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Episodes 5710–5713
EastEnders episodes
Episode nos.Episodes 5710–5713
(4 episodes)
Directed byKarl Neilson
Written byMark Catley
Kim Revill
Original air date21–25 May 2018
Running time120 minutes (4x30)
Episode chronology
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Episode 5709 		Next →
Episode 5714

Episodes 5710–5713 of the BBC soap opera EastEnders were broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One between 21 May 2018 and 25 May 2018. The four episodes were directed by Karl Neilson, with the first three written by Mark Catley and the final episode written by Kim Revill. The episodes focus on the social issue of knife crime, specifically the problem of knife attacks in London, with the characters Keegan Baker (Zack Morris) and Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi) both being victims and Shakil dying as a result of his injuries. The episodes also feature footage from the BBC's coverage of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and the 2018 FA Cup Final, both of which took place on 19 May 2018, the day on which episodes 5710 and 5711 are set. Other storylines in the episodes include the revelation that Hayley Slater (Katie Jarvis) is covering up a pregnancy and the return of Alfie Moon (Shane Richie).

Plot

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Episode 5710 (21 May 2018)

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Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), landlady of The Queen Victoria pub, shows the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, while her husband, Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) plans to show the FA Cup Final, which he does in secret on another television, which is brought in by football fan Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite). Linda discovers this and the two groups eventually compete to be the loudest.

Hayley Slater (Katie Jarvis) does not want to go to the Vic and then is angry that Mo Harris (Laila Morse) has put alcohol in her drink; she leaves and in a public toilet, she tells a girl (Nicole Sawyerr) that she is pregnant and the baby is due in October, but she uses bandages to hide it.

Keegan Baker (Zack Morris) is in a hurry to get home and finds an unsecured bicycle, which he uses uses to get back to Albert Square, and chains it to railings. Keegan shows his friend, Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi), who reveals a photo on social media of Keegan stealing it and warns him that a known gang are looking for him. Shakil admits to his former girlfriend, Bex Fowler (Jasmine Armfield), that he is watching the royal wedding because Markle is mixed race like him, and then steals Keegan's keys so he can return the bicycle. The gang, of which Bruno (Josh Fraser) is a member, arrive in Walford looking for Keegan, and they enter the Vic, but Mick denies knowing Keegan. Keanu signals to Keegan that he should hide, so the gang fail to find him and leave. Keegan realises Shakil has gone so goes outside. He sees that the bicycle is gone and then he sees a gang member and confronts him. Keegan refuses to follow him down an alleyway, knowing it is a dead end, but another gang member then pulls out a knife and cuts Keegan's neck; Keegan collapses and the gang leave. Shakil emerges from the alleyway and collapses, having also been stabbed in the back—they are unable to be heard over the crowds in the pub.

Episode 5711 (22 May 2018)

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Hayley, who is homeless, rides on the London Underground where she cons a man, Craig (Nigel Betts), out of £40 by pretending to be a prostitute. Hayley then befriends another homeless girl, Brianna (Rina Diamond), who eventually steals the money from Hayley while she is asleep. Craig then tracks Hayley down again and says he would have given her the money if she had just asked for it; Hayley wants to return his money but realises Brianna has stolen it. Hayley gets off the train and then leaves someone a voicemail–Martin Fowler (James Bye) is then seen on his phone.

Shakil tries to get help but Mick assumes he is drunk and he cannot get into the Vic as the doors are locked. Shakil collapses in the gardens out of sight, while Mick eventually finds Keegan, who has been chained to a drainpipe, and calls for an ambulance, but then decides to drive Keegan to the hospital. Keegan tries but fails to tell Mick that Shakil is also hurt and in the car, a distracted Mick swerves to avoid a motorcyclist and the car ends up across two lanes. Mick is unable to start the car again as a lorry speeds towards it.

Mariam Ahmed (Indira Joshi) and her husband Arshad Ahmed (Madhav Sharma) give their nephew, Masood Ahmed (Nitin Ganatra), a large sum of cash to thank him for everything he has done for them.

Episode 5712 (24 May 2018)

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The lorry narrowly misses Mick an the ambulance arrives, taking Keegan to hospital. Mick informs his mother, Shirley Carter (Linda Henry), about Keegan and that Keegan says Shakil was with him. Shirley leaves a note for Keegan's family, and tells Shakil's brother, Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami) what has happened, so everyone searches for Shakil. Masood finds Shakil in the gardens and Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) puts him in the recovery position. Masood is so impressed by this that he is unable to tell Ian that he no longer wants to be business partners. Shakil is taken to hospital, where Kush arrives, as well as Keegan's family. Mick blames himself for not waiting for the ambulance.

Hayley returns to Albert Square and says she is preparing for a date, so her relative Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace) gives her a makeover but plans to pour drink over her as a prank, however, Kat changes her mind at the last minute after her grandmother, Mo Harris (Laila Morse) says not to because of what has happened with Shakil and Keegan, despite Hayley knowing the plan and saying she deserves it. Hayley goes to a hotel where she meets Kat's estranged husband, Alfie Moon (Shane Richie).

Episode 5713 (25 May 2018)

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Shakil is pronounced dead by consultant Mr Yang (David K S Tse), and Shakil's mother, Carmel Kazemi (Bonnie Langford), and father, Umar Kazemi (Selva Rasalingam) then arrive. Carmel is in denial at first and then tries to get away but Max Branning (Jake Wood) convinces her to see Shakil, as his daughter, Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald) also died earlier in the year. When Carmel sees Shakil, she breaks down in tears.

Keegan tells DS Adney (Joanna Miller) that the attack was random, fearing that the gang will come back for him if he informs the police on them. Mick informs Keegan and his family that Shakil has died and decides to give a statement to the police as he saw the gang in the pub. After Keegan looks at photos of him and Shakil and realises that Mick is giving a statement, he tells Adney the truth.

Alfie asks Hayley to persuade Kat to go back to Spain with him, and Hayley tells him she is pregnant by him and says they could be a family. It them emerges that in Spain, Kat and Alfie's son, Ernie Moon, was scalded by boiling water when their older son, Tommy Moon, dropped a kettle when Kat was not looking, and Alfie blamed Kat, but now he realises it was an accident. Alfie rejects Hayley, saying he wants to be with Kat, so Hayley demands money for an abortion and accidentally reveals that Kat was not alone when Ernie was scalded. At first she claims she was with Kat, but Alfie realises she was with another man, a Russian barman named Dmitri, and decides to return to Spain alone. Kat looks at what happened to Shakil and realises she misses her children, so calls Alfie, but he declines her call.

Cast and characters

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On 21 March 2018, it was reported that Shane Richie would reprise his role as Alfie Moon, but show representatives declined to comment on the news.[1] However, Alfie returned in episodes 5712 and 5713, and Richie teased that he may return again in the future.[2]

On 27 April, it was confirmed that Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi) would leave the show. He was killed off in episode 5713.[3]

Regular cast

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Recurring and guest cast

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Background

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It was announced on 22 March 2018 that Keegan Baker (Zack Morris) and Shakil Kazemi (Shaheen Jafargholi) would be involved in a storyline in which they are attacked by a gang of youths with knives.[4] Sophie Dainty from Digital Spy reported that viewers would see "the wide-reaching ramifications of knife crime for all those involved as the local community attempts to comprehend the gravity of what has happened on their doorstep", adding that the storyline would be "hard-hitting" and "harrowing".[5] Duncan Lindsay from the Metro said that the Taylor and Kazemi families would be turned "upside down" and reported that the programme would put "heavy focus" on the "shocking and distressing" aftermath of the attack, but added that it had not been confirmed if Keegan and Shakil would be written out as part of the storyline.[6] Linsday also said that there "couldn't be a more important time" for the issue to be highlighted after he pointed out the statistics of knife crime in London.[6] The week of episodes marked the start of an ongoing storyline that would lead up to a special episode broadcast in July 2018 (episode 5737). The storyline was written to mark the 10th anniversary of Ben Kinsella's death.[7]

EastEnders worked alongside the Ben Kinsella Trust, which was founded by former EastEnders actress Brooke Kinsella, who played Kelly Taylor from 2001 to 2004, after her brother was stabbed to death (see Murder of Ben Kinsella).[6] Kinsella commended EastEnders for "choosing this storyline to portray the realities of knife crime" and said, "it is vitally important that we help people understand its lasting impact".[5] She added that the storyline would "bring home the realities of knife crime to a wider audience and show how it damages the lives of victims, offenders, their families and friends forever".[6] John Yorke, the executive consultant of EastEnders, added that "The brutal reality of knife crime was brought home to everyone at EastEnders with the tragic murder of Ben Kinsella in 2008. [...] it's [now] more important than ever to raise awareness of the nature of this terrible crime—and how horrendous it is for teenagers, their families and communities."[5] He added that EastEnders has always tackled serious public issues and said that "this is one of the most important the show has ever embarked on". He said the episodes would be "powerful, heart-breaking and dramatic" and hoped they would "carry on Brooke's inspiring message, while making it clear that knife crime destroys the lives of everyone it touches."[5]

Jafargholi said he felt it was "a privilege" to be involved in a story that would raise awareness of knife crime, saying it is "an important issue to tackle".[8] He said he was "really proud" that this was chosen for his exit storyline and said that if no characters had died in the storyline, "we wouldn't be showing the true consequences of knife crime", adding that the aftermath is "part of the story which is crucial to tell".[8] He hoped that young people would watch the episodes and that fewer people would carry knifes after watching it.[8] He also said he was "glad" that Shakil's departure storyline would have "meaning" and would "be addressing a really important social issue".[9] Bonnie Langford, who plays Shakil's mother, Carmel Kazemi, said that the episodes and their aftermath would "show what happens when the doors close and the ripple effect it has on all these different people from [...] their own private perspective".[9]

Scheduling

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Episode 5710 was broadcast at 8:30 pm instead of the usual time of 8 pm to avoid clashing with an hour-long episode of Coronation Street on ITV, which was itself rescheduled to accommodate ITV's coverage of the NHS Heroes Awards.[10][11][12]

Production

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Jafargholi said he could "feel the emotion" in the scripts, and said that the amount of research done on the storyline had come across in the writing.[8]

[13]==Reception==

Ratings

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Official ratings from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board showed that episode 5710 was watched by 5,681,000 people on BBC One and BBC iPlayer within seven days of the original broadcast, making it the third most-watched programme on BBC One in the week of 21 to 27 May 2018. Episode 5711 was watched by 5,037,000 people and was the fifth most-watched programme on BBC One that week, and it was the only episode of EastEnders that week to be beaten in the ratings by an episode of a different programme on BBC One, namely A Very English Scandal. Episode 5712 was watched by 6,101,000 viewers and was the second most-watched programme on BBC One that week. Episode 5713 was the most-watched of the four episodes, with 6,271,000 viewers; it was the most-watched programme on BBC One that week.[14]

Episode ratings for episodes 5710–5713[14]
Episode 7-day ratings 28-day ratings
5710 (21 May 2018) 5,681,000 5,969,000
5711 (22 May 2018) 5,037,000 5,330,000
5712 (24 May 2018) 6,101,000 6,319,000
5713 (25 May 2018) 6,271,000 6,491,000

Critical reception

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Allison Jones from Inside Soap reported that there would be "shocking scenes" with the stabbing storyline.[15]

Jim Shelley, writing an opinion piece for MailOnline, said it was "only correct, and commendable" that EastEnders addressed the issue of knife crime involving teenagers, and said that "some aspects" of the storyline were "well handled", as Keegan stealing a bicycle is "exactly the type of petty beef that escalates with bloody consequences in inner cities on a daily basis".[16] He said that Shakil being killed off rather than Keegan was a "clever touch" as he was "the innocent sidekick in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the right thing".[16] However, he felt that having Shakil as the victim was a "mistake" and would "do [EastEnders] more harm than good", as Shakil was one of the "few realistic characters" in the show.[16] He criticised the actions or words of some characters, including Mick Carter, who assumed Shakil was drunk when he had never been drunk before, Mo Harris (Laila Morse), Max Branning, Masood Ahmed and Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean). He thought that too much focus was given to Mick instead of Shakil's mother, Carmel, or his former girlfriend, Bex Fowler (Jasmine Armfield). Shelley also said that the storyline "accentuated how unrealistic EastEnders is when it comes to urban/London life" because Shakil and Keegan had never been shown to have friends or rivals outside of the setting of Walford, or from other schools or housing estates.[16]

Shelley thought that the return of Alfie Moon "undermined" the impact of the stabbing storyline, saying Alfie's paternity of Hayley's baby could have been revealed the following week instead, and said that Kat and Alfie both came across "so badly it was impossible to care about either of them" after storylines revealed that their son Ernie had been badly scalded.[16] He also said that the arrival of Shakil's father "reminded us how ludicrous it was that we never saw him" considering that the character lives in Essex and had never arrived in previous Kazemi family storylines.[16]

Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy said that the week of episodes were "gritty" and a "return to form" for EastEnders, which was "long overdue", as he opined that "EastEnders was starting to develop a reputation as the soap with no storylines".[17] He said that "the show has bravely taken the bull by the horns by shining a light on the problem [of knife crime] and not holding back when it comes to showing the vicious reality of senseless knife attacks".[17] He said that Jafargholi and Morris "put in their best ever performances" and their "on-screen agony" was "genuinely uncomfortable and distressing to watch" and believed that the sense of community was "spot on", with "wide-ranging reactions from the likes of Mick, Linda, Shirley, Denise and Ian alongside those of the Kazemi and Taylor families".[17] He said that "if it makes even one person think twice about carrying a knife, it's a storyline that was well worth embarking on" but thought that the episodes were not perfect as more screen time should have been given to the knife story.[17] However, he said, "It's testament to [Jafargholi] and [Morris]'s strong performances that many fans were frustrated each time the show cut to other scenes involving Hayley on the Tube, or Alfie's return."[17] He also felt that the cliffhanger of Mick almost being involved in a car crash was "shoe-horned in" and not needed, as he thought the show's bosses "needed to display more faith in their own storyline and their capable young stars by trusting that viewers would be gripped enough by Shakil and Keegan's plight alone".[17]

Viewer response

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Awards and nominations

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The storyline received two nominations at the Inside Soap Awards 2018: Best Show-Stopper (for "The Royal Wedding/Keegan and Shakil's attack") and Best Exit (for Shakil's death).[18][19] Keegan and Shakil's attack went on to win the show-stopper award in October 2018.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ McCreesh, Louise (21 March 2018). "Shane Richie tipped for Alfie and Kat reunion on EastEnders". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  2. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (24 May 2018). "EastEnders star Shane Richie reacts to Alfie Moon's shock return". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  3. ^ Lindsay, Duncan (27 April 2018). "EastEnders spoilers: Cast films a devastating funeral after shock stabbing death". Metro. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  4. ^ Hughes, Jonathan (22 March 2018). "EastEnders spoilers: soap to tackle knife crime in hard-hitting new storyline". Radio Times. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Dainty, Sophie (22 March 2018). "EastEnders plans knife crime storyline for Keegan and Shakil". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d Lindsay, Duncan (22 March 2018). "EastEnders spoiler: Double stabbing as soap tackles knife crime story". Metro. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  7. ^ "EastEnders special to air real stories of knife crime". BBC News. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d "'I want young people to watch these episodes!'". Inside Soap. 2018 (20): 7. 19–25 May 2018.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  9. ^ a b "EastEnders stabbing: Stars on knife crime storyline" (video). Newsbeat. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  10. ^ "BBC One London - Schedules, Monday 21 May 2018". BBC Online. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  11. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (21 May 2018). "EastEnders switches timeslots as Shakil is stabbed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  12. ^ O'Sullivan, Kyle (21 May 2018). "EastEnders pushed back and Coronation Street airs hour-long special in major schedule changes for NHS Heroes Awards". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Coronation Street wins big at soap awards". BBC News. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Weekly top 10 programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  15. ^ Jones, Allison (19–25 May 2018). "A family shattered!". Inside Soap. 2018 (20): 4–7. Prepare for shocking scenes in Albert Square this week, as EastEnders tackles the issue of knife crime"{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  16. ^ a b c d e f Shelley, Jim (26 May 2018). "Why EastEnders' Shakil should not have been killed off, by Jim Shelley". MailOnline. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Kilkelly, Daniel (25 May 2018). "Why EastEnders' gritty knife crime story was long overdue". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  18. ^ Davies, Megan (23 July 2018). "Inside Soap Awards 2018 full longlist revealed". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  19. ^ Lindsay, Duncan (16 October 2018). "Coronation Street leads the way in the Inside Soap Awards 2018 shortlist". Metro. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
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Category:2018 British television episodes Category:EastEnders episodes Category:Gangs in fiction Category:Homelessness in popular culture Category:Murder in television Category:Pregnancy-themed television episodes Category:Television episodes about death

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