List of EastEnders television spin-offs
EastEnders is a British soap opera that has aired on BBC One since 19 February 1985. Several spin-off shows have been made, some of which use the narrative of flashbacks to explore the history of the show's characters such as "CivvyStreet". Others have been a lead-up for a character's eventual return to the show such as "Return of Nick Cotton", and some have followed characters who had departed from the show in another setting such as the 2017 spin-off series Kat & Alfie: Redwater. With the exception of "CivvyStreet" which was set within the show's fictional location of Albert Square during the Second World War, these spin-offs take place in a different setting. Documentaries have also aired, particularly for the anniversaries of the show looking back at the history of the show's inception, its characters and storylines.
Spin-off series
''EastEnders: E20''
In October 2009, a 12-part Internet spin-off series entitled EastEnders: E20 was announced. The series was conceived by executive producer Diederick Santer "as a way of nurturing new, young talent, both on- and off-screen, and exploring the stories of the soaps' anonymous bystanders." E20 features a group of sixth-form characters and targets the "Hollyoaks demographic". It was written by a team of young writers and was shown three times a week on the EastEnders website from 8 January 2010. A second ten-part series started in September 2010, with twice-weekly episodes available online and an omnibus on BBC Three. A third series of 15 episodes started in September 2011.''Kat and Alfie: Redwater''
On 4 April 2015, plans for a BBC One series featuring Kat Moon and Alfie Moon were announced. The six-part drama, Kat and Alfie: Redwater, was created by executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins and started in May 2017. In the series, the Moons visit Ireland where they "search for answers to some very big questions."''Tracey: A Day in the Life''
A 5-part spin-off miniseries featuring long-running character Tracey was released on 2 December 2024 as part of the BBC Studios Talentworks initiative. The plot revolved around Tracey reuniting with her son Tom after they lost contact for years, during her 60th birthday celebrations. Linda Carter, Elaine Peacock and Ian Beale make guest appearances in the miniseries.''EastEnders'' "bubbles"
"CivvyStreet"
"CivvyStreet" is a spin-off episode of EastEnders broadcast on BBC1 on 26 December 1988. The episode is a flashback to World War II and is set at Christmas 1942. It was watched by 7 million viewers."Return of Nick Cotton"
This episode first aired on 1 October 2000 and was a lead-up to the return of Nick Cotton as a regular character later that year, more than two years after his last appearance. It was written by Matthew Graham and directed by Chris Bernard. The episode followed Nick as he has just been released from prison. Fast forward to 10 weeks later and he was living in a squat in North London. He then had a dream where his dead father Charlie appeared and warned him that something terrible is about to happen to him. He was told by a black gay couple living in the squat with him that seeing your own dead relatives in your dreams was a bad sign but Nick was not worried. He then decided to meet up with his son Ashley and ex-wife Zoe and went to Zoe's brother Eddie to ask for her address. He also had some mean-looking thugs on his trail, a father and son named Colin and Little Col, who had a score to settle with him from their time in prison. He met up with Ashley who revealed he and Zoe were living with Zoe's new boyfriend. The thugs discover Nick's whereabouts and show up at Zoe's house trying to break in. The police arrive and arrest Colin and Col. To escape them Ashley and Nick got into a stolen convertible car and drove off. Zoe pleaded with Ashley not to go with Nick knowing he would be a bad influence but Ashley did not listen. Then just before the end of the episode Nick and Ashley were discussing where to go from here and Nick says "Let's hit the road for a bit, and then just maybe...we'll go and see Ma," and they decided to travel around for a bit before their eventual return to Walford."Ricky & Bianca"
This two-part episode aired on 13 and 20 May 2002, originally these episodes were planned to air over the Christmas period in 2001 but filming was delayed due to Patsy Palmer's pregnancy.This two part special was a lead-up to Ricky Butcher's return later that year as a regular character. It was written by Simon Ashdown. The episode saw Ricky reunite with his ex-wife Bianca Jackson and son Liam in Manchester. Bianca had been in Manchester doing an arts degree for the past two and a half years and was struggling to look after Liam.
Ricky discovered she had been working in a nightclub and had stolen money from the manager Vince. Ricky ended up getting caught in the middle of all of this along with his new girlfriend Cassie. After he got Bianca out of trouble, they had a one-night stand during which Bianca conceived their daughter Tiffany. Ricky told Cassie he didn't really love her, he was still in love with Bianca. Cassie managed to manipulate Bianca into thinking that she and Ricky would never be happy together, and Bianca made the difficult decision to leave Liam with Ricky, feeling that he'd be a better parent than she would, and left in a taxi.
Nancy Banks-Smith of The Guardian described the episodes as, "A cynical way of shooing Ricky back into Albert Square. These let's-do-the-show-somewhere-else specials tend to be tiresome. This one seems to be a way of easing Ricky back into EastEnders. Pete Shelley of the Daily Mirror said, "A shot of a pasty-faced, grumpy-looking orang-utan told us that this episode marked the return of Bianca... I won't bore you with the details of Simon Ashdown's plot, suffice to say that it was worthy of a Brookside Christmas video starring Lindsey Corkhill." Simon Edge of the Daily Express said "EastEnders spin-offs usually set off the cringe alarm. But this one is a hoot, mainly because Patsy Palmer is sending herself up something rotten – normally only drag queens can manage a falsetto squeal that high – and because she and Sid Owen look so pleased to be there."
Tina Baker, for GMTV said "The Ricky and Bianca spin-off didn't quite work, It just wasn't quite as good as when they were in Albert Square with all the other characters. It's a bit of a danger when characters have already left the soap and then they return in a spin-off."
"Dot's Story"
This episode first aired on 2 January 2003 and followed Dot Branning to Wales to visit the family she stayed with during World War II. Through a series of flashbacks, we see Dot being evacuated, and her experiences of evacuation. Her guardians Gwen and Will are featured in the episode."Perfectly Frank"
This episode aired on 21 September 2003 and followed Frank Butcher as he set up a seedy nightclub and a car valeting service in Somerset after returning from Spain where he was last seen in 2002. When Frank is sent a car to valet by the local gangster named Reg Priest, his assistant finds a dead body in the boot. Frank and his club staff try to find a way to avoid the police asking questions and fall foul of Reg so they throw the body into the water over the side of the pier. The episode was written by Tony Jordan."Pat and Mo"
This feature-length episode first aired on 1 April 2004 and revealed what caused the feud between Pat Evans and Mo Harris that lasted until Pat's death in 2012. Pat and Mo meet at the grave of Pat's brother and Mo's husband, Jimmy, and reminisce about old times through a series of flashbacks. Mo's brother, Stan Porter, also appeared in the episode. Young Pat was played by Emma Cooke and young Mo was played by Lorraine Stanley, who would go on to play Karen Taylor thirteen years later.Red Button episodes
"Phil On Remand"
After being sent to prison for his wrongful involvement in the death of Stella Crawford, Phil Mitchell finds himself the reluctant mentor to a new prisoner when he runs afoul of the top dog."Billy's Olympic Nightmare"
"Dorothy Branning: The Next Chapter"
This episode first aired on BBC's Red Button service on 11 January 2013. Abi Branning tracks down her step grandmother Dot Branning, who has been living away from Walford with her granddaughter Dotty Cotton, following the revelation that her father Max has a secret wife, Kirsty and the fallout it had caused for her family, including Max's current fiancé/ex-wife and Abi's mother Tanya. She convinces Dot to return home to Walford when she recognises how she is lonely, starting the 'next chapter' in Dot's life. It acted as the return of June Brown to the role of Dot after six months away."T & B 4 Eva"
This episode first aired on BBC's Red Button service on 8 November 2013. Bianca Butcher is studying to become a beautician in Manchester for six weeks, away from her family in Walford. She meets the charming Terry Spraggan and they fall for each other and eventually start a relationship. The episode led to the eventual introduction of Terry and his family when they returned to Walford with Bianca when the six-week course ended.Documentaries
Several documentaries have been made about EastEnders, usually broadcast on BBC Three. Since February 2010, Watch started repeating various EastEnders documentaries. Since then, they occasionally show documentaries on Saturdays and Sundays.''EastEnders Revealed''
EastEnders Revealed is a factual entertainment programme that looks back at the storylines, characters and stars of EastEnders. It first aired in December 1998 as part of the new BBC digital channel line-up and last aired in March 2011. EastEnders Revealed was the only BBC Choice programme to last the entire life of the channel, and was carried over to its replacement BBC Three where it continued until 2011. It has been presented by Gail Porter, Harriet Saxton, Jayne Middlemiss, Edith Bowman, Colin Murray, Melanie Sykes and Tracy-Ann Oberman.The episodes are 30 or 60 minutes in length and, on occasions, have been broadcast on the BBC's flagship channel, BBC One. This is usually after a major storyline has been taking place in EastEnders, for example when Leslie Grantham returned to the show in 2003, when Wendy Richard left and when Barbara Windsor left.
EastEnders Revealed finally returned in February 2025 for the 40th Anniversary of the show.