Okay. Wow. It's the news I've been waiting for since the rumours started circulating earlier this summer. EastEnders is getting a new Executive Producer, and it's none other than Kate Oates (no surprise- perhaps she was the only one willing to take on the poisoned chalice). Now, I am very aware of what happens every time a new EP is announced; fans go wild, express their excitement and wait in anticipation for the material to reach our screens. But then comes the inevitable moaning (as is the British way). Fans start calling the new EP the 'worst thing to happen to EastEnders', a hate brigade quickly spreads throughout the internet and the press, and as soon as they put one foot wrong, the sound of an axe being sharpened loudens considerably. Just take a look at the Digital Spy forums this time last year when John Yorke announced he was returning to take over from the much-berated (and unfairly, in my opinion) Sean O'Connor. The atmosphere was jubilant. Now, the standard calls to oust Yorke from his position have been echoed for at least six months. So, I won't get my hopes up too much, but I'm still excited. I've only had a quick skim through some twitter comments before writing this, as I want to come to this with my own thoughts.
So, Kate Oates. First of all, what a woman. Whether you have enjoyed her previous work or not, you have to admire her for not only coming out of one soap with her reputation still intact, but coming out of TWO and taking on another THREE at the same time. Honestly she's a bit of an inspiration to me- a young woman in an industry dominated by old men, putting in the graft and achieving more than most could hope to in their careers before the age of 40. For that she has my utmost respect.
You can also tell that she has a real passion for soaps, which I think is so important. I truly get the feeling that she's coming into EastEnders, Holby City and Casualty because she cares about them and is excited to make her mark. Sometimes, it can feel as if producers only take on these shows purely to advance their careers, but with Kate I don't think this is true. If it were, and she weren't that much of a soap fan, I think she would have gone on to the big-time, 9pm dramas with the cream of the crop of British writers and directors. She has a passion that she wants to express and I think that's an excellent trait in a producer.
Not only that, but she also knows how bring a flailing show back up to the top. Whether the storylines are to everyone's taste is irrelevant in this respect- no matter your opinions on her choices with Emmerdale and Coronation Street, she got the nation talking about them again. If you said to someone 4 or 5 years ago that dreary, antiquated Emmerdale is now the nation's number 2 soap and is winning awards left, right and centre, they'd have laughed in your face.
Oates seems to have this knack for re-awakening the spirit of a show. Just take a gander at some of the comments from BBC bosses regarding her appointment. It sounds as though they've finally woken up to the fact that the show is in dire need of rejuvenation, and that they're actually excited about it again. It will be great to finally have an EP who gets the importance of the relationship between soaps and the press. Oates has made several TV appearances and does not shy away from a juicy interview (unlike Yorke and O'Connor). Not only that, but she doesn't back down at the first sign of viewer backlash: she makes a decision, sticks with it and backs it relentlessly. She believes in her stories and is proud of them. I think this will really help the show re-gain direction and purpose.
EastEnders: everyone's talking about it. That used to be the slogan attached to every advertising campaign for the show. Sadly, this hasn't been the case for quite a while, which is unsurprising considering the lack of any vaguely interesting stories of recent. But Oates knows how to get a nation talking- she arranges press events, provides modern, topical stories and knocks it out of the park when it comes to promotion. Imagine if EastEnders got the flashy promo pictures, weekly trailers and social media interaction to the extent that the ITV soaps get. With Oates, hopefully this will be a reality. To be fair, we had similar investment from the BBC when Dominic Treadwell-Collins was in charge. Seeing all the promotion around this time and hearing about the success of his tenure got me to tune in again after a 3-year break from the show.
And then there's the thing I'm most excited for: STORIES! Does anyone honestly remember the last time we had a decent storyline that developed naturally over time, made sense, and was thrilling and enjoyable to watch? Neither do I. Alright, so some disagreed with Oates' choices on Coronation Street, but Corrie and EastEnders are vastly different in tone. I agree with some concerns that she made Corrie too dark and took away from its light-hearted, northern humour, but her stories on Corrie would work so well on EastEnders - it would restore the show's gritty reputation and would return it to its roots. As my lecturers often tell us, as long as the tone of a story remains consistent, the story will be believable, and I think a return to a consistent, dark tone would work brilliantly on EastEnders to produce some fantastic, provocative and believable stories.
Now, onto some inevitable concerns. As I stated at the beginning, I don't want to get my hopes up too much, so time to bring myself firmly back down to the ground. The first, perhaps childish, but valid point is - what if Oates has run out of stories? The optimistic side of me is hoping that EastEnders has been an ultimate goal of Oates' and that she's probably spent years dreaming up some great ideas for the show, and of course, in order to get the EP job, I'm sure some of these ideas would have been pitched to the Beeb. But that doesn't stop me from worrying slightly that she's used up her best ideas on Corrie and Emmerdale.
Then again, EastEnders arguably has one of the best casts around and, if she decides to focus on character-driven drama, she has a great cohort of actors and characters to play around with. I, for one, would welcome a few more character-driven plots to ground the show a little and bring back some of Smith & Holland's original style. However, this would have to be balanced with issue-driven plots to bring the audiences in and cater to modern expectations of entertainment. This sort of balance would be great if executed carefully, and we all know that Oates' loves a bit of issue-based drama, so we shall see how that pans out.
Just as a quick aside, I do plan on doing a post in the future about character vs. issue focused plots. It's something which I find hard to define but fascinating to debate and examine.
Back to Oates and my wariness of getting my hopes up. I think it's important that fans don't set themselves up for disappointment. The show will never return to its glory days of reaching 30.15 million viewers in a single episode. Nor will it ever go back to averaging 9 or 10 million in the overnights, as it did around a decade ago. Admittedly, it still has a healthy audience share of around 28%, but there's no denying that plenty of people have switched off, and it's unlikely that some of them will ever bother to tune in again, no matter how well the show does under Oates.
It's understandable to be excited though, considering Oates' track record with soaps. However, it's days like this that I sadly remind myself of when Bryan Kirkwood was announced as the new EP after a fabulous run over at Hollyoaks, and look what happened there. Then again, if the rumours are true, most of the failures during Kirkwood's reign were due to constraints on his ideas from higher up in the BBC. For example, it's been said that he wanted to do a male rape storyline, something which Oates recently oversaw on Corrie to a great reception, but he wasn't allowed. Maybe this is the unfortunate effect of the infamous baby swap storyline back in 2010, which received so many complaints that it had to be quickly re-written and has perhaps been the reason for the show being so reluctant to take risks in recent years.
And then there's John Yorke. He was the boss of the show back during one of its most successful eras ever, 2000-2002. So, when it was announced he would be returning to the show, fans were understandably thrilled. But again, look what happened there. In summary, an EP's track record can only tell us so much. Perhaps the show's real issues lie further up in the BBC. However, I'm hoping that, if this is the case, Oates' influence and passion can change this.
And finally, should we be concerned about the fact that Oates is not only going to be working on EastEnders, but Casualty and Holby City, also? I, for one, am not going to worry about that for now. I have just enough faith left in the BBC to trust that they know what they're doing and that both they and Oates know that she can handle the workload.
So, as for my hopes and predictions for what Oates will bring to EastEnders? Well, I'm going to try to keep an open mind and just enjoy seeing what she gets up to. I understand that when she took over the ITV soaps, she didn't go down the usual mass-axing route, which is nice to hear (I'm still bitter about Ben leaving- what a waste). The show's got some great characters at the moment just crying out for a decent story (Jay, Kathy and Sharon to name a few) and others who have fantastic potential, too, such as the Taylors and pretty much all of the young characters. Oates seems to use adolescents quite well, which is something that is desperately needed on EastEnders. And let's not forget about the LGBT+ representation that is desperately needed - again, let's hope Oates works her magic in this area.
I'm excited. I can't deny it, no matter how much I try to. The BBC are finally giving us the message that they still care about this show and that it's not just going to be left to die and be replaced by something cheaper. Bring on Oates, I say. Let her have her way with EastEnders, whether it be wicked or wonderful. Either way, at least something will be happening.
Until next time,
-ASIS.
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