It went for over £400!
EastEnders theme tune composer Simon May has bought back his own handwritten manuscript more than 20 years after donating it to charity.
The 75-year-old, who also composed the theme for glossy 1980s drama Howards’ Way, thought he’d never see his work again.
However, a Derbyshire auction house contacted him and said the music was being put up for sale.
But, Simon then got in a bidding war with EastEnders fans hoping to lay their hands on the sheet music for E8 - as it was then called - and a letter saying the work was authentic, penned by Simon.
The lot was expected to go for between £70 and £100, but Simon ended up splashing out £460!
Simon told The BBC: “It was really exciting to bid at auction. I’d never done it before. I booked a phone line to ensure I didn’t miss out. I’m surprised the price went so high but I suppose there are a lot of EastEnders fans out there.
“I’m really pleased to get it back. It was an important extra from the E8 musical manuscript. Now it can be returned to my family archives. I’d realised it was missing but I thought I’d lost it. It’s part of my family history.”
EastEnders, accompanied by the famous theme, started in 1985 and the following year Anita Dobson, who played Angie Watts, released a vocal version of the theme. Called Anyone Can Fall In Love, it peaked in the UK charts at number four.
There have been different versions of Simon’s famous tune, such as Peggy’s theme which was played for Peggy Mitchell’s final episode in 2010.
Meanwhile, a 2008 poll revealed that the famous theme was more recognisable to people than God Save the Queen!
EastEnders continues on BBC1.
