All-black Square

TONIGHT’S EastEnders will feature an all-black cast for the first time.
The BBC has not advertised the fact the episode will not include a white character for the first time in the soap’s 23 years.

But The Sun has seen a recording and can reveal it revolves around the Trueman family, without a word from a non-black barmaid, shopkeeper or passer-by.

The Albert Square script includes references to civil rights leader Martin Luther King, “coloureds”, “negroes” and the racist 1950s slogan Keep Britain White. The episode starts with Chelsea, played by Tiana Benjamin, going on a date with Theo (Rolan Bell), who claims to be researching a book about the 1958 Notting Hill race riots.

She discovers through him that Patrick (Rudolph Walker) was arrested on an assault charge during the violence and tries to quiz him about it. He then reflects on the racism he encountered when he first arrived in Britain. At one stage it is said that things have improved for black people in Britain and there is less racism.

But Chelsea says: “Have they? It’s still there, though. It might not be as obvious as it once was, but we all know.”

Most of the episode is set at the Truemans’ house, but even scenes in the cafe and the Queen Vic do not include shots of white characters. An insider said: “The Trueman family do have strong storylines at the moment, but this is more than that. It’s clearly very much a deliberate decision to have an all-black cast. But the question is, why? And why not publicise it?

“If you’re going to make a deliberately political statement by doing this, at least have the balls to announce it first.

“It’s almost as if they changed their mind.”

A synopsis of the episode on the BBC’s website does not mention the issue of race.



A PAEDOPHILE storyline in EastEnders, involving Bianca’s ex Tony abusing her 15-year-old stepdaughter, was cleared of breaching broadcasting rules by watchdog Ofcom yesterday.

EastEnders bosses this afternoon defended claims that they deliberately avoided promoting tonight's episode, which features an all-black cast for the first time in the show's history.

This evening's instalment of the Walford-based drama revolves around the Trueman and Fox families and the secret that mysterious newcomer Theo Kelly (Rolan Bell) is keeping from Patrick (Rudolph Walker).

During the episode, Theo meets with Chelsea (Tiana Benjamin) in the hope of learning more about Patrick. As they talk in the cafe, Theo's mobile phone rings and when he heads outside, Chelsea discovers a newspaper cutting with the headline 'Negro charged with assault', relating to Patrick's arrest on assault charges during the Notting Hill riots.

The script contains references to the 1958 riots as well as iconic American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, while the terms 'coloureds', 'negroes' and the racist slogan 'Keep Britain White' are also mentioned in the dialogue.

Despite claims to the contrary, programme-makers insisted that the storyline has received the same publicity treatment as the soap's other ongoing plots.

An insider this afternoon told DS: "Everyone at Elstree has been truly shocked and surprised by the attention that an episode with an all-black cast has had, given that we live in such a diverse and multicultural society."

A BBC spokesperson said: "Tonight's episode focuses on Patrick Trueman sharing his experiences of being a young man living in 1950s Britain with the family he lives with (the Foxes) which does mean it's solely an all-black cast on screen."

They added: "Patrick and the Foxes are an integral part of Albert Square and this is no different to other episodes where we've concentrated on one particular family or storyline in the past."

It was recently announced that acting legend Edward Woodward is to join the cast of the BBC soap as part of the ongoing storyline.

This sounds like a really interesting episode. Quite looking forward to it really.

Ive just turned it on, hope its interesting

I thought it was actually really boring.

I thought it was boring too. Didn't understand the hype around it either... didn't know race was such a big issue nowadays :confused: who cares? it was like EastEnders used this episode to show they were being politically correct...

i'm confused about the storyline. ok, so Patrick got arrested during the race riots, why would he hide this? i'm sure lots of black men got arrested for fighting back! one minute they were all giggling about him planting a joint on a pub landlord and then the next thing we're supposed to think he would hide something else. and i have no idea what this thing with Theo is. is someone supposed to be after Patrick? and how old is Patrick supposed to be? the race riots were 50 years ago and i didn't think Patrick was supposed to be like 70!

Patrick must be as fit as a fiddle!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DaVeyWaVey

it was like EastEnders used this episode to show they were being politically correct...

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I agree, and did you notice how they had more black people in the background of the cafe/pub with barely a white person in sight? seemed like they were really trying to drum something across..

oh this was boring wouldnt have bothered if i had missed it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LostVoodoo

i'm confused about the storyline. ok, so Patrick got arrested during the race riots, why would he hide this? i'm sure lots of black men got arrested for fighting back! one minute they were all giggling about him planting a joint on a pub landlord and then the next thing we're supposed to think he would hide something else. and i have no idea what this thing with Theo is. is someone supposed to be after Patrick? and how old is Patrick supposed to be? the race riots were 50 years ago and i didn't think Patrick was supposed to be like 70!

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Something to do with Edward Woodward, the 78-year-old - actor who is most noted for his roles in The Wicker Man and Callan - who is to take on the role of Tommy Clifford, a charming man in his early 70s who appears in Albert Square in search of Minute Mart owner Patrick Trueman. He is playing the pub landlord I think.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Perdita

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LostVoodoo

i'm confused about the storyline. ok, so Patrick got arrested during the race riots, why would he hide this? i'm sure lots of black men got arrested for fighting back! one minute they were all giggling about him planting a joint on a pub landlord and then the next thing we're supposed to think he would hide something else. and i have no idea what this thing with Theo is. is someone supposed to be after Patrick? and how old is Patrick supposed to be? the race riots were 50 years ago and i didn't think Patrick was supposed to be like 70!

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Something to do with Edward Woodward, the 78-year-old - actor who is most noted for his roles in The Wicker Man and Callan - who is to take on the role of Tommy Clifford, a charming man in his early 70s who appears in Albert Square in search of Minute Mart owner Patrick Trueman. He is playing the pub landlord I think.

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ah thanks for that.

Rudolph Walker, who plays Patrick is 69 years old according to Wiki :) So his character would have been the right age to come to the UK from Trinidad, as lots of men of that age did at the end of the 1950s.

i must have been the only one to enjoy this episode. Eastenders has been diarh recently, me and my friend were thinking of stopping watching, but i tuned in last night and it was a quality episode, well written and well acted, hats off to eastenders for that episode!

I enjoyed the episode too because I did not know much at all about the riots and found it interesting to listen to Patrick talk about them. Don't like Theo much though :thumbsdow:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bryan

i must have been the only one to enjoy this episode. Eastenders has been diarh recently, me and my friend were thinking of stopping watching, but i tuned in last night and it was a quality episode, well written and well acted, hats off to eastenders for that episode!

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I enjoyed it too, I think it was interesting and people may think race isnt an important issue but I think it still is, not as bad as it was though

the epi was alright, it dragged a bit though cos i dont think the foxes are interesting enough to pull off a whole epi by themselves. i dunno why there was such a big deal about it being an all black epi, i wouldnt even have noticed if i hadnt read about it first!

The BBC has insisted that last week's seemingly-controversial 'all-black' episode of EastEnders was 'not unreasonable'.

Tuesday's instalment of the Albert Square drama, which averaged 8.37m (35.6%) viewers, focused entirely on the Trueman and Fox families, most notably Patrick Trueman's (Rudolph Walker) backstory.

Since its transmission, the public broadcaster has received 183 complaints about the episode's "unnecessary" content, while some viewers felt aggrieved by the nature of an 'all-black' cast. Some 57 complains, meanwhile, were logged before it aired.

The BBC responded to the concerns raised in an official statement on its complaints website, describing the episode's concentration on 'all-black' characters as "not unusual" and the references to the Notting Hill riots as "absolutely legitimate".

The statement read: "It is not unusual for EastEnders to devote a whole episode to a single storyline or set of characters, and this episode was one of these occasions.

"This was an opportunity to explore in some depth the background and experiences of Patrick Trueman, one of EastEnders' longest-standing and most popular characters."

It went on: "There have been many 'all-white' episodes in the show's 24-year history, and we do not believe there is any reason why an 'all-black' episode should not be included within the series.

"Some viewers felt it was unnecessary to raise the subject of the Notting Hill race riots. These form part of the character's experience, as well as British history, and we feel it was absolutely legitimate for these characters to discuss them."

what is this tonights

no that was last tuesday

The BBC has received almost 250 complaints over the first episode of EastEnders to feature an all-black cast in its 24-year history.

Last week's episode featured character Patrick Trueman, played by Rudolph Walker, sharing his experiences of being a young black man living in 1950s Britain.


A BBC spokesman said 239 complaints had been received from viewers, with 57 received before it aired and 183 after the broadcast.

It is understood that most of the complaints were from people who felt it was "inappropriate" for the BBC to have shown an episode featuring an all-black cast.


The Tuesday, 24 February, edition of EastEnders attracted an average audience of 8.4 million viewers and a 36% share.

Some of the complainants felt it was unnecessary to raise the issue of the Notting Hill race riots, the BBC confirmed.

"It is not unusual for EastEnders to devote a whole episode to a single storyline or set of characters, and this episode was one of these occasions. This was an opportunity to explore in some depth the background and experiences of Patrick Trueman, one of EastEnders' longest-standing and most popular characters," the corporation said in a statement.

"There have been many 'all-white' episodes in the show's 24 year history, and we do not believe there is any reason why an 'all-black' episode should not be included within the series.

"Some viewers felt it was unnecessary to raise the subject of the Notting Hill race riots. These form part of the character's experience, as well as British history, and we feel it was absolutely legitimate for these characters to discuss them," the BBC added.

From The Guardian

why is black people talking about their experiences of racism cause for offence? i can understand that it was clumsily written and certainly not the best episode ever, but no need for complaints!

i didnt see the episode but havent we had epsiodes where characters have shared information about their past before??? whats so different about this one???

Perhaps it is like some old or neo-Nazis denying the Holocost, they can't or won't face up to reality and any reminders makes them feel too uncomfortable. So instead of switching over/off, they prefer to complain. Don't know whether I am right but maybe there is some truth in it.

Oh for *******s sake if doo-gooders don't like issues discussed on a programme switch it over and don't watch it.

i cant believe people complained before the epi was even aired! and surely complaining that its unacceptable to feature an all black epi is more racist than the epi itself?

I can only think of Leyla currently being the only non-white person in the fictional village of Emmerdale, so does ITV get complaints if not every episode features her and therefore makes it an all-white programme? This Eastenders episode had white skinned people as extras and I would not have noticed that none of them had a speaking part if the media had not drawn attention to it. I am quite sure I would not have been the only one.

i wouldnt have noticed either, just like i dont notice when its an all white epi. the way it was being talked about before it aired i thought all the extras were gonna be black as well but they werent. i dont see the problem personally