STANDING on an east London Victorian street, the most overwhelming sense of déjà vu suddenly washed over me - even though I knew I'd never been there before.
That's because this little-known, unassuming neighbourhood - nestled between hipster hotspots Dalston and Hackney - is the real life version of EastEnders' iconic Albert Square.
The legendary soap has graced our screens for 40 years, and while many viewers won't have even heard of it, Fassett Square - with its quaint rows of terraced Victorian houses and iron gated central gardens - is the inspiration behind the BBC set.
In 1985, when EastEnders was starting out, creators Julia Smith and Tony Holland were tasked with finding somewhere in London that resembled their vision.
When they stumbled upon Fassett Square in London Fields, in transport zone two, they knew they'd struck gold.
While the show isn't actually filmed on location there, producers were so set on using the Square they took a cherry picker forklift to get aerial shots of the entire location and even measured the houses for their replicas.
And the rest is history - with 40 years of drama, death, affairs and fights under the show's belt.
It's a 20-minute trip from Central London to Fassett Square, and when I arrive I get a strange feeling, like I really am on a TV set.
At one point, the BBC were actually thinking about using the real Fassett Square for filming, but ran into problems as it was a residential road in the middle of London.
So they filmed the pilot episode in Fassett Square before production moved across to Borehamwood, where the soap - which is set in the fictional London borough of Walford - is still filmed today.
But when you start to look a little deeper, Fassett Square doesn't really resemble the 40-year-old TV show's set at all.
One of the big differences that struck me is just how quiet Fassett Square is in real life.
There are certainly no bust-ups or loud arguments coming from the Slater household, for example.
And the area is nothing like how it was when EastEnders first launched - Grant Mitchell would be shocked at the price of a house on the square now.
In the last few years, properties have sold for up to £1.6m - compared to £107,000 in the mid-1990s.
Dalston is also known for being achingly cool, and was even labelled the 13th coolest neighbourhood in the world by Time Out in 2021.
Even in his 'hip' leather jacket, Grant would struggle to fit in among the art galleries, cocktail bars, vegan cafes and edgy basement nightclubs.
For diehard 'Enders fans looking to visit, it's actually incredibly easy to get to Fassett Square.
Located in London's transport zone two, there are two stations nearby.
Overground trains run to Dalston Junction on the London Overground's newly named Windrush Line, and also to Hackney Central, which is on the Overground's Mildmay Line and the National Rail network.
Both about a ten-minute walk away from the square.
Alternatively, you can catch a number of buses from central, east and south London.
Another huge difference is, unlike the fictional Walford neighbourhood, there's no rowdy pub on the corner, no bustling market, and while there is a communal garden area, it's nothing like the one in EastEnders.
The garden area is a lot smaller than the one featured in Albert Square, there's no walk-through, no path, and only one bench - and it's under lock and key.
There isn't even a side street with a launderette or greasy café - it's just surrounded by houses and flats.
One lady watching over the local kids zooming around the street on their skateboards said that it's generally a very "quiet" area.
She added that everyone living on the street knows the history of the square and EastEnders, so it doesn't faze them when fans take a snap or two.
The resident said that her husband, who grew up on Fassett Square, and still lives there today, spent lots of summers as a child playing ";bench football" in the gardens.
Now, the communal garden remains under lock and key for resident-access only, so locals tend to sit out there in the summertime.
I can certainly see the vision that Julia and Tony had when I hit the heart of Dalston though - I can imagine the shouts from the market, the rumble of the trains, and the punters in busy pubs.
Here are three more locations for TV fans that you can visit for free...
Emmerdale
For soap opera fans, take a trip up to Esholt, just outside of Bradford, to see the inspiration behind ITV's Emmerdale.
The small village was used for filming in the seventies through to the nineties - and even has its own Woolpack pub.
Beyond Paradise
Down on the Cornish coast is a village that is the real-life home of Beyond Paradise.
The show is set in the fictional town of Shipton Abbott, but filmed around the beautiful seaside town of Looe.
All Creatures Great And Small
In the Yorkshire Dales, the town of Grassington transforms into Darrowby for All Creatures Great and Small.
The production team dress up shop fronts, with The Stripey Badger Bookshop becoming G F Engleby Grocers, and The Devonshire transforming into the Drovers Arms - where you can pop in for a hearty Sunday lunch.
For anyone who fancies a trip to Fassett Square, there are two places nearby also worth visiting that also inspired the BBC soap set.
If you want to feel like you're bargaining with Alfie Moon on Bridge Street market, stop by Ridley Road market in nearby Dalston.
The eclectic market, which has been running since the 1880s, has more than 150 stalls.
Customers can buy everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to vintage clothes, spices, herbs and street foods from a taste of the Caribbean to Turkish cuisine.
And if you fancy a tipple, a 20-minute walk down the road is the Cat and Mutton pub on Broadway Market in Hackney, which is rumoured to have inspired the Queen Vic.
On Sundays they serve up big roasts and Bloody Marys - but thankfully without any awkward EastEnders-style brawls.
-original.jpeg)
-original.jpeg)
