Monday, December 26, 2016

East End Royalty!



EastEnders has been a long running TV show in England since 1985.  The East End of London is considered to be quite "common", and the show is set with many working on the market stalls where they sell food or clothes.  I watched the very first episode of this show and have watched it off and on since 1985!  Not sure what happened on the Christmas episode this year, but in years past, you had to count the murders!
Anyway, I was listening to a sermon on a church website that I like to visit. (It is the church in Eastbourne in England, All Souls Church, you may visit their site just here!)  In the lunchtime carol service from Dec. 14th, it was mentioned that the actor, Danny Dyer who plays the landlord of the pub called "The Queen Vic" on EastEnders had recently been on an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" and that it was an amazingly good show to watch.  Hey, guess what, I found it...



It is an hour long show but it is well worth watching, I promise! (And there are a few cockney rhymes in the show: brown bread means dead and a bit of a bunny, that means a talk. (A bit of bunny means  bunny rabbit and pork which rhymes with talk.  Well, it does in an English accent, anyway!)  

  SPOILER ALERT:  I am going to tell you what happened...




Danny Dyer was amazed to discover that he is descended from royalty!  I think "gobsmacked" is the word that would fit here.  This episode was from the end of November of this year and was much discussed, many saying it was one of the best things that they had ever seen on TV.  Danny Dyer is a very likable bloke and quite funny, I think that must be why everyone liked this show so much.
P.S.  I remember Danny Dyer from " Prime Suspect", with Helen Mirren, that was his very first acting role. (Yes, I have watched a lot of British TV shows over the years!)

OH! And remember the gecko with the English accent from the Geico TV ads?  That is the voice of the actor Jake Wood, "Max Branning" from EastEnders!

Also, please forgive me if I have worded anything about London's East End incorrectly.  I am trying my best to convey why it was such a shock for the actor to realize his royal connections!  I am an American and I have no airs about me, I promise you!

(My photos above are from Leather Lane Market in Holburn, in London...and I will have to tell you more about Holburn in another post!)




28 comments:

  1. We watch a lot of British television here too. It is often funnier and/or classier than anything we produce.
    And yes, finding out that there was royalty in the family would definitely smack my gob.
    Happy New Year to you and yours.

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    1. Happy New Year to you too! I love some good British TV shows, although if they are from Scotland, I sometimes have to put on the subtitles! LOL.

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  2. It's quite astonishing to find out who some of our ancestors really were sometimes.

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  3. I'll have to look and see, but so far I haven't seen that show. Sounds like something I would like.

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    1. Well, my friend, you don't have to wait, I have the entire episode on this post! As I say, it is an hour long so you might have to space it out a bit! :-)

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  4. Oh, Kay, this was so much fun to watch. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Oh Kristi, I am so glad you took the time to watch it! Wasn't it amazing? I somehow felt as if I was in his shoes and was just as amazed and thrilled as he was!

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  5. i've never watched East Enders, but when we're in England we always look for Who Do You Think You Are.

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    1. It might be one of the few shows that was copied from American TV! It was the brainchild of Lisa Kudrow from Friends!

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  6. I dont watch "Enders" but I am hooked on "Who do you think you are."
    I saw the one with Danny Dyer and just loved the fact that he thought he came from working class stock only to find out he was from Royalty. His face was a picture.
    Priceless!Just imagine finding that out.

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    1. So glad you liked this episode too!
      I don't watch EastEnders now, it got to the point where there were so many murders and so much carrying on, it was a bit much!!

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  7. I didn't see the Danny Dyer one but the show is always fascinating.

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    1. I saw the Mary Berry episode one year when we were there!

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  8. Not an Eastenders watcher, but I did watch several episodes of "Prime Suspect"; I really like Helen Mirren.
    The Holburn market pictures are a great reminder of summer! I know winter hasn't even started yet properly, but now that Christmas is over and the Christmas Market is gone, I'd like spring to begin on the 2nd of January :-)

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    1. Oh yes, Prime Suspect was one of my favorites! I know a lot of British actors from episodes from years ago!
      I loved the fruit & veg in England, I have fond memories of lemons from Spain, apples from Italy, and of course, the strawberries from England!

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  9. Surprisingly for me, I find Eastenders far too depressing to watch as everyone moans constantly in it every episode although I like 'Who do you think you are' As you will know from Chas and Dave 'rabbit' is constant talk so I don't know where the pork addition comes in. Some cockney rhyming slang doesn't actually seem to rhyme words at all but goes off at a complete tangent but I'm no expert. They had one a couple of years ago with Ashley Judd where she was related to the Pilgrim Fathers, The Mayflower, and a direct descendant of someone who signed the Declaration of Independence.

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    1. I am not an expert in cockney rhyming slang but if you look it up, it is "rabbit and pork" but is usually just shortened to "rabbit". Hey, my husband might not know a lot of the newer phrases but he knows a lot of cockney rhyming slang! :-)
      Yes, I saw the Ashley Judd episode and really enjoyed it!
      We also have a show here called "Finding Your Roots" and it is just as interesting!
      I know what you mean about EastEnders! I thought it was good for a long time but it went to some very strange places and made it uncomfortable to watch!

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  10. Hello Kay, I've just been catching up with some of your older blog posts.

    Have to say I'm not 'a soap' fan but I did enjoy Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect.

    Enjoy the remainder of 2016 and all good wishes for the coming New Year.

    All the best Jan

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    1. I can't say that I am big soap fan either but I only mentioned it since Danny Dyer was on this soap! (And EastEnders is the only British soap that I know and I have not seen it in years.)
      Happy new year to you too!

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  11. 'Eastenders' is an appallingly bad show which has influenced the nation in a detrimental manner for years. The 'East End' is now dominated by 'Bangladeshi' immigrants with few of the old stock left behind. I never found any in the 'East End' I would trust I must say!

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    1. Gee, I had no idea that all the problems of the United Kingdom are due to the influence of EastEnders!

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  12. Kay, I would love shopping that outdoor market. They made everything so appealing. Hope your holidays were filled with love and joy. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

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    1. You would love the fruit and veg in England, Susie! I am still amazed every time I see the produce there.
      Blessings to you, sweet Susie. x

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  13. Oh, this is interesting. A couple of people told me about the Danny Dyer "Who do you think you Are" show and I meant to watch it and forgot. Now you've reminded me! thank you! It's a really fascinating programme, in general.

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    1. I don't know if you noticed, but I have the entire episode of "Who Do You Think You Are" right here on my post, I was so tickled to be able to watch it!
      Yes, I really like that show also. We have it here in the USA, too. That is one show that you copied from us! :-)

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  14. It's interesting to me that Eastenders would be so well known to you. You're right about the Christmas episodes too. I can't tell you what happened either but I'm 100% sure someone died. It's actually a Christmas tradition on that show. I think that's the reason I fell out of love with it. It just got too depressing for me. I had no idea Danny Dyer was related to royalty. He is such a likeable bloke but something tells me he won't be ascending to the throne any time soon.

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    1. It just happened that I was in England in Feb. of 1985 and saw the very first episode. I remember it well because my very proper mother-in-law found it difficult to understand the East End accent, but I had no trouble at all! Like you, I found it depressing as time went on. One of my favorite episodes was the one where Alfie Moon took his Nan to the Normandy coast, in remembrance of her husband. That was so good!

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