EastEnders characters paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in a special short scene before Monday’s opening credits, saying her death was like losing a nan.
Linda Carter, Denise Fox and Kathy Beale gathered, in the Queen Vic pub, around a picture of the Queen to discuss her “selfless” life of service.
They called her recent Platinum Jubilee “a classy way to say goodbye”.
“God bless her, she’s been there our whole lives,” said Denise, played by Diane Parish.
“It’s like she’s everything we’ve ever known.”
Kathy, played by Gillian Taylforth, replied: “Just feels so personal though, doesn’t it? Just devastating.”
“It’s like we’ve lost our nan,” Denise added.
“Well, we have,” replied Linda, portrayed by Kellie Bright. “I mean the country’s lost… we’ve all lost our nan. She dedicated her entire life to serving us.”
“Selfless,” said Kathy, before Denise continued: “We’ll never see anyone like her again.”
‘Joyful and safe’
Kathy also recalled having been there as a baby when the Queen was crowned in 1953, saying she wished she had been old enough to remember it. “I’ve got other people’s memories.”
Diane remembered the Silver Jubilee happening in 1977, when she was eight or nine years old. “I just remember I was so happy,” she said. “I just remember everyone feeling so happy.”
Kathy commented the Queen made people “feel so joyful and safe”.
Earlier this year, EastEnders featured appearances from King Charles III – then Prince of Wales – and the Queen Consort, Camilla.
The couple made paid a visit to Walford and were greeted by Danny Dyer and the rest of the cast.
Recalling the occasion in Monday’s episode, Kathy went on: “And what a day we had here, eh? We had Camilla and Prince Charles right here with us.
“King Charles III,” Denise corrected her.
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The three of them then declared “long live the king” before saying they would nip to Buckingham Palace to pay their respects before Kat and Phil’s wedding .
The specially-recorded scene ended with Linda placing the framed photograph of the Queen next to a bust of Queen Victoria – after whom Walford’s fictional pub is named.
“Thank you ma’am, from all of us,” she said, before addressing Queen Victoria: “Look after her, won’t you?”
Last night’s EastEnders was made available at its normal time of 19:30 via the BBC iPlayer, as scheduling changes continue to be made around news coverage of the Queen’s death and The King’s succession.
It was later shown on BBC Two at 21:30 BST.
The BBC announced that new episodes of the soap will also be made available online on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening, while BBC One and BBC Two continue to interrupt regular programming.
Coronation Street also returned to television screens on Monday evening, although no mention was made of the Queen’s death.
The late monarch visited the sets of both soap operas during her lifetime.
She first stepped on the cobbled stones of Coronation Street in 1982, and made a return visit last year; while she was given a tour of EastEnders’ most famous landmarks by Barbara Windsor and Wendy Richard in 2001.
