Which episode of EastEnders was live? It's happened more than once — and not everything went to plan
EastEnders saves live television for the big birthdays. The soap has mounted three live events — for its 25th, 30th, and 40th anniversaries — and each one delivered a killer reveal, a character death, or, in one famous case, a line so badly fluffed it briefly became more talked about than the plot. Here's the full run-down.
2010: Stacey killed Archie
The first live episode aired on 19 February 2010, the show's 25th anniversary, closing the "Who Killed Archie?" whodunit. The killer was Stacey — and Lacey Turner was only told her character did it 30 minutes before broadcast, with the cast having rehearsed several possible endings to keep the secret. The same episode killed off Bradley Branning, who fell from the roof of the Queen Vic while running from the police.
It featured 51 cast members, and Turner performed it with flu. A pre-recorded backup tape existed in case she couldn't go on. She went on.
2015: Live Week — and "How's Adam?"
For the 30th anniversary, the show ran a full Live Week from 17 to 20 February 2015, with live scenes woven into every episode and the answer to "Who Killed Lucy Beale?" — her ten-year-old brother Bobby — revealed at the end of it.
This is the one where things went sideways. In Wednesday's episode, Jo Joyner, back as Tanya Branning, asked "How's Adam?" — when the character's name is Ian. Adam Woodyatt is the actor who plays Ian Beale. The question "who is Adam?" lit up social media before the BBC had even finished the week.
2025: the one where viewers voted
The 40th anniversary live episode, broadcast on 20 February 2025, was the show's fourth fully live outing and its most experimental. For the first time, the public decided plot points, with the cast rehearsing scripts for every outcome. Executive producer Chris Clenshaw had promised as much when announcing it:
"We are giving the audience the power to have their say," Clenshaw said in a 2024 statement.
What happened on the night:
- Denise chose Jack — viewers voted for her to pick estranged husband Jack Branning over Ravi Gulati, with the poll closing at 7.10pm, 20 minutes before air.
- Sonia's baby was named Julia — the public's pick, honouring EastEnders co-creator Julia Smith. Sonia gave birth in the rubble of the Vic.
- Martin Fowler died — trapped under a beam after the Queen Vic explosion; his death was written into the live episode after James Bye decided to leave.
- Angie Watts appeared — Anita Dobson returned as a ghost, 37 years after leaving.
For the record: Stacey has now watched a partner die in two separate live episodes — Bradley in 2010, Martin in 2025. If a 50th anniversary live show gets announced, Lacey Turner might reasonably ask what the script has planned for her first.