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Episode 5737
EastEnders episode
Episode no.Episode 5737
Directed byJohn Greening
Written byPeter McKenna
Original air date6 July 2018 (2018-07-06)
Running time30 minutes
Episode chronology
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Episode 5737 of the BBC soap opera EastEnders was broadcast on BBC One on 6 July 2018. It was written by Peter McKenna and directed by John Greening. The episode marks the end of a storyline that sees Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi) stabbed to death. For the first time in British television history, relatives of knife victims will tell their real-life stories during the episode.

Plot

Muslim prayers take place for Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi), who has been stabbed and killed. His brother, Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami), discovers that their mother, Carmel Kazemi (Bonnie Langford), has cancelled all plans for the funeral and wants to be the only person there, so he tells her that his family and friends have a right to be there and say goodbye. She agrees but says she will not be there.

Tiffany Butcher (Maisie Smith) suggests that she and Bernadette Taylor (Clair Norris) speak at the funeral. As the locals gather, Carmel is absent so her friend, Denise Fox (Diane Parish), attempts to find her. At the church, Tiffany and Bernadette decide not to speak as Bernadette fears speaking in front of the crowd and Tiffany says that she did not really know Shakil. Kush asks Shakil's friends, Keegan Baker (Zack Morris) and Bex Fowler (Jasmine Armfield), to speak to delay the funeral in the hope that Carmel will arrive.

Denise finds Carmel, who says that she cannot say goodbye to Shakil as it is too final and she wants him back. Denise says she will regret not going and people should remember how loved Shakil was, not the fact that Carmel did not go to his funeral. Keegan and Bex share their memories of Shakil. The Reverend Irene Mills tells Kush she cannot delay the funeral any longer, so it begins. Carmel and Denise then arrive. Mills says that although the burial feels final, Shakil will live on in their memories and urges them to speak about him often to make sense of and give meaning to his story. The coffin is led out of the church and lowered into the ground.

Cast and characters

Production

As part of the "unique" episode, the real-life families of victims of knife crime appear, with some sharing their own stories as part of the episode. Of the episode, executive consultant of EastEnders, John Yorke, said, "From the very beginning we were determined to treat the difficult subject of knife crime in a responsible, non-sensationalist way. We started out with detailed research, and the more stories we heard the more we felt other people should hear them too. The episode gradually evolved into something unique for EastEnders—real families telling their own devastating stories alongside our own characters. We've tried to find a way to do justice to an incredibly difficult, tragic and emotive subject, and with huge help from the families of real life victims and the support groups they work with, we hope we've come some way to getting that enormity across."[1]

As well as telling their stories in clips during the epiosde, the families of victims also also appear during the funeral alongside the actors, and are shown holding pictures of their relatives. It is the first time that this has happened in a British soap opera.[2] Voiceovers are played from real victims of knife crime instead of the normal theme tune and the credits roll over a black screen, however, the cast and the crew, with the exception of the writer (Peter McKenna), documentary producer (Leo Fawkes) and director (John Greening), are not credited but instead, 47 names of the victims' relatives featured are listed.

In addition to the episode, BBC Three aired a special feature about knife crime and multiple short films exploring the lives of the people involved in the "special" episode. The controller of BBC Three, Damian Cavanagh, said, "We're pleased that we're able to collaborate with EastEnders to produce additional material to support this storyline that will allow both the BBC Three and EastEnders audience gain a deeper engagement with an important subject."[3] The short films were made availabe on BBC iPlayer under the title EastEnders: The Real Stories.[4]

The storyline was developed with the help of former EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, who has campaigned against knife crime since the murder of her brother, Ben Kinsella.[5] The storyline was written to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of Ben Kinsella.[6] Kinsella's father, George Kinsella, featured in the episode.[7]

Of the storyline, Jafargholi said "It's been intense, to make sure the story is accurate and it's delivered in a way that is close to the bone". To prepare for the storyline, Bonnie Langford, who plays Shakil's mother, Carmel Kazemi, spoke to Brooke Kinsella. Langford said "They haven't been frightened to show the uncomfortable side and the harsh side and the nasty side".[8]

Reception

Natasha Sporn of the London Evening Standard said fans were left "sobbing".[2] David Brown of Radio Times said EastEnders "broke new ground" but the result was "something of a misstep—albeit an honourable one."[9] Michael Hogan of The Daily Telegraph said it was "popular television at its most relevant and powerful"[10] while Brooke Kinsella thanked viewers for their "words of support".[11] Duncan Lindsay of Metro said that viewers were "moved to tears". Lindsay also said that the number of members of the public involved in the graveyard scene was "shocking" but that "it remains the tip of the iceberg for a terrifyingly prevalent issue."[12] Laura Harding and Simon Smith of the Manchester Evening News called the episode "powerful", with "viewers being left in tears".[13] Ash Percival of HuffPost called the scenes "powerful" and said that they "showed the grim reality of London's current knife crime problem".[14]

Awards

The episode saw EastEnders shortlisted for the Broadcast Awards 2019 for Best soap or continuing drama. The award was won by Coronation Street.[15] It was also nominated for Best Storyline and Scene of the Year at the British Soap Awards.[16] However, both of these awards were won by Coronation Street.[17]

The storyline also saw EastEnders win the award for Best Show-stopper at the Inside Soap Awards in October 2018.[18]

References

  1. ^ Lindsay, Duncan (20 June 2018). "EastEnders spoilers: Real life knife crime victims to tell their stories in Shakil Kazemi's funeral episode". Metro. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b Sporn, Natasha (6 July 2018). "EastEnders viewers in tears at 'heartbreaking' knife crime episode featuring real life accounts from bereaved families". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  3. ^ Crumlish, Callum (21 June 2018). "EastEnders spoilers: Shakil Kazemi's funeral to include families of knife crime victims". Daily Express. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  4. ^ "BBC Three – EastEnders: The Real Stories". BBC Online. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  5. ^ Potter, Benjy (20 June 2018). "EastEnders to tell the stories of knife crime victims in unique 'docu-drama' episode". The Sun. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  6. ^ "EastEnders special to air real stories of knife crime". BBC News. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  7. ^ Brooke Kinsella [@brookekinsella] (20 June 2018). "A brave, heartbreakingly touching tribute to all those we have lost. Thank you @bbceastenders for letting us tell the stories of our stolen loved ones. I can't wait to see my Daddy do our Ben proud" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 June 2018 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Gill, Gurvinder (24 May 2018). "Brooke Kinsella: Why I helped EastEnders on knife crime story". BBC News. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  9. ^ Brown, David (6 July 2018). "Was EastEnders right to include real knife-crime stories at Shakil's funeral? Our verdict revealed". Radio Times. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  10. ^ "EastEnders: Knife crime episode of soap praised by viewers". BBC News. 7 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  11. ^ Kinsella, Brooke [@brookekinsella] (6 July 2018). "Thank you so much for all your beautiful words of support after tonight's episode. I have read every one. Thank you for the love for our lost loved ones. From the bottom of my heart thank you @bbceastenders and your entire cast for your bravery and dedication to this storyline 💔" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Lindsay, Duncan (6 July 2018). "EastEnders spoilers: Fans heap praise on 'incredible and devastating' episode ending". Metro. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  13. ^ Harding, Laura (6 July 2018). "EastEnders viewers left in tears as funeral episode features families of real-life knife crime victims". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  14. ^ Percival, Ash (13 July 2018). "'EastEnders' Receives Wide-Spread Praise For Shakil Kazemi And Keegan Baker Knife Crime Plot". HuffPost. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  15. ^ "Best soap or continuing drama: Coronation Street". Broadcast Now. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  16. ^ "EastEnders recognised in British Soap Award nominations for knife crime special". Evening Express. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  17. ^ Hughes, Johnathon (1 June 2019). "British Soap Awards 2019: winners in full". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  18. ^ "Coronation Street wins big at Inside Soap Awards". BBC News. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2019.


Category:2018 British television episodes Category:EastEnders episodes Category:Television episodes about funerals Category:Murder in television Category:Television episodes about death

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