21 Years of EastEnders : How Walford Was Built - Soaps

bronze bully · 18-02-2006, 15:33

Albert Square is one of the biggest television sets in the World. "How did it all begin?" is a question asked by many EastEnders viewers.Well, Bronze Bully (anorak of the EastEnders set & creation) looks into a brief history of the creation & building of Walford,E20...

It was the middle of January,1984.The BBC had just acquired the old ATV studios in Elstree,Hertfordshire.Soon,it was decided that this new BBC centre would be the base for their new drama serial.

Overseeing the building of the set would be top set designer Keith Harris,who had spentover 19 years working on a variety of BBC productions. Armed with a notebook & camera,Keith rallied around the real East End of London with the programme creators Julia Smith & Tony Holland,observing & absorbing the details of life in this area.

Many of these aspects soon started to become clear - rusty railway bridges, graffitti covered walls,huge wooden supports for houses damaged during the war. Julia Smith was even invited to visit the set of "Coronation Street" to help her knowledge of building a permanent set for a TV Soap Opera. With all their research completed the team decided to pay a visit to the outdoor lot at the Elstree TV Centre.

On entering the site, all was quiet, behind the security fencing, they could see the real World of Borehamwood. Immediately,Keith had to take into consideration the possible effect the set would have on the local community. He also considered other aspects of the site, such as the sun direction, and what the backdrop of the community of Borehamwood could create, such as Canterbury House, visable from the lot, with later became known as "Walford Towers".

With all this in thought,the very first sketch of Albert Square was drawn up - in a pile of sand ! In May 1984,the site was cleared ready for the building work to commence. A cardboard model of the square was created & Keith drew up sketches & designs for the various houses & shops.

The main structure of the square itself were provided by outside contractors who laid the roads & pavements.It was also their mission to build the low walls and erect the enormous steel framework which would stand behind & hold up each building. The frames were set in concrete ready to hold the plywood which would create the building.

It was also their task to sink the drains for the site,trying not to come into contact with the main Elstree sewer which is rumoured to cross underneath the lot. Once the steel framework was in place,the outer shell of each building was made at the BBC construction workshop out of plywood & plaster,then bolted onto the framework. I've seenm the photo's of each house inside the workshop being made & it's truely amazing!

All the buildings have at least three sides to them including a metal platform on the first level for any scenes from upstairs.The buildings are also built to withstand very high winds.The BBC workshop also had the task of building the roofs,chimneys & metal railings for the square.

With the buildings up Kieth rallied around visiting scrap yards buying up all old doors & window frames for the set to look as realistic as possible. At one point, Keith made workmen knock down a perfectly built wall and instructed them to build it again - crooked - to give the square an age,which was very important.This square had to look as if it had been there for years.

To help show this, damp patches were added under the railway arches using varnish, pavements were chipped & weeds were planted to make the square look suburban. Telegraph poles,a post box & phone box were all added.

With the outside set complete, Keith then went on to concentrate on designing the interior sets for the characters of EastEnders. Since all this,the final side of Albert Square was added in 1986, first seen on screen on Christmas day. In 1987,Turpin Road was extended to include the Dagmar pub (now the Nail Bar), a chip shop (now Walford Videos), a turf accountant & a Chinese takeaway (now Beale's Plaice). Keith Harris left EastEnders in 1990.

George Street was added in 1993 with three houses,a post office & a pet & second hand shop (now the Argee Bagee) In the late 90's, new shops were added to Turpin Road including Mama's Pizza's. Walford East Station was also added which actually connects the interior studios with the outdoor lot. More recently, the allotments, hidden behind Beale's Plaice, were made smaller and a park area was created, which is often seen on screen. Through Turpin Road & under the far end bridge, they have created a Police station - when I toured the set once with the series designer, he told me one of the allyways in that area were named after his daughter! One of the latest changes to the EastEnders lot was a whole new street, built behind the old Bed & Breakfast, which house fake houses & a fake cafe, often seen when characters drive out of the Square - supposed to be miles away from Albert Sq, but it's actually the backs of the original houses! Very clever stuff.

The rest is history, Albert Square & Walford keep changing,but it's taken alot of hard work & effort to get as far as it is today.

©2006 Bronze Bully

Coconut06 · 18-02-2006, 15:38

Brilliant thanks for posting.

Elsie Tanner · 18-02-2006, 15:39

How can it be copyright to you? Haha

Didn't you use any sources?

Live82005 · 18-02-2006, 15:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elsie Tanner

How can it be copyright to you? Haha

Beat me to it. It's obviously been copied and pasted.

bronze bully · 18-02-2006, 16:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Live82005

Beat me to it. It's obviously been copied and pasted.

Mate if you can find where it's been copied & pasted from I'll give you a grand - I wrote all this (and my other theads) myself back in the year 2000 when I used to run an EastEnders website - thats why I put a copyright on it - as I wrote the article - if I'd pasted it I'd have put a source & link.

Live82005 · 18-02-2006, 16:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by bronze bully

Mate if you can find where it's been copied & pasted from I'll give you a grand - I wrote all this (and my other theads) myself back in the year 2000 when I used to run an EastEnders website - thats why I put a copyright on it - as I wrote the article - if I'd pasted it I'd have put a source & link.

The amount of different sources out there you could very easily have copied and pasted that from different places. I don't care anyway.

bronze bully · 18-02-2006, 16:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elsie Tanner

How can it be copyright to you? Haha

Didn't you use any sources?

The sources I used are the facts & information I gathered over 15 years about EastEnders - my hobby is the EE early years, thats hpw I was able to write such thing. Sources include various books & articles & facts given to me over the years I've been an addict

sad but true!

Elsie Tanner · 18-02-2006, 16:23

I'm not bothered either, but really you should reference your sources

bronze bully · 18-02-2006, 16:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elsie Tanner

I'm not bothered either, but really you should reference your sources

I would but they are not online - they are from mountains of books and bits of scribble I have made over the years - I brought them all together to create this article - just thought it'd be a nice way to celebrate the anniversary tomorrow!

Elsie Tanner · 18-02-2006, 16:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by bronze bully

I would but they are not online - they are from mountains of books and bits of scribble I have made over the years - I brought them all together to create this article - just thought it'd be a nice way to celebrate the anniversary tomorrow!

It is very interesting and well written!

Ignore me, it's my days at University running away with me - if something isn't reference thou shalt be the victim of a public execution was what was drummed into us.

Live82005 · 18-02-2006, 16:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by bronze bully

I would but they are not online - they are from mountains of books and bits of scribble I have made over the years - I brought them all together to create this article - just thought it'd be a nice way to celebrate the anniversary tomorrow!

Well, that's nice of you but there are far too many threads about EE's 21st Anniversary IMO.

Elsie Tanner · 18-02-2006, 16:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Live82005

Well, that's nice of you but there are far too many threads about EE's 21st Anniversary IMO.

I agree, they should all be merged into one bumper-thread

18-02-2006, 15:33	#1
bronze bully Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 1,292	21 Years of EastEnders : How Walford Was Built Albert Square is one of the biggest television sets in the World. "How did it all begin?" is a question asked by many EastEnders viewers.Well, Bronze Bully (anorak of the EastEnders set & creation) looks into a brief history of the creation & building of Walford,E20... It was the middle of January,1984.The BBC had just acquired the old ATV studios in Elstree,Hertfordshire.Soon,it was decided that this new BBC centre would be the base for their new drama serial. Overseeing the building of the set would be top set designer Keith Harris,who had spentover 19 years working on a variety of BBC productions. Armed with a notebook & camera,Keith rallied around the real East End of London with the programme creators Julia Smith & Tony Holland,observing & absorbing the details of life in this area. Many of these aspects soon started to become clear - rusty railway bridges, graffitti covered walls,huge wooden supports for houses damaged during the war. Julia Smith was even invited to visit the set of "Coronation Street" to help her knowledge of building a permanent set for a TV Soap Opera. With all their research completed the team decided to pay a visit to the outdoor lot at the Elstree TV Centre. On entering the site, all was quiet, behind the security fencing, they could see the real World of Borehamwood. Immediately,Keith had to take into consideration the possible effect the set would have on the local community. He also considered other aspects of the site, such as the sun direction, and what the backdrop of the community of Borehamwood could create, such as Canterbury House, visable from the lot, with later became known as "Walford Towers". With all this in thought,the very first sketch of Albert Square was drawn up - in a pile of sand ! In May 1984,the site was cleared ready for the building work to commence. A cardboard model of the square was created & Keith drew up sketches & designs for the various houses & shops. The main structure of the square itself were provided by outside contractors who laid the roads & pavements.It was also their mission to build the low walls and erect the enormous steel framework which would stand behind & hold up each building. The frames were set in concrete ready to hold the plywood which would create the building. It was also their task to sink the drains for the site,trying not to come into contact with the main Elstree sewer which is rumoured to cross underneath the lot. Once the steel framework was in place,the outer shell of each building was made at the BBC construction workshop out of plywood & plaster,then bolted onto the framework. I've seenm the photo's of each house inside the workshop being made & it's truely amazing! All the buildings have at least three sides to them including a metal platform on the first level for any scenes from upstairs.The buildings are also built to withstand very high winds.The BBC workshop also had the task of building the roofs,chimneys & metal railings for the square. With the buildings up Kieth rallied around visiting scrap yards buying up all old doors & window frames for the set to look as realistic as possible. At one point, Keith made workmen knock down a perfectly built wall and instructed them to build it again - crooked - to give the square an age,which was very important.This square had to look as if it had been there for years. To help show this, damp patches were added under the railway arches using varnish, pavements were chipped & weeds were planted to make the square look suburban. Telegraph poles,a post box & phone box were all added. With the outside set complete, Keith then went on to concentrate on designing the interior sets for the characters of EastEnders. Since all this,the final side of Albert Square was added in 1986, first seen on screen on Christmas day. In 1987,Turpin Road was extended to include the Dagmar pub (now the Nail Bar), a chip shop (now Walford Videos), a turf accountant & a Chinese takeaway (now Beale's Plaice). Keith Harris left EastEnders in 1990. George Street was added in 1993 with three houses,a post office & a pet & second hand shop (now the Argee Bagee) In the late 90's, new shops were added to Turpin Road including Mama's Pizza's. Walford East Station was also added which actually connects the interior studios with the outdoor lot. More recently, the allotments, hidden behind Beale's Plaice, were made smaller and a park area was created, which is often seen on screen. Through Turpin Road & under the far end bridge, they have created a Police station - when I toured the set once with the series designer, he told me one of the allyways in that area were named after his daughter! One of the latest changes to the EastEnders lot was a whole new street, built behind the old Bed & Breakfast, which house fake houses & a fake cafe, often seen when characters drive out of the Square - supposed to be miles away from Albert Sq, but it's actually the backs of the original houses! Very clever stuff. The rest is history, Albert Square & Walford keep changing,but it's taken alot of hard work & effort to get as far as it is today. ©2006 Bronze Bully

18-02-2006, 15:38	#2
Coconut06 Banned User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 880	Brilliant thanks for posting.

18-02-2006, 15:39	#3
Elsie Tanner Banned User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Portugal Posts: 5,025	How can it be copyright to you? Haha Didn't you use any sources?

18-02-2006, 16:23	#8
Elsie Tanner Banned User Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Portugal Posts: 5,025	I'm not bothered either, but really you should reference your sources