How soap saved the BBC
“EastEnders added to the familiar mix of soap-opera elements a touch of the ‘Blitz spirit’ and storylines which tackled pressing social issues”
One of the most unlikely episodes in British television history unfolded on an isolated Devon hillside one evening in September 1986. It was then that around 60 inmates at Dartmoor prison, who had been spending “free association” watching the BBC’s hit drama serial EastEnders, started rioting. Chairs and tables were broken up, and lightbulbs smashed. Afterwards, officials launched an urgent investigation. Had the poor quality of food just served for supper triggered the outburst? Not, it seemed, in this case. It had been TV – or rather, its temporary absence – that had apparently caused the fracas.
On the night in question, had featured one of the main characters, the
