as bolstering the young teen group who will, unless the axe is sharpened again, eventually enter the age group I am talking about.
But that’s not soon enough. The storylines taken on, brilliantly I may add, by the youngsters such as Lily, Amy, Ricky and Denzel, are vastly different to the age group ahead of them.
Issues of school bullying, teenage pregnancy and navigating young love for the very first time are great, but what comes next is equally important.
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