Watts family
When "EastEnders" began in 1985, the soap focused primarily around the affairs of three families: the Beales, Fowlers, and Watts. However, much of the show's early success stemmed from the drama surrounding the Watts, especially the antics of Den, who as owners of the Queen Vic pub (the show's most prominent set) were usually in the limelight. This prominence, at a time when "EastEnders" was at its most prolific in terms of both the media and audience, meant the Watts became perhaps "EastEnders" most eminent family and the characters known even to those who did not watch the show. Such was their success that producers went ahead with an experimental episode format centring on just Den and Angie, during which Angie lied about having cancer; so successful was the airing that it has since been repeated, and the format expanded to include "three" and "four-handers" (between 3 and 4 characters). Such episodes are highly prestigious and feature only the most popular and prominent characters in the show; thus, all the Watts, aside from Vicki, have featured in such episodes.
List of EastEnders television spin-offs
In 1993, a charity special crossover between "EastEnders" and the science fiction television series "Doctor Who" entitled "Dimensions in Time" was made in aid of the charity Children in Need. It ran in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993 and was filmed on the "EastEnders" set. It featured several of the stars of the programme at the time. Another Children in Need special, "Pudding Lane" was broadcast in a series of five-minute instalments throughout the 26 November 1999 telethon. It relocated the then current "EastEnders" characters to Pudding Lane in 1666, during the events leading to the Great Fire of London.