EastEnders boss highlights link to iconic 1986 outing in thrilling Christmas episode
Ian Beale's emotional moment pays homage to another classic scene.
A special homage aired in EastEnders on Christmas Day featuring the classic character Ian Beale, played by Adam Woodyatt.
The BBC One soap aired a double bill of festive drama in 2024 as the misdemeanours of Cindy Beale (Michelle Collins) were explosively exposed for the entire Beale and Knight clans - not least her affair with former stepson Junior Knight (Micah Balfour) and her continued love for ex-husband George Knight (Colin Salmon).
Following this, harsh truths were spoken as Cindy tried to seek forgiveness from her first husband and current partner Ian, but instead, she was brutally and literally flung out of their house with her belongings... all before she was horrifically attacked with a shovel and left for dead in a gripping new whodunnit for the soap.
However, before this dramatic moment, Ian let out all of his emotions by breaking down and frustratedly smashing up the Beale living room, including various photos of beloved Beale-Fowler family members.
Eventually, an upset Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth) entered and surveyed the wreckage of the scene before Ian fled the house.
Of course, this emotional moment was also a tribute to the classic ratings-smashing 1986 Christmas episodes which saw Ian's uncle Arthur Fowler (Bill Treacher) suffer a nervous breakdown and smash up the very same living room.
The soap was so keen to pay tribute to the moment that actor Adam Woodyatt had been revealed to have been examining the scene and it was choreographed by production to match Treacher's movements closely.
Speaking at a press event for the special episodes this year, executive producer Chris Clenshaw said of the Christmas drama: "I think this year, because we are entering our 40th year, it was really important to us that it was a classic EastEnders.
"There were nods to the past, nods to previous storylines, even Ian's breakdown. We wanted that to have echoes of Arthur's breakdown all the way back in 1986, and it was scripted and it was choreographed very similarly."
"Yeah, we had a clip on an iPhone to show me exactly what Bill did," confirmed Adam Woodyatt.
Fans will have spotted homages, of course, to previous affair reveals, not least the iconic Sharongate which saw the affair between Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) revealed in the pub, but also the affair between Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Max Branning (Jake Wood) being exposed by his daughter Lauren Branning (then Madeline Duggan, now Jacqueline Jossa) - who also plays a key role in the reveal of the affair here.
How very festive!
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EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
Authors
Lewis Knight is the Trends Editor for Radio Times, covering trending titles from TV, Film and more. He previously worked at The Mirror in TV, Film, and Showbiz coverage alongside work on SEO. Alongside his past work in advertising, he possesses a BSc in Psychology and an MA in Film Studies.
