Soapie actors under pressure

Press, 16 August 1988, Page 19

Soapie actors under pressure

From Tony Verdon in London The cast and crew of “East Enders are working around the clock so their leading star can have time off to work for the opposition. Normally the "East Enders team records two episodes a week, to keep pace with their twiceweekly screenings in Britain.

But now there is a great rush on to finish filming scenes in which “Dirty Den” Leslie Grantham appears before he leaves next month to work on Independent Television’s mini-series, “Winners and Losers.”

In the episodes of the 8.8. C. soap now being filmed, Den is in Dartmoor Prison.

Because so many of the series’ original characters have left recently, 8.8. C.

executives fear that if Grantham quits the show entirely the ratings will fall. So they have gone to great lengths to accommodate his wishes, though it is making life difficult for his fellow actors. One actor, who stars with Grantham in the prison scenes, said he hardly had time to learn his lines, let alone work on the character he was portraying.

“We did one scene which I thought was a rehearsal and afterwards they said ‘print it’,” he said.

“In another scene I fluffed a line and asked to do it again, but the producer said it didn’t matter.

“I’m dreading those episodes coming out ... I don’t think EastEnders’ fans will put up with such rubbish.”