It's the 30th Anniversary of EastEnders on Thursday, and to celebrate I've selected 30 iconic moments over the show's 30 year history to refresh your memory of why EE is the best soap on TV ;)

 

The 30 moments will be taken from throughout EE history and counted down in my order of preference tbh. Before the 30 'good' iconic moments, here's one which is iconic for all the wrong reasons...

 

30. Bianca discovers Tony and Whitney's affair

 

 

This is one of the best storylines of recent years in EastEnders. They had this doubt bubbling over in viewers minds for quite a while, and then when Tony returned from prison we discovered what was really going on. The events came to a head on Whitney's 16th birthday when she confessed to Bianca. After an initial confrontation, where Bianca didn't believe Whitney, she eventually overheard Tony and Whitney's conversation later that evening. The resulting aftermath was perfectly acted, and this has of course led to massive character development of Whitney, including her storyline with Rob.

29. Peggy discovers Pat and Frank's affair

 

 

One of the most epic affair reveals! After months of Pat and Frank cheating behind Peggy and Roy's backs, Frank decided to write a letter to Peggy before fleeing the Square. However, after some change of plans, Peggy still discovers the letter and decides to read it out in front of the whole Queen Vic. This is followed by her signature slapping of Pat and Frank and proclaiming that everyone 'enjoy the fireworks'. A truly iconic moment in soap history.

That Queen Vic fight clip reminds me of how awful the "Who Shagged Kat?" storyline was. The reveal on Christmas Day was the only good thing.

 

2012 in EE was the most embarrassing year, perhaps just the worst overall (2013 was dire too but was at least saved by everything from Michael's death and beyond).

 

I really wish I was older when the Whitney/Tony abuse storyline was airing so that I could appreciate the quality of it and how well handled it was at the time. Looking back at the reveal episode, it really was one of the best. Great acting from Patsy whose character is usually quite comical and of course brilliant from Shorna with her being relatively new and young. I particularly loved the disgust on Bianca's face when she said "he's a pedophile" and the confusion from Whitney as she tried to make sense of why this was wrong.

 

Peggy revealing Pat and Frank's affair is one of my favourite scenes. Perfect dialogue and perfect (real) slaps! :wub:

I didn't watch Eastenders at the time of the Pat/Peggy clip of course, but I remember vividly the Tony/Whitney reveal as I began watching the show about two years prior! A really important issue to be addressed and the Bianca reveal was SO well done, definitely one of the most gripping storylines in recent years for sure.

The paedophilia storyline was so gripping and one of my first big memories I have of EE. I've kind of always just watched it but that was one of the first big storylines I can really vividly remember from me watching it of my own accord rather than just because my mum had it on.

28. Syed finally reveals his sexuality to his family

 

 

Perhaps one of the storylines with the most twists and turns over the course of the Masood family's presence in EastEnders has been Syed struggling to come to terms with his sexuality. He had been sleeping with Christian while keeping up the pretence in marrying Amira. Christian, in a fit of rage, revealed the truth to Amira and caused her to become hysterical with Syed remaining with her. Syed finally revealed the truth to all his family and friends (above) and started his new life with Christian after being disowned from the family. Of course there's much more which happened after, but I thought the reveal to the family was the most dramatic and captivating part of the storyline.

27. The Slaters vs The Truemans

 

 

After months of tension between the two families over Zoe being in a relationship with Anthony Trueman and Kat deeply disapproves of this since they had previously been in a relationship. The tensions came to a head in one of the biggest ever punchups that EE has ever seen. Even Peggy Mitchell uttered her iconic line "Get out of my pub" to truly cement this scene as one of EE's most iconic moments.

It goes without saying how good and what good the Syed and Christian storyline was/did, but I remember it just dragged on and on until I was glad to see the back of them in 2012!

 

Apart from what's given in the description, I have no idea what actually caused the stand off, nor what was going on with Paul shouting at the end, but the Slaters vs. Truemans really was a classic EE fight!

I wouldn't say it goes without saying. Personally I find that storyline very overrated, they had no chemistry and both treated Amira like absolute trash!

I wouldn't say it goes without saying. Personally I find that storyline very overrated, they had no chemistry and both treated Amira like absolute trash!

 

Same. I HATED IT.

 

Omg at Patrick holding Big Moe.

26. Linda is raped by Dean

 

 

One of the hardest storylines but another extremely important issue to highlight was Dean raping Linda last year. EE had covered traditional rape and rape within a relationship before, so this was the first time they'd highlighted rape to a family member. The scene is quite difficult to watch, but it was very well made by EE and Kellie Bright pulled off an excellent performance during the rape and in its initial aftermath. I'm sure this will go down in EE history as one of its best moments.

5 definitely iconic EastEnders moments for different reasons.

 

Surely the worst EastEnders storyline was anything to do with the Ferrieras? Didn't one have to leave because of his work permit?

25. Sharon and Dennis ruin Christmas dinner

 

 

This is one of my favourite EE Christmas episodes because it just epitomises the EE christmas. It starts off happy, but a secret which has been brewing is revealed which causes an argument and Christmas dinner unfortunately remains uneaten. Chrissie's tantrum after no one ate her food is iconic! Sharon and Dennis were a great couple, and I was really willing them on in this scene.

Dennis was such a bad actor.

 

However it was a bit of a mix match him and Sharon - imagine him with her now! :lol:

24. New Year's Day car crash

 

 

This is the second of three appearances of iconic moments in the last year. This is probably one of EE's best ever stunts and caused shockwaves for many families throughout the Square. Of course the main tragedy was with the Mitchells with Ronnie being in a coma and Phil being falsely arrested for causing the crash. But this also marked the start of Emma's final moments in life as the injuries sustained from the crash caused her to collapse and die from brain bleed. New Year's Day was an emotional roller coaster for viewers and deserves its place in the 30 iconic moments list.

Linda's rape is definitely up there with one of the best EE episodes from last year. I think the amount of complaints actually speaks volume of how well done it was - even though nothing was explicitly shown, the interpretations from the viewers must have felt so real and powerful that they confused that with the rape seemingly being explicit.

 

The "Shannis" reveal was the first EE Christmas episode that I saw and I can remember watching Chrissie's tantrum and Den's "Christmas is cancelled" line! I also remember the next episode where Chrissie's slumped on the floor in the barrel room just drinking away.

23. Sonia gives birth without realising she's pregnant

 

 

One of EE most infamous iconic moments. This has to be one of the most ridiculous storylines, but you can't help but love what happened! Sonia had drunkenly slept with Martin Fowler and went into labour without realising what was happening. It was left to Mo to break the news that 'your having a baby', and we saw Sonia's most iconic moment (though her surprise lesbian kiss probably isn't much further behind).

I wouldn't say it goes without saying. Personally I find that storyline very overrated, they had no chemistry and both treated Amira like absolute trash!

 

FINALLY someone who agrees with me . Christian and syed were vile to her for really no reason.

She looks a MESS there.