| EastEnders (2022) | |
|---|---|
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| No. of episodes | 209 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 3 January 2022 – present |
| Season chronology | |
EastEnders is a British soap opera, examining the domestic and professional lives of working class people who live in the fictitious London Borough of Walford in the East End of London. The show airs on BBC One and entered its 37th broadcast year on 3 January 2022 with episode number 6410. Jon Sen departed his role as executive producer in November 2021, with his final episode airing on 10 March. He was replaced by Chris Clenshaw, while Kate Oates continued as senior executive producer. Until 4 March, EastEnders typically aired four episodes in a time slot of 8:00 pm on Mondays and Fridays, and 7:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with episodes being 30 minutes long with the exception of Tuesdays, which are 20 minutes long; effective from 7 March onwards, the show aired four consecutive episodes from Mondays to Thursdays, all in a time slot of 7:30 pm. The following month, on 5 April, Tuesday broadcasts were restored to 30 minutes.
Storylines broadcast in 2022 included Aaron Monroe's (Charlie Wernham) involvement in a far-right extremist gang and subsequent arrest after being reported by his father, Harvey Monroe (Ross Boatman); Stuart Highway's (Ricky Champ) battles with male breast cancer and postnatal depression; Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) struggling in the wake of a homophobic attack and later being raped by Lewis Butler (Aidan O'Callaghan); Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) being persuaded by DCI Samantha Keeble (Alison Newman) to turn informant to evade a charge for his involvement in the murder of Vincent Hubbard (Richard Blackwood); Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall) experiencing bullying at school and accidentally stabbing one of his bullies; Gray Atkins' (Toby-Alexander Smith) past murders being exposed upon the discovery of Tina Carter's (Luisa Bradshaw-White) body in the Argee Bhajee; Jean Slater's (Gillian Wright) rollercoaster relationship with Harvey in the midst of a manic episode; a feud between Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) and Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) resulting in Janine framing Linda for causing a car accident; an affair between Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Peace); Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara) murdering his father Ranveer Gulati (Anil Goutam) and allowing Suki to believe it was her; and Frankie Lewis (Rose Ayling-Ellis) suffering from street harrassment following a night out.
Departing cast members in 2022 included Priya Davdra (Iqra Ahmed) in January, Ruhtxjiaïh Bèllènéa (Mila Marwa) in February, Keegan Butcher-Baker (Zack Morris) and Stevie Basaula (Isaac Baptiste) in March, Charlie Wernham (Aaron Monroe) in April, Maddy Hill (Nancy Carter) in June, Dayle Hudson (Peter Beale) in July, Tanya Franks (Rainie Highway) and Champ (Stuart) in August, Kelsey Calladine-Smith (Jada Lennox), Barbara Smith (Dana Monroe) and Ayling-Ellis (Frankie) in September and Danny Dyer (Mick Carter) in December. Returning cast members included Kim Medcalf (Sam Mitchell) in April, and Shane Richie (Alfie Moon) in September; the character of Freddie Slater also returned, now played by Bobby Brazier. New regular cast members introduced included Hersha Verity (Nina Gupta) in February, Thiara (Ravi), Ashley Byam (Finlay Baker) and Matthew James Morrison (Felix Baker) in July, and Navin Chowdhry (Nish Panesar) later in the year. Guest appearances from former regular cast members included Lin Blakley (Pam Coker) for two episodes in January, Tiffany Butcher (Maisie Smith) for one episode in March, Robert Kazinsky (Sean Slater) for one episode in April, Laila Morse (Mo Harris) for multiple episodes between August and September, and Jacqueline Jossa (Lauren Branning), Tom Watt (Lofty Holloway), Linda Davidson (Mary Smith), Michael Cashman (Colin Russell), Gary Hailes (Barry Clark), Jan Graveson (Disa O'Brien) for a handful of episodes in December surrounding the death of Dot Cotton (June Brown), and Sid Owen (Ricky Butcher) later in the year.