Britbox - Eastenders - US and UK airings same day

[Sioban]

Eastenders eps air in the US on Britbox the same day they air in the UK.

OMG, Stuart! I go back and forth about him and Rainie, but I felt his bewilderment and anger so much as he found out he had breast cancer. I hope he turns to his friends for help.

I’ve only been watching Britbox soaps (Coronation Street, Eastenders, and Emmerdale) since Covid began, so I don’t know all the history, but I can’t stand Janine. She is dreadful.

I don’t know if anyone else is out there watching Eastenders, so will wait to see if there are storylines you are all interested in. There are so many that have my attention, but these are the two stories from today’s ep.

[Jim Ruocco]

Have been watching "EE" since 2002. Also saw about 300 episodes (sent to me by a fan) from 1985 to 2002. Love the show. Watch it on iPlayer.

[Sioban]

How could Kheerat not believe Whitney? He knew there was something very wrong with Chantelle’s death, and that Gray had to be behind it. I hope Denise listens and tries to protect Chelsea.

Between Gray on EE and Meena on Emmerdale, I don’t think these serial killers will ever be caught.

[Jim Ruocco]

Meena is on the way out. So is Gray. Both actors will be exiting their shows in the coming months.

[soapgirl9]

My PBS station used to show EastEnders. Unfortunately, I believe the producers decided not to distribute the episodes on TV in the U.S. anymore. The last episodes that were shown on TV here were from 2008 after Danielle was revealed to be Ronnie's daughter and before Heather got pregnant. (Wikipedia has been helpful in telling me what happens with those storylines, since things were left hanging when it was taken off of PBS).

Is the Rainie mentioned in the original post Tanya's sister? From the episodes I saw (2000-2008), Janine is the worst. One of her husbands fell off a cliff and she left him for dead. The actress is fantastic, though.

[Jim Ruocco]

Janine is the best. She's bad and gets away with things and Charlie Brooks never once lets the viewers down. The Janine/Barry storyline involving his death was amazing.

[soapgirl9]

I hate the character- she is evil- but the actress is so great!!

[Sioban]

I looked it up and, yes, Rainie is Tanya’s sister. I didn’t know who Tanya was, but I recognized the actress as playing Fanny Thornton in North and South - she was a hoot in that role!

Janine is still awful and a opportunistic schemer and con, but the actress is fantastic and very beautiful! She reminds me of Ava in General Hospital in those ways (although I love Ava).

[soapgirl9]

Tanya was Jack's sister-in-law. They were also a couple at one point. Tanya and Max (Annie's dad) had two daughters, Lauren and Abi. Abi was killed off.

Jack is Amy's dad. For a while, it was believed Sean Slater (Stacey's brother) was Amy's dad. She was named after her cousin Amy who was given up for adoption at birth.

[Sioban]

OMG, I can’t believe that Chelsea finally believes Whitney, and their great plan is to have Chelsea run away from Gray by calling the taxi service is former father-in-law works for. Plus, Chelsea’s new stepfather is a policeman - why on earth didn’t they take the posts to him and have him protect Chelsea? Now it looks like Chelsea is back in Gray’s power. I hope she starts screaming as she gets out of the cab and doesn’t stop until her mom hears her and comes running. Or at least Whitney and Kheerat hear her and come to her rescue. The serial killers seem to be doing quite well in Eastenders and in Emmerdale - no one suspects a thing.

Even if the police do figure out that Gray killed Chantelle, what about Tina and Kush? Will anyone be able to connect Gray to their deaths? Gray had been using Tina’s bank account, so possible if there is any film from the ATM withdrawals. There was that last odd view of Gray’s car as he drove Tina’s body away - a piece of the blanket was caught in the trunk, but that was so long ago that it is unlikely there is any video of that night anymore. Kush’s death was too random - it seems like it would be hard to connect Gray to it.

[Sioban]

OMG, I thought Chelsea believed Gray, but she didn’t! Whew!

Janine is truly awful - that she played on Linda’s sorrow over her husband and children. Does Janine really want Mick, or is this just a game for her to see if she can “win” and get Mick? Or is it all revenge? I hope Mick can be strong against this deceitful woman.

[regalbeagle]

I'm in the U.S. and began watching EastEnders in 2013 and Coronation Street a few years later.

Having them both on BritBox is amazing.

Janine is completely awful but it is fun to see her shake things up. When she returned I did not realize she would burn so many bridges so quickly.

[Sioban]

I can’t believe Mick bought into what Janine was saying about Linda. I hate this, after everything Mick and Linda have been through. (The actress who plays Janine is amazing, though! I love to hate her.)

OMG, I thought for sure that bomb had gone off and all those in the Argy Bargy (sp?) had been killed - what a relief after that very tense 10 seconds of fearing for everyone in the bar. That was a really effective scene.

Gah, can’t believe Phil was successful in running off with his son, with countless people surrounding his car.

I’m worried about Chelsea, whom I didn’t like until she got pregnant.

There is too much going on in Eastenders in any episode, so I’ll stop commenting or I’ll be here all night!

[regalbeagle]

Mick falling for Janine's tricks is a bummer, but drunk Linda spews so much venom at her loved ones it is hard to imagine them not giving up on her eventually.

Chelsea was hard to grow to like. I started to warm to her when she wore big furry boots over tights. There's still a part of her that dresses like a six-year-old choosing her own outfits.

[Sioban]

OMG, Gray has already started to isolate Chelsea. I hope that Whitney finally tells Denise. I can’t stand how the writers are not letting those characters who know what is going on tell those characters that will help, like Denise and Jack. Someone has to do something to get the best of Gray!

[Sioban]

I was shocked by the ending of todays show. I never expected that Harvey would call the cops on Aaron and get him arrested! What a wild ending to todays show!

[soapgirl9]

I just signed up for BritBox. Although the last episodes shown on TV here in the US were from 2008, there are a lot of familiar names. Sonia, Chelsea, Sharon, Phil, Denise, Whitney, crazy Janine, Peter, Kat, Billy, Stacey, Jay, Honey, Jack, and Martin. Almost all of them played by the same actor/actress from past years.

Random thoughts:
Very weird seeing Peter but no Lucy since she was killed off years ago.
I got used to the previous actress who played Chelsea, but this newer one is good.
Janine naming Scarlett's horse Pat after Janine's stepmother Pat Butcher. Both women despised the other. ("Despised" may not even be a strong enough word).

Dotty saying Nick Cotton was a good dad to her is bull. They came to Walford when she was a kid. He had taught her to lie, steal, and manipulate people. Dotty stayed with her grandma Dot (Nick's mom) when Nick would take off. He also acted like Dotty was a nuisance and the cause for his problems, including drinking. If Tom really is her dad, that would make a lot of sense. Nick always acted like he was saddled with Dotty, and he really didn't want to deal with her.