List of EastEnders characters (1985)
The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the BBC soap opera "EastEnders" in 1985, by order of first appearance. They were all introduced by executive producer Julia Smith. The first episode of "EastEnders" was broadcast on 19 February 1985, and twenty-three main characters were already created for their first appearance. The first character to be seen was Den Watts, followed by Ali Osman and then Arthur Fowler, all of whom find Reg Cox dying in his flat. Ethel Skinner, Harold Legg and Pauline Fowler appear, after Den alerts them of Reg's death. With Ethel is her pug Willy along with Lou Beale. Saeed and Naima Jeffery are seen working in the local shop whilst Angie Watts is seen in The Queen Victoria, Walford's local pub. Nick Cotton and Sue Osman are next seen, whilst Pete and Kathy Beale work at the fruit and veg stall and Hassan Osman is seen with his parents in the café. Sharon Watts, Ian Beale and Michelle Fowler are next seen and Mark Fowler is seen going into the bookies. Lastly, Roly the dog is seen in the pub when a fight breaks out.
EastEnders
Since 1985, "EastEnders" has remained at the centre of BBC One's primetime schedule. Since 2001, it has been broadcast at 7:30pm on Tuesday and Thursday, and 8pm on Monday and Friday. "EastEnders" was originally broadcast twice weekly at 7:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 19 February 1985. However, in September 1985 the two episodes were moved to 7:30pm as Michael Grade did not want the soap running in direct competition with "Emmerdale Farm", and this remained the same until 7 April 1994. The BBC had originally planned to take advantage of the 'summer break' that "Emmerdale Farm" usually took to capitalise on ratings, but ITV1 added extra episodes and repeats so that "Emmerdale Farm" was not taken off the air over the summer. Realising the futility of the situation, Grade decided to move the show to the later 7:30pm slot, but to avoid tabloid speculation that it was a "panic move" on the BBC's behalf, they had to "dress up the presentation of that move in such a way as to protect the show" giving "all kinds of reasons" for the move.