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

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

Airing arsenic portion of the show’s 40th day celebrations, the occurrence volition assistance the assemblage the powerfulness to determine the result of a storyline involving Maslen’s character, Jack Branning.

Viewers volition chose whether Diane Parish’s character, Denise Fox, reunites with her estranged hubby Branning oregon her concealed lover, Ravi Gulati, played by Aaron Thiara.

Speaking connected ITV’s This Morning, Maslen, 53, said: “I’m conscionable trying to benignant of accidental it’s different episode, but it isn’t, of course, it’s massive.

“The crew, it’s astir apt doubled successful number, and there’s a batch of radical focusing in.

“It’s astir similar a composition. There are each these antithetic – similar the woodwind, the strings – everyone’s coming unneurotic to play this happening and the stakes are precocious due to the fact that it’s live.

“It’s breathtaking and nerve-wracking, arsenic I tin vouch for, due to the fact that I did the past one.”

A unrecorded occurrence was broadcast connected BBC One connected February 19 2010 arsenic portion of the show’s 25th day celebrations, and a week of unrecorded episodes marked the show’s 30th day successful 2015.

Maslen said: “There’s tons of small things that happened successful the live, which you bushed yourself up astir it, but portion of the process is, it’s bully to amusement that it is live, and that you’re not lying and you’re not fudging, and it isn’t a instrumentality that’s been pre-recorded.

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

Thiara said: “I don’t cognize if I’m naive to it all. I consciousness each right. This greeting I felt each right.

“Tomorrow mightiness beryllium different, but I’m conscionable breaking it down, like, each day, instrumentality it arsenic it comes.

“I’m trying not to bash thing different, retired of my routine, similar (I’m) learning it the aforesaid way, and we get a fewer much rehearsals, which is different, but that’s a joy.”

Parish said: “I’ve conscionable got to abruptly bin 1 off, and go, right, that’s the 1 I’m going with.

“So, it’s actually… I’ve ne'er had to bash that. But the way, similar Aaron’s saying, dainty it similar an mundane process, due to the fact that we get days wherever we’re meant to sprout 2 scenes and past they accidental ‘Oh, we haven’t got clip to sprout that one. It’s dropped’.

“So I’m gonna conscionable dainty it similar that scene’s been dropped for the day.”

To people this year’s 40th anniversary, Ross Kemp volition instrumentality to EastEnders arsenic Grant Mitchell aft an lack of astir 10 years.

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

As good arsenic this, formed members of the show, past and present, are to prima successful peculiar versions of BBC shows Celebrity Bridge Of Lies and Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.

A peculiar hour-long occurrence of EastEnders volition aerial connected the show’s anniversary, Wednesday February 19, followed by a afloat unrecorded occurrence connected February 20.

Each occurrence during the soap’s day week, starting from Monday February 17, volition driblet connected BBC One and BBC iPlayer astatine 7.30pm.