EastEnders fans can’t contain their excitement as soap returns to screen TONIGHT after three months off air
EASTENDERS fans are besides themselves with excitement as they wait for the return of the BBC soap.
The beloved series hits the small screen again for the first time in almost three months after being forced off air for the first time it its 35-year history due to the coronavirus.
But with filming having resumed and a number of gripping storylines set to continue, fans are counting down the minutes before they sit down in front of their tellies.
EastEnders will officially be back on tonight and will be airing four nights a week at the slightly shorter length of twenty minutes.
It's a massive relief for viewers, who have been left hanging after the 'series one' finale on Tuesday, June 16, which ended on a huge cliffhanger.
The soap's fans rushed to Twitter to express their excitement.
One Twitter user wrote: "Stoppppp. Eastenders is back on today? THANK GOD."
While another added: "BIG UP EASTENDERS ! So excited for this eastenders is my s**t."
And a third said: "Eastenders is finally back on tonight and i’ve never been more excited."
Fans of the soap also had some fun at the expense of the EastEnders Twitter account after it excitedly tweeted that "series 2 is here".
Even though EastEnders has been running for many seasons over 35 years and aired more than 6,000 episodes, the 'series two' refers to the second half of the season that was disrupted by the Covid pandemic.
But that didn't stop viewers from poking fun at the tweet.
One person jokingly said: "Of course Series 1 of Eastenders was 35 years long - they needed time to establish all the deepest lore and the various things that will come up again in Series 2, when they battle the great demon lord. Any Eastenders fan would know this, tbh."
And another wrote: "Anyone wanna binge watch series 1 of Eastenders? Only 6124 episodes spanning 35 years!";
A third Twitter user added: "wait it took eastenders 5k+ episodes to get to season 2? 35 years and 5k episodes???????"
EastEnders recommenced filming on June 29, more than three months after lockdown forced a pause in production.
The number of weekly episodes were then slashed in an effort to keep the show on air for as long as possible.
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But the final pre-lockdown episode aired on June 16, forcing the soap to go off air for the first time in its 35-year history.
Viewers will be faced with a time-jump to account for the soap's time off air when EastEnders finally returns to our screens, with coronavirus having drastically changed life in Walford.
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Speaking about the return of EastEnders, Executive Producer Jon Sen said: “From the moment we turned the lights out in The Queen Vic our ambition was to come back with a bang and this autumn certainly does that.
"As soon as Albert Square reawakens the drama returns at a pace and, although working within social distancing guidelines has certainly given us some new challenges, I am incredibly proud of what everyone has achieved. The show is looking fantastic and we can’t wait for 'series two' to begin…"