EastEnders tackles racism in a soap first

EastEnders tackles racism in a soap first
EastEnders tackles racism in a soap first (Image credit: BBC)

The Trueman family will take centre stage for Tuesday's episode of EastEnders, which will feature an all-black cast for the first time in the BBC Onef soap's history. Set almost entirely in the Trueman household, the storyline looks back at Patrick's memories of moving to Britain in the 1950s and includes references to Martin Luther King and expressions like 'coloureds' and 'negroes'. The episode begins with Chelsea, played by Tiana Benjamin, going on a date with Theo (Roland Bell), who reveals he is writing a book on the 1958 Notting Hill race riots. Chelsea learns that Patrick was arrested on an assault charge during the violence and he reveals his early experiences of racism in Britain. When she shows Lucas (Don Gilet) the newspaper clippings, he uses Patrick's secret past to blackmail him into silence about not beginning divorce proceedings with Trina. A show insider commented to The Sun: "The Trueman family do have strong storylines at the moment, but this is more than that. It's clearly very much a deliberate decision to have an all-black cast." A synopsis of the episode, to be screened at 7.30pm on BBC One, does not draw attention to the fact that it is the first time an all-black cast has been used. It simply states: "A nostalgic Patrick reminisces about 1950s London." Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk's new weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop Get all the latest soap gossip delivered straight to your door. Subscribe to Soaplife magazine today

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.