EastEnders’ Scott Maslen says ‘stakes are high’ for ‘nerve-wracking’ live episode

EastEnders star Scott Maslen has said the “stakes are high” for the soap’s “nerve-wracking” live episode.

Airing as part of the show’s 40th anniversary celebrations, the episode will grant the audience the power to decide the outcome of a storyline involving Maslen’s character, Jack Branning.

Viewers will chose whether Diane Parish’s character, Denise Fox, reunites with her estranged husband Branning or her secret lover, Ravi Gulati, played by Aaron Thiara.

Speaking on ITV’s This Morning, Maslen, 53, said: “I’m just trying to sort of say it’s another episode, but it isn’t, of course, it’s massive.

“The crew, it’s probably doubled in number, and there’s a lot of people focusing in.

“It’s almost like a composition. There are all these different – like the woodwind, the strings – everyone’s coming together to play this thing and the stakes are high because it’s live.

“It’s exciting and nerve-wracking, as I can vouch for, because I did the last one.”

A live episode was broadcast on BBC One on February 19 2010 as part of the show’s 25th anniversary celebrations, and a week of live episodes marked the show’s 30th anniversary in 2015.

Maslen said: “There’s lots of little things that happened in the live, which you beat yourself up about it, but part of the process is, it’s good to show that it is live, and that you’re not lying and you’re not fudging, and it isn’t a take that’s been pre-recorded.

“So, yeah, stakes are high. Really excited. Everybody can’t wait.”

Thiara said: “I don’t know if I’m naive to it all. I feel all right. This morning I felt all right.

“Tomorrow might be different, but I’m just breaking it down, like, each day, take it as it comes.

“I’m trying not to do anything different, out of my routine, like (I’m) learning it the same way, and we get a few more rehearsals, which is different, but that’s a joy.”

Parish said: “I’ve just got to suddenly bin one off, and go, right, that’s the one I’m going with.

“So, it’s actually… I’ve never had to do that. But the way, like Aaron’s saying, treat it like an everyday process, because we get days where we’re meant to shoot two scenes and then they say ‘Oh, we haven’t got time to shoot that one. It’s dropped’.

“So I’m gonna just treat it like that scene’s been dropped for the day.”

To mark this year’s 40th anniversary, Ross Kemp will return to EastEnders as Grant Mitchell after an absence of almost 10 years.

The raft of programming for the show’s anniversary also includes a 45-minute interview special, hosted by Joe Swash, and a special documentary, EastEnders: 40 Years On The Square, hosted by Kemp.

As well as this, cast members of the show, past and present, are to star in special versions of BBC shows Celebrity Bridge Of Lies and Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.

A special hour-long episode of EastEnders will air on the show’s anniversary, Wednesday February 19, followed by a full live episode on February 20.

Each episode during the soap’s anniversary week, starting from Monday February 17, will drop on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 7.30pm.