Explore EastEnders' characters, from iconic legends to new arrivals, with the latest stories and drama unfolding in the village.
Explore the EastEnders cast, from iconic legends to new arrivals, with the latest stories and drama unfolding in the village.
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On the February 19, 1985, EastEnders was first aired onto our screens and viewers were shown a glimpse into the life of characters in the fictional world of Walford, but where is it filmed?
Walford is a fictional borough in East London – but, is Albert Square an actual place? Is the set purpose built?
Fans may wonder if they can visit the set in real-life, or whether there’s actually an interior set behind the facades of many iconic locations.
Well, we have all the answers as we explore the key locations in the BBC soap.
The soap is filmed in Borehamwood, at Elstree Studios. The original purpose-built set was built in wasteland in 2984 but was destroyed in 2022.
The soap has now built a bigger, expanded set which it started filming on in 2022, which is 20% bigger than the original set. It’s believed to have cost £87 million to make.
The buildings you see on EastEnders are ‘real’ to some extent. Everything is filmed on a purpose-built set but the exteriors are made out of actual brick and mortar.
You could in theory actually set foot inside the buildings but due to lighting and weather issues, instead any interior scenes are filmed from a studio that replicates what the inside of the building would look like.
The Queen Vic is the local pub of many Walford residents, located in the Square. It is currently run by George and Elaine Peacock, with the Knight family and Linda Carter all calling the red painted landmark their home.
They’re not the first family to serve the punters though. With the pub being around since the first episode of the soap, it’s seen the likes of Den and Angie Watts, Peggy Mitchell, and Kat and Alfie Moon run the bar.
It’s also known for being the home to the iconic Queen Victoria bust and has seen many memorable moments take place inside its walls throughout the years including the death of Archie Mitchell, huge pubs fires, and Linda’s stabbing of Keanu Taylor.
Kathy Beale currently owns Bridge Street Cafe which is now fittingly named Kathy’s.
It’s changed hands a number of times over the years, with it undergoing a slight name change. Notable names have included Shirley’s Cafe, Cindy’s and briefly Nish’s.
The original name for the cafe was Al’s Cafe, with the food and drink hotspot being owned by Ali and Sue Osman.
The cafe currently has five employees, including owner Kathy and fellow Walford resident, Bernadette Taylor.
In 1985, the business was a discounted tyre yard but as the years went on it turned into a car lot by Pat and Frank Butcher.
It wasn’t until 2019 that the business was rebranded as Square Deals after previously being called names such as Frank’s Autos, Deals on Wheels, and Maximum Motors.
Jay and Ben ran the Square Dealz business but Jay was left in the lurch when Ben was sent to prison in America.
In 2024, Lauren Branning managed to bag herself a job selling cars at the car lot after being hired by Jay.
The Minute Mart is a small supermarket on the Square, which is actually part of a bigger chain of shops across the country.
In 2000, the shop was officially rebranded from First Till Last to Minute Mart.
The memorable green Walford landmark was actually set to close in 2015 but was saved when a new parent company bought it.
In 2022, Suki Panesar bought the shop and changed the green branding to blue in a controversial decision for many fans.
In 2024, after Yolande reported that the shop branding had changed, the shop reopened and eventually returned back to green. Phew.
The Laundrette was owned by the Papadopolous family for over fifty years until Phil Mitchell bought it for Kat Slater in 2021.
Staff members over the years have included Dot Cotton and Karen Taylor.
Kat also run’s her cab firm, Kat’s Cabs from the Laundrette as well.
Yolande Trueman currently works at the Laundrette, and so does youngster Tommy Moon.
The market is owned by the council, with many stalls being located on Bridge Street and Turpin Road.
The stalls provide a job for many Walford residents, with Martin Fowler selling fruit and veg before his death, Billy Mitchell selling bric-a-brac, and Stacey Slater and Eve Unwin running the Stacey’s Baps van.
In 2025, the market traders face losing their pitches as they fight the council to save the market.
Fox and Hair is a hair salon based at 2 Turpin Road. In 2022, Denise sold half of the business to Linda Carter, with Patrick Trueman owning the other half.
Denise and Kim Fox both work at the salon, with previous staff having also included Lola Pearce-Brown before her tragic death.
Harry’s Barn is the swanky wine bar on the Square, which was previously a nightclub called Peggy’s named after the late and great Peggy Mitchell.
Nicola Mitchell recently bought the business and renamed it Harry’s Barn after her two sons – Harry and Barney Mitchell.
Walford East is a restaurant originally owned by Ian Beale. In 2013, it opened under the name of Ian Beale @ Le Square, taking over from the building’s former use as an antiques shop.
It wasn’t long before it underwent a name change to Scarlett’s. It later changed to Beale’s before changing to its current name of Walford East in 2018.
In 2022, Suki and Ravi bought the restaurant. Most of their family works at the restaurant, with Ravi’s mate Zack Hudson working in the kitchen as a chef.
The Prince Albert aka The Albert is a gay bar owned by Kathy Beale. Kathy bought the bar in 2019 and hired Tina Carter as the manager. Sadly, Tina was brutally murdered in 2020 though…
Kim Fox, Kathy and Felix Baker currently all work in the popular drinks hotspot.
The Beales have owned a fair few businesses in Walford over the years, and the chippie is another business to add to this list.
Ian Beale bought the business in 1994 and still owns it today although he did temporarily sell in 2000 and 2017 but somehow the smell of fish and chips always lures Ian and his family back.
At the moment, Freddie Slater works at the chip shop but the business hasn’t actually been seen on screen in a short while.
Beale’s Eels opened in 2023, being the latest of Ian Beale’s great business ventures. Having already been successful with food-based business Beale’s Plaice, Ian wanted to expand his empire.
He decided to open the pie and mash shop, located on 51 Turpin Road, after attempting to convince the Panesar’s to go into business with him.
Coker and Mitchell (previously Coker and Sons) is the funeral directors often used by Walford residents at the saddest of times.
Sadly, many much-loved Walford residents have entered through those doors when the times comes.
Owned by Les and Pam Coker who used to live on the Square, Jay Brown now manages the business.
The business has been running since 1915 and has been responsible for the funerals of Pat Evans, Peggy Mitchell, Abi Branning and even one of their own – Paul Coker.
McKlunky’s is the go-to place for all things milkshakes, fried chicken and chips. Jack Branning is their most popular customer, partial to a takeaway or… ten.
The restaurant offers both eat-in and takeaway options, a popular hang-out location especially amongst the Walford youngsters.
Heart Bet is the bookies where Alfie Moon worked, managed by Olga Kubicka.
He worked there very briefly between 2023-2024 but wasn’t that great at his job and got the sack.
The Panesar House surgery is the local medical centre owned by Suki Panesar.
Sonia worked there as a nurse before her imprisonment in 2024. Suki bought the building in 2021 and opened it in 2022.
Her daughter Ash worked there as a consultant between 2022-2023.
Arthur Fowler’s pride and joy for 30 years, he worked on the allotments until his death in 1996.
The outdoor location is managed by the Walford Allotment Society, with the likes of Patrick Trueman enjoying gardening there.
One huge storyline back in 2009 focused on the allotment, seeing Lucas Johnson murder Trina Johnson in the shed.
However, the allotments aren’t seen as much on screen any more.
The Boxing Den was originally home to a gym but in 2023, Phil bought half on the business with Sharon Watts owning the other half.
They then decided to turn it into a boxing gym and have had much success. They decided to name it The Boxing Den as a small reference to Sharon’s late son, Dennis Rickman Jnr.
Walford Council owns the community centre, with the building being a place for residents of Walford to gather and come together for different groups and projects.
Yolande is often found there attending church meetings and prayer group sessions.
Phil Mitchell owns Mitchell’s Autos. The garage used to be called the Arches.
In 2023, Sharon Watts actually bought the garage for Keanu Taylor but after his death, Phil was given it back in 2024.
Now, Phil works there alongside Harry Mitchell.
Unfortunately, unlike rival soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street, the set of EastEnders is not open to the public.
This means that fans are unable to visit or tour around the set. This may change in the future though, who knows?!
