SINCE it first burst on to our screens 25 years ago, EastEnders has seen 142 births, marriages and deaths - and a bumper crop of murders.
Sixteen of the 70 people to die met a violent end.
That is a 22.8 PER CENT murder rate, far above Britain's real figure of 0.032 per cent.
As the show gets set to celebrate its quarter-century, TV Biz revisits Enders' deaths, its 42 weddings, 30 births and other off-the-wall statistics.
Deaths in the Square
REG COX - February 19, 1985 Found murdered in the first ever episode.
HASSAN OSMAN - June 18, 1985 Cot death.
ANDY O'BRIEN - August 14, 1986 Hit by a lorry saving a child.
LOU BEALE - July 26, 1988 Natural causes.
DONNA LUDLOW - April 13, 1989 Drug overdose.
CHARLIE COTTON - July 9, 1991 Dot's husband died offscreen in a lorry smash.
EDDIE ROYLE - September 9, 1991 Queen Vic landlord knifed.
GILL FOWLER - June 25, 1992 Died after getting AIDS.
STEPHANIE WATSON - December 24, 1992 Run over by Pat Butcher.
PETE BEALE, ROSE CHAPMAN - December 12, 1993 Mob "arranged" their car crash.
DEBBIE BATES - June 22, 1995 Hit by car.
ARTHUR FOWLER - May 21, 1996 Brain haemorrhage.
CINDY BEALE (Off-screen) - November 5, 1998 Died in childbirth after hiring hitman to kill Ian.
TIFFANY MITCHELL - December 31, 1998 Run over by Frank.
ETHEL SKINNER - September 7, 2000 Euthanasia pact with Dot.
STEVE OWEN - March 1, 2002 Car fire during high-speed chase with Phil Mitchell.
ANGIE WATTS - April 8, 2002 Liver cirrhosis, off-screen.
TREVOR MORGAN - November 1, 2002 Killed after starting fire.
TOM BANKS - November 1, 2002 Died in blaze.
JAMIE MITCHELL - December 25, 2002 Hit by a motor.
ROY EVANS - March, 17, 2003 Heart attack.
BARRY EVANS - January 1, 2004 Killed by wife Janine.
MARK FOWLER (Off-screen) - April 13, 2004 AIDS-related illness.
ANDY HUNTER - February 18, 2005 Pushed off a flyover.
DEN WATTS - February 18, 2005 Wife Chrissie kills him.
NANA MOON - December 16, 2005 Aortic aneurysm.
DENNIS RICKMAN - December 30, 2005 Stabbed by Danny Moon.
KATHY MITCHELL - February 20, 2006 Off-screen car accident.DANNY MOON - March 31, 2006 Shot by brother Jake.
PAULINE FOWLER - December 25, 2006 Head injury.
STELLA CRAWFORD - July 20, 2007; Suicide FRANK BUTCHER - March 31, 2008; Cancer.
DANIELLE JONES - April 2, 2009 Hit by a car.
OWEN TURNER - November 26, 2009; Killed by Lucas Johnson. ARCHIE MITCHELL - December 25, 2009; Murder.
OTHER DEATHS: Tom Clements, 21.4.88; Trevor Kellow, 14.2.89; Harry Osborne, 22.2.90; Mo Butcher, 31.12.92; Joe Wallace, 28.7.94; Clive Dixon, 2.10.97; Saskia Duncan, 14.2.99; Ashley Cotton, 14.6.01; Audrey Trueman, 6.9.01; Jane Williams, 11.1.02; Harry Slater, 4.2.02; Rosa Di Marco, 24.6.02; Laura Beale, 30.4.04; Vivienne Hobbs, 28.6.04; Jack Dalton, 18.7.03; Geoff Morton, 4.3.04; Paul Trueman, 23.12.04; David Collins, 3.1.05; Neil and Sue Miller, 18.3.05; Leo Taylor, 12.8.05; Nora Swann, 16.2.06; Margaret Wilson, 1.6.06; Cedric L, 13.10.06; Johnny Allen, 20.10.06; Evie Brown, 7.12.06; Joe Macer, 26.1.07; Jed, 9.3.07; Kevin Wicks, 1.1.08; Dr May Wright, 18.6.08; Jase Dyer, 28.8.08; David, 19.12.08; Tommy Clifford, 23.4.09; Trina Johnson, 3.9.09.
'Happy' marriages
LOFTY HOLLOWAY AND MICHELLE FOWLER - September 25, 1986 Michelle jilted Lofty, but after a change of heart, they wed two months later.
PAT WICKS AND FRANK BUTCHER - June 22, 1989 Wed in Cockney style with all the trimmings, including a horse-drawn carriage.
IAN BEALE AND CINDY WILLIAMS - October 12, 1989 One of soap's doomed marriages, with Ian cuckolded by Simon Wicks.
Second time around ... Ricky and BiancaSAM MITCHELL AND RICKY BUTCHER - July 4, 1991 Eloped to Gretna Green, but a church blessing followed later that month.
SHARON WATTS AND GRANT MITCHELL - December 26, 1991 One of Walford's stormiest marriages, with constant arguments and fights.
PHIL MITCHELL AND KATHY BEALE - February 27, 1995 Wed despite revelation of Phil's affair with his sister-in-law Sharon.
PAT BUTCHER AND ROY EVANS - November 21, 1996 Marriage weathered money problems, and Roy's ill-health and depression.
RICKY BUTCHER AND BIANCA JACKSON - April 17, 1997 Watched by 22million viewers, above.
FRANK BUTCHER AND PEGGY MITCHELL - April 1, 1999 Nearly 20million tuned into one of Walford's best-ever weddings.
DOT COTTON AND JIM BRANNING - February 14, 2002 Pair won awards for their popular screen partnership.
BILLY MITCHELL AND MO SLATER - December 25, 2002 Billy proposed by spelling "Marry me" in alphabet macaroni and she accepted.
KAT SLATER AND ALFIE MOON - December 25, 2003 Pair wed a month after Alfie stopped Kat marrying Andy Hunter.
BARRY EVANS AND JANINE BUTCHER - December 31, 2003 Barry whisked scheming Janine to Scotland for a New Year's Eve wedding.
SHARON WATTS AND DENNIS RICKMAN - August 29, 2005 Sam Mitchell was arrested during the reception after digging up Den's body.
HONEY EDWARDS AND BILLY MITCHELL - September 4, 2006 Wed at third attempt, with Honey going into labour during the ceremony.
STACEY SLATER AND BRADLEY BRANNING - November 1, 2007 Their on-off romance culminated in reconciliation, engagement and marriage.
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MINTY PETERSON AND HEATHER TROTT - April 24, 2008 Heather caught Minty kissing another woman just weeks later.
ROXY MITCHELL AND SEAN SLATER - August 1, 2008 Ronnie tried to stop wedding but realised Roxy had to make her own decisions.
PEGGY AND ARCHIE MITCHELL - April 2, 2009 Archie's web of lies is revealed after the wedding.
SYED MASOOD AND AMIRA SHAH - January 1, 2010 Amira didn't know that Syed was gay.
OTHER WEDDINGS: Carmel Roberts and Matthew Jackson, 26.1.89; Gill Robinson and Mark Fowler, 23.6.92; Phil Mitchell and Nadia Borovac, 8.7.93; Nigel Bates and Debbie Tyler, 12.7.94; Ruth Aitken and Mark Fowler, 20.4.95; Carol Branning and Alan Jackson, 30.4.96; Tiffany Raymond and Grant Mitchell, November 96; Terry Raymond and Irene Hills, 28.1.99; Ian Beale and Melanie Healy plus Barry Evans and Natalie Price, 31.12.99; Melanie Beale and Steve Owen, 1.3.01; Ian Beale and Laura Dunn, 10.5.01; Lynne Slater and Garry Hobbs, 6.12.01; Mark Fowler and Lisa Shaw, 29.3.02; Phil Mitchell and Kate Morton, 5.9.03; Martin Fowler and Sonia Jackson, 10.6.04; Yolande Duke and Patrick Trueman, 22.7.04; Sam Mitchell and Andy Hunter, 16.9.04; Pauline Fowler and Joe Macer, 17.2.06; Kevin Wicks and Denise Fox, 27,4,07; Janine Butcher and "David", 18.12.08; Denise Wicks and Lucas Johnson, 26.11.09.
The Sun
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