People are often surprised when I tell them I am an avid watcher of Eastenders. They expect me to have a broader, more high brow approach to television. The events in the fictional Walford, are perhaps rather too much in the realm of common denominator TV. So what appeals to me so much about this soap? I am sure I have mentioned it before (Eastenders is a regular occurring theme on this blog and I am surprised I have not created a separate sub category!). It is not the gritty hard hitting story lines. It is actually the losers in loserville (Garry Hobbs was a stand out favourite, until his rather romantic exit, in August 2009). I suppose I just take some strange enjoyment from seeing life’s losers depicted on screen on a regular basis. Back in September 2005, I posted about the amazing Salsa Magic from Latin love machine – José! Well in recent weeks, they bought in another minor character (but in this case for a much shorter run than our dear dance teacher from Dagenham). My mind was jolted by this blog entry on the Guardian website. Now it was something else to risk introducing a character for just two episodes but to give her name Poppy Meadow, I am sure an eight year old could have thought up a more appropriate name. However, while she was on screen, there was some strange fascination (almost like watching a car crash in slow motion) to see how low the script writers could sink. Having said that, the sub plot was rather funny, as the dialogue just did not go anywhere, the chemistry between Meadow and her best friend, regular Jodie Gold, proved to be rather electric. There was a spark, perhaps not that strong, but there was enough of that on screen magic, that you wanted to know more. Well, I personally wanted to know more, particularly why she had trekked across from Shepherd’s Bush to visit her friend in Walford on the day of a funeral. If this was an event having in my home town (and I was so closely connected to the family) I would have spent the time elsewhere.

Unfortunately all the clips have been taken off YouTube and it was too long ago for me to try and get some screen grabs from iPlayer. My digital TV card died years ago and was donated to a friend soon afterwards. Thanks to some other websites, we even have a profile over on Talk Walford. Although as a rule, I tend to avoid sites such as these for the fear of reading spoilers. I am a strong believer in the mantra – if you know what is going to happen, what is the point of watching? My only hope is that Poppy is brought back soon, there is the huge potential there, even if not as a potential love interest for Tamwar. (Personally I feel she could do better than Walford’s answer to Jamie Oliver!)