Dot Cotton

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The Queen Victoria, and barmaid Kat Slater , spray a customer with a fire extinguisher, this is my first memory of watching Eastenders , at the age of only five.

since then I've been hooked.

That was 19 years ago, and This Week the BBC long running soap opera celebrates its 35th birthday.

Since the start in 1985, Eastenders enough drama, emotional moments, and OTT has to keep Christmas specials fans Like Me and My Family tuning in.

I was in Eastenders thanks To My mother, Meera - who saw it from the first episode and my older Brother , Nilesh, 29. So, it is fair to call A Family of superfans to us - Most days of the week you can find us glued to the Screen taking in the latest twists and turns of Albert Square .

The Mitchells are one of The Most famous families in the history of the series

Nilesh ' s first memory of mom is "pretty emotional" when a character named Nigel Bates , a school friend of Phil and Grant Mitchell found out to have killed His wife.

"at That time we had a TV in The House with five channels - Eastenders has been a staple, because mum looked," recalls Nilesh.

We used to hate missing an episode and would even ask you friends to record it for us (on video tape), as we were on holiday with the family.

"A good ice-Breaker "

grew up, it was just something everyone talked about. In the High School and sixth form, I would always hear, "did you watch Eastenders Last Night ?"

Whether it's just to discuss, epic Cliffhanger, such as - Who Killed Lucy ? or you do the perfect Phil Mitchell "I'll give him a impression That it was always a good icebreaker to kill" - as a part of the fandom.

It was the same for the mom, as she worked in the 1980s and 1990s.

"It was a routine every Lunch Time we would talk about what happened Last Night ," mom says. "It brought Together all. "

The Affair between Stacey and Max was one of The Most explosive stories

Eastenders is still The Thing I look forward after a long, stressful day. Lost in other people's fictional life drama is oddly relaxing.

part of its appeal, is That there is always another episode around The Corner . You could say it's the ultimate binge-watch.

Sure, there are streaming services such as Netflix, Packed full of addictive shows, but Most of the content has an end. With Eastenders , from the first minute to the famous theme music comes on, you know, there are never had to wait long until the next episode.

The action of the ^ A ' s death, was widely praised for the way it dealt with knife crime

My personal highlights everything from explosive stories such as Max Branning to do The Affair , with His son, His wife, Stacey Slater , Phil Mitchell , the problems with addiction (or something with the Mitchell clan) and more recently of the death of ^ A Kazemi, who was stabbed in knife crime.

I'm not ashamed to admit That ^ A funeral episode has me emotionally - especially when they showed the families of real-life knife-victims gathered around The Grave . Mixing reality and fiction was fat and I thought That it was really worth it.

Diverse and relatable

Ultimately, it is the plot lines and characters That made The Show so assignable to so many viewers over The Years .

"The way people lived their lives, jobs, go to the market and the difficulties they had faced, it was things That we could relate back then," my mother says.

And, for me, the variety show has helped me feel connected to it. From a South Asian background, I did not always feel represented on TV, and Eastenders still is not perfect.

The Panesars are the latest Asian family in Albert Square

there were, However, from the early years up to now, considerable representation. Mom says That the families see on the Screen , such as Karim's and Kapoor's, "at one time, as a society, it is still not as comprehensive as it is now," you feel involved. They were Asian families in the Western culture.

So, it feels to observe suitable Eastenders while you eat rice and dhal for dinner.

"It's not Christmas without Eastenders '

In Our House , Christmas is so long incomplete until Eastenders has aired. Dinner is also planned for The One -hour special. It brings us All Together - as cheesy as it may sound.

We All Together in the moments of high on-Screen emotion, such as Queen Vic owner Mick Carter finding out His wife Linda was raped by Deano Wicks - the secret of His Brother .

Linda and Mick Carter has had high-profile storylines, including cancer and the education of an autistic child

"Let's be honest, is it even Christmas without Eastenders ?" Nilesh says.

And the only thing you are guaranteed with this large consequences, is That The Group will chat on the fire.

" is There something to learn,'

On a serious note, I really believe, there are things That you can learn some of the great characters.

Whether or not the Peggy Mitchell 's Leadership - no one is domed to punters in a pub, quite Like it - Phil 's ability to bounce-back from left for dead (several times), Dot Cotton community spirit or Calum "Half-way" the highway is honesty.

These are the qualities That I've seen on the Screen grow up to build I've tried in me as a person.

So, not to say while I'm probably "Get outta ma pub" anytime soon, I look forward to spending many more nights curled up with My Family and my favorite soap.

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Source of news: bbc.com