EastEnders

Does EastEnders have the highest cast turnover of the big three?

Yes, for boring contractual reasons rather than creative ones!

As a BBC production (taxpayer funded) it has a fixed budget for the cast, meaning that if a character has run their course and needs a rest, they release the actor and consider bringing them back at a later date.

A show like Coronation Street doesn’t have “wasting money” restrictions so can keep a character like Ken or Rita or Audrey on a high salary and a part time contract with only a few lines each week for an indefinite period - this obviously adds to the show’s fabric and legacy but is a luxury that Eastenders does not have.
 
Now that ITV is doing a very un-ITV thing and extending its evening news coverage to 7:30pm, it means the soaps have to move. Emmerdale will move to 7:30pm Mon-Fri, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays, while Coronation Street moves to 8pm for three hour-long episodes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

What will the BBC do with EastEnders? Even in the era of catch-up, they’ll surely not want to clash? Tuesday from 8pm for an hour is free (especially as Holby City ends in March), as is Thursday from 8:30pm. What will they do with the remaining episode, assuming they don’t want to cross into the 9pm slot? Monday at 7:30pm, and go against Emmerdale?
 
A show like Coronation Street doesn’t have “wasting money” restrictions so can keep a character like Ken or Rita or Audrey on a high salary and a part time contract with only a few lines each week for an indefinite period - this obviously adds to the show’s fabric and legacy but is a luxury that Eastenders does not have.
They seem to manage it with Kathy though? She must be on a part-time contract as she never gets any decent storylines and only seems to appear for a few scenes once every three weeks or so. Even Sharon to a similar extent.
 
The sheer chaos of recasting a character and changing basically every personality facet of said character, then bringing back the original, and then bringing back the recast.

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Sam’s returning, with Kim Medcalf taking over the role again.

First Janine and now Sam 2.0?

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I don't have a real opinion either way about Karen or Dorothy Jr, but if Dreary Dana is there, then they should be too.

Anyway, I've always wanted Kim Medcalf back just because she was a great character and I love the mess of the role going back and forth, so this is great news.
 
Yes, it’s good news. Much better than re-casting again and have a third actress play her. Danniella Westbrook (or Danniella Morgan as she was known at this point) has just reappeared in the 1999 episodes on the Drama channel, after a gap of three years. Her acting is not good. They have to film her at angles so that her nostrils can’t be seen.
 

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